The Profit or Pivot Podcast

Timing is everything when building a startup. It can make the difference between a billion dollar exit and utter failure. Its why one of the most important questions a venture capital investor will ask startups is "why now". What changed about the market that allows you to create significant value and build a hyperscale business NOW.

Michael Durance of xiVentures joins me to discuss his successful career in big tech, building successful startups, and VC investor. A theme that runs through our discussion is how market timing impacted his decisions, and how it made building a successful business relatively easy. And how poor timing almost destroyed another.

In 1 case, good timing resulted in a +$1 billion exit. And in another case, poor timing resulted in disaster.

Michael shares important lessons in how to manage some of the market forces, developments in tech external to your business, and macro conditions are outside our control BUT have a substantial impact on our business. We also discuss his decision to become a VC, how he invests as a former operator, and his investment criteria.

This is a truly special episode with a lot of learnings for aspiring entrepreneurs. You won't want to miss it!

Michael's LinkedIn

xiVentures 

How do billionaires really manage their money? What’s the difference between creating wealth and actually preserving it across generations?

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Mo Lidsky, a serial entrepreneur, author of five books, and co-founder & CEO of Prime Quadrant, a leading family office advisory firm serving over 250 ultra-high-net-worth families with more than $23B in assets under advisement.

Mo’s entrepreneurial journey started at just 17 years old, when he launched his first business by accident and sold it two years later for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since then, he’s built and exited multiple companies, and today helps some of the wealthiest families in the world navigate wealth management, investing, and legacy planning.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mo’s entrepreneurial journey and lessons from multiple exits
• How family offices work and why billionaires use them
• The biggest mistakes wealthy families make when managing wealth
• Insights into the venture capital and private equity landscape
• The mindset and ingredients behind building a successful business

If you’re an entrepreneur building your first startup or preparing for an exit, an investor curious about how the ultra-wealthy think, or simply interested in the world of family offices and generational wealth, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

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About Mo Lisdky

Mo Lidsky is the Chairman and CEO of Prime Quadrant, advising over 250 ultra-high-net-worth families representing more than $23B in assets. A serial entrepreneur, he has built, bought, and sold companies across sectors from education and e-commerce to auto restoration and microfinance.

Passionate about philanthropy, Mo chairs the Prime Quadrant Foundation and has served on the boards of leading hospitals and universities in Canada and Israel.

He is also the author of five books on wealth, investing, philanthropy, and relationships, and a frequent speaker on issues affecting affluent families.

Mo holds multiple degrees from Yeshiva University, an MBA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from Apsley Business School. Above all, he is most proud of his role as husband and father to five children.

Mo's books:

Selling Snake Oil

Partners in Preservation

The Philanthropic Mind

In Search of the Prime Quadrant

Learn more about Prime Quadrant 

Entrepreneurs focus on how to create wealth but most DON'T think about the day after exit. How do they use their wealth, plan for the future, protect their legacy, and invest in their community. Mark Halpern, the Founder of WEALTHinsurance.com, became the most famous insurance broker in Canada by focusing on answering these questions for Canada's most successful business leaders.

In this episode, we dive into Mark's journey from aspiring journalist, middling insurance broker at a large agency, to one of Canada's top life insurance providers (and its most famous). Today, his clients include successful business owners, professionals and ultra wealthy families. Mark helps them preserve their wealth and pay less tax using "strategic philanthropy" by converting taxes to charitable gifts.

For example, he shares a great story how he helped his client book a $1 million donation to a hospital immediately by ONLY paying a few thousand every year for life insurance. This was a win for his client's business because his peers, customers and colleagues saw him as incredibly charitable (which he is). Surprised something like this is possible. So was I!

Mark shares insight into how he found his niche that enabled him to stand out in a crowd of 30,000 insurance brokers who nominally offer similar services. And, after finding his niche, how he bucked traditional sales and marketing tactics to become the most well known life insurance broker in Canada. And even more important, he discusses how to live a well balance, meaningful life, without compromising his financial and business ambitions.

Mark's opinions and insights are frequently published on TV, radio, podcasts and written media. His expertise as a keynote speaker is sought after for conferences and conventions, earning him at least $10,000 per engagement, all of which are donated to charity. His insights, advice, and perspective is valuable for any aspiring entrepreneur and successful entrepreneur. You don't want to miss this episode!

