ice podcast

Growing up in Jordan, Noura never set out to work in the family jewellery business. She became an engineer then moved to Canada to complete an MBA and found a job in her field. When she noticed that the jewellery industry wasn’t targeting a younger generation, she set out to change that and founded Mejuri as a side hustle. Learn how revitalising the jewellery business and having big aspirations helped Noura Sakkijha successfully disrupt an entire industry.

Photographer and director Justin Wu’s love of art began at a early age when he was growing up in Toronto. The child of Hong Kong immigrants never set out to be an artist, in fact, becoming a doctor like his father was the path set out for him. Just before going to university to study Sciences, Justin got a camera from his father and that gift ultimately changed the course of his life. Today, after spending almost a decade in Paris, Justin is an Internationally recognised artist in both fashion and films whose resume includes work with Vogue, Elle and Jay-Z’s Life + Times “Empire State of Mind” just to name a few. It’s a great conversation about creativity, finding your path, transitioning from one art form to another and the importance of telling diverse stories.

Growing up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, Vivian Kaye never dreamed of being an entrepreneur. In fact, the two businesses she went on to create were purely by accident. In 2012, Vivian Kaye was looking for hair extensions that matched her own natural hair but she couldn’t find anything so she decide to create it. Today, KinkyCurlyYaki, the company she created out of necessity and without a plan is a multimillion dollar online business. Learn how this university dropout from a small town built a successful business by catering to a niche market: Black Women.

For entrepreneur, bestselling author, tech industry thought leader and tv personality Amber MacArthur, family has always been at the core of everything. She and her brother grew up working along their parents on Prince Edward Island, in Canada. The same principals are prevalent today at her company, AmberMac Media, where her husband, father, mother, brother and even 10-year-old son all contribute to the success of this million-dollar small business. Learn how understanding effective networking, scaling her business, having multiple sources of revenue and being a relentless adapter has propelled Amber to become one of the most recognised and trusted tech mavericks in Canada.

Growing up in Sweden of Chilean descent, Babba C. Rivera was always very ambitious. After graduating from university in Stockholm, Babba made a name for herself in the field of brand marketing. A marketing and branding innovator, Babba launched Uber in her native Sweden and landed on Forbes 30 under 30 in the advertising and marketing category. Today, the Brooklyn based entrepreneur is the founder of By Babba, a brand marketing agency with offices in both New York City and Stockholm as well as being the co-founder of HER USA, a network created to empower and support women. Learn how being restless, creating a unique value proposition as well as having a strong and authentic personal brand helped Babba become the entrepreneur she was born to be.

In the ice podcast season opener, host Winy Bernard speaks to LGBTQ activist and author Jodie Patterson about reinvention, finding one's voice, family and love.