 

Connect with Mark & learn more about his services:

Mark is a thought leader in Canada’s Life Insurance, Estate Planning and Philanthropy communities. He has mentored dozens of insurance advisors and developed a one-of-a-kind mentoring/coaching program.

Website 

LinkedIn 

Coaching & Mentoring Program 

“The New Philanthropy” Mark’s Ted Talk 

Mark’s Sizzle Reel that explains what he does 

 

DISCLAIMER: This is not paid promotion. I've known Mark for over 15 years and consider him a mentor. I think he is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the "boring" business category in Canada and believe my audience can benefit tremendously from listening to his perspectives and considering using his services.

Should you leave your steady corporate job to start a business?

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast I speak with Talia Abramowitz, a partner at Deloitte, the largest professional services firm in the world ($70B in revenues) and the founder of Deloitte Ventures, a $150 million corporate venture capital fund.

Talia shares how she carved out entrepreneurial opportunities within the corporate giant, built a 500-person AI practice from scratch, and what it really takes to launch a corporate venture fund. Whether you're a founder raising capital, an investor seeking insight into CVC strategy, or a corporate leader itching to innovate from within, this episode is for you.

🔍 Topics We Cover:

• Why she chose to stay in corporate despite wanting to be an entrepreneur
• How Deloitte Ventures was created and what it looks for in startups
• Why Canada’s venture ecosystem lags behind (and how to fix it)
• Evaluating founders and spotting red flags during diligence
• When to quit your job to build a business
• Is a modern university degree useless

💬 Question for You: Are you debating whether to stay in your job or start your own thing? Drop a comment, let's talk about it.

📢 Subscribe for more conversations with leaders who built, pivoted, and profited.

Want to watch the video version? Check it out on YouTube.

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About Talia

Talia is the Managing Partner of Deloitte Ventures, a $150M corporate venture fund focused on emerging tech companies. She helped launch the fund in 2022. A 20-year Deloitte veteran, Talia previously served as the COO for Deloitte’s Financial Advisory practice and for Omnia AI, the firm’s artificial intelligence practice which she helped build into a ~$100M business. Talia has more than a decade of experience providing valuation and M&A advisory services.

Connect with Talia here

 

Mark Nashman shares his journey from successful entrepreneur to successful venture capital investor. We learn about Mark's incredible story building Clarity Systems, a financial software business that he grew to over $50 million in revenues before selling to IBM. We also discuss Mark's perspective on investing in startups, what he looks for, red flags and some advice for entrepreneurs.

Mark is a rarity amongst entrepreneurs today. He never relied on huge financing rounds to build his business. His insights into finding product market fit, building a business, and decision to sell will be helpful for any startup founder.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn 

Incapital Ventures

INcapital Ventures invests in early growth-stage technology companies primarily from Israel, with an established product market fit and solid traction and operations in North America. Our reputation as “bridge builders to the North American market” provides us access to exclusive and attractive opportunities in Israel.

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Sonya Meloff, co-founder of one of Canada’s most successful sales recruitment agencies. She helped thousands of companies, from startups to enterprises, hire top-performing salespeople and scaled her business to 8-figure revenues before exiting.

If you're a founder hiring your first sales rep, scaling your go-to-market team, or just want to sharpen your sales skills, this is a masterclass.

We dive deep into:

• Sonya’s accidental entry into sales and how she became a natural closer
• Her time at Monster.com and what it taught her about digital disruption and sales culture
• The moment she walked away from a multi six-figure salary to start her own firm and landed her first client before leaving the office
• Her unique methodology for hiring top sales talent
• What every founder needs to know before hiring their first salesperson
• The #1 trait she looks for in every sales hire
• How to sell anything by asking the right questions and reframing the value
• Handling rejection, founder-led sales, and why everyone is in sales whether they know it or not

💡 Whether you’re a founder hiring your first SDR, a sales leader building a team, or just trying to sharpen your own sales skills, Sonya delivers real, battle-tested insight from the front lines.

Video version on YouTube

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ABOUT SONYA

Sonya Meloff is a Canadian entrepreneur and sales recruitment expert, best known for co-founding Sales Talent Agency Inc., a leading sales recruitment firm specializing in hiring sales professionals. Since founding the agency in 2007, she has helped thousands of companies, from early-stage startups to global enterprises, hire top-performing sales talent. In 2024, she sold her shares in the business to her co-founder and is now actively exploring new entrepreneurial endeavours.

Sonya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She began her career with Hays in London, England, before returning to Canada to take on leadership roles in sales. As Director of Enterprise Sales at Monster Canada, she helped grow the company’s revenue significantly and became the youngest and first female recipient of Monster’s Salesperson of the Year award.

In addition to co-founding The Great Canadian Sales Competition, which became Canada’s largest student competition, she also co-founded Salesclass, a leading global sales reskilling program that has successfully trained 500+ Sales Development Representatives. Sonya is a recognized mentor, speaker, and mother of three, known for balancing business leadership with a strong commitment to family and community.

CONNECT WITH SONYA 

Linkedin

 

In summer of 2020, at the peak of chaos in the healthcare industry, Michael raised a venture capital "Seed" round for his healthcare software startup. How did Michael turn a crisis into an opportunity, grow his business, and set himself on the path to success?

Some of the topics covered:

• Michael's background, how and why he started Verto
• How he developed an innovative solution in healthcare that few people could create and implement
• How Michael adapted, grew, raised money and thrived as a healthcare software when customers stopped buying new software during a pandemic
• When to pivot, and when to pivot back
• Managing a remote workforce
• Building a mission driven business and a strong company culture
• Staying mentally healthy

About Verto

Verto has developed a Digital Twin Platform for healthcare that uses smart integrations to stitch data from multiple health data sources together to create a truly interoperable technology to bring every patient to their best possible health outcome.

https://verto.health/

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, host Matan Hazanov interviews Brice Scheschuk, a trailblazing entrepreneur who co-founded Wind Mobile and sold it for $1.6 billion. Bryce takes us behind the scenes of his journey, from his early days in Saskatchewan and the naval reserve to disrupting Canada’s telecom oligopoly with Wind Mobile. He shares heart-pounding moments, like securing a $200M deal with an Egyptian billionaire just days before a critical deadline and navigating a near-bankruptcy crisis that led to a massive exit.

Now a seasoned investor with stakes in 50 venture funds and 130 direct startup investments, Bryce reveals why he’s jaded about the venture capital ecosystem and offers a refreshing perspective with his “Play Your Own Game” philosophy. He also shares practical advice for founders struggling in today’s tough market, focusing on resilience, mental health, and staying laser-focused on product-market fit.

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone looking to build a sustainable business in a noisy world.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Bryce hired 1k employees in 1 year to reach a million customers
• Lessons from hyper scaling a company
• The high-stakes drama of raising capital and scaling a telecom giant
• Why Bryce believes the VC model is broken for most Canadian founders
• Actionable strategies for founders to build resilient, customer-focused businesses
• The importance of mentorship and mental health in entrepreneurship

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ABOUT BRICE

Brice is the Managing Partner of Globalive Capital (www.globalive.com). He was a co-founder and CFO of WIND Mobile as well as CEO of Globalive Communications. Brice has over thirty years’ experience building and operating companies at Globalive, WIND Mobile, Leitch Technology and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He obtained his CPA, CA designation at PricewaterhouseCoopers and B.Comm (Hon.) Finance from Dalhousie University. Brice served as a Maritime Surface Officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve.

Brice serves on numerous boards and advisory committees (public, private, and not-for-profit) and is a frequent speaker on scale-up entrepreneurship and innovation. He is a co-founder of MindFrame Connect (www.mindframeconnect.com), a not-for-profit focused on elevating the craft of mentorship, improving entrepreneurial resiliency and alternative capital paths to venture capital. Brice is a supporter of Build Canada (www.buildcanada.com). His interests include Canada’s innovation and start-up ecosystem, entrepreneurial finance, mentorship excellence, resiliency, financial literacy, political moderation/centrism, military veteran transition, fitness, travel, good food, good books, and great friends.

 

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Connect with Brice:

Globalive

LinkedIn

X

Mindframe Connect