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The emerging industries space which include psychedelics, plant protein, esports and more, continues to rapidly expand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by technological advancement and busy capital markets.
In our 2021 podcast series “Masters of Disruption,” our host Larry Zeifman spoke with CEOs in numerous emerging industries, discussing their entrepreneurial journeys and issues they face in their respective areas of expertise. Listen to our six-episode series for these CEOs’ perspectives on what it takes to be successful and their personal stories, as well as thoughts on the future of their chosen industry.
Episode 1: Plant Protein
About Pontus Protein
Pontus Protein Ltd. is a Vancouver-based company that grows water lentil protein for commercial use. Using its proprietary Closed Environment Vertical Aquaponic System, Pontus specializes in indoor vertical farming of water lentils. Pontus’ system uses 95% less water than traditional agricultural methods and no pesticides or chemicals. The company’s goal is for water lentil protein to be used as the base protein for plant-based food products, which would make it easier for the world’s population to shift from meat diets to plant-based ones.
About Wholly Veggie
Wholly Veggie’s mission is to develop plant-based food products that create better ways for people to feed themselves and cause the least amount of ecological harm possible. The Toronto-based Wholly Veggie’s snacks, pizzas and patties can be found in 4,000 grocery stores across North America.
Episode 2: Green Sustainability
In our second episode, Larry sits down with EarthRenew CEO and Director Keith Driver and Ashish Malik, the CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies. The three talk about transitioning from an R&D-based company to a production-based one, the importance of innovation in sustainability and why it’s crucial to build strong relationships with your business partners.
About EarthRenew
EarthRenew supports a farm system that emphasizes healthy soils and grower profitability. The company uses circular economic principles of upcycling waste materials into high value agronomic inputs. Through this method, it is building an innovative platform of soil health products that offer growers an alternative to conventional fertilizers, which often leave soil lacking the nutrients and bacteria essential for healthy plant life.
About Bee Vectoring Technologies
Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications with biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT’s award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is harmless to bees and allows small amounts of naturally derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms.
Episode 3: Psychedelics
Episode three brings together Doug Drysdale, the CEO of Cybin, and Jeffrey Stevens, CEO of Psyched Wellness. The duo discusses with Larry how quickly the psychedelics industry has and continues to grow, how to stand out from your competitors, and what it’s like to become a thought leader in an emerging psychedelics industry.
About Cybin
A biotechnology company whose aim is to progress the use of psychedelic therapeutics, Cybin does this through its proprietary drug discovery platforms, innovative drug delivery systems, novel formulation approaches and treatment regimens for psychiatric disorders.
About Psyched Wellness
Psyched Wellness is a Canadian-based health supplements company dedicated to distributing mushroom-derived products and associated consumer packaged goods. Psyched Wellness is in the process of developing a line of extracts, teas and capsules designed to help promote stress relief and relaxation and assist with restful sleeping.
The psychedelics business
To learn more about Canada’s psychedelics business landscape, tune in to Season 1 and Season 2 of our podcast series “Micro-dosing with Zeifmans,” available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Episode 4: Esports
The billion-dollar esports industry has grown drastically in the COVID era. In this episode, Amuka Esports CEO Ben Feferman and ePlay Digital CEO Trevor Doerksen discuss how the pandemic impacted esports’ growth and popularity, when to jump on a trend, and the importance of strong corporate partnerships.
About Amuka Esports
Amuka Esports focuses on esports teams, tournaments, content, and venues. Amuka creates localized hubs in cities across North America, each consisting of a venue, tournament organizer, content team, merchandise brands, and an incubator. Amuka also operates the largest esports venue in Canada.
About ePlay Digital
ePlay Digital, a mobile game creator and publisher, specializes in sports, esports and entertainment augmented reality titles. ePlay is operated by an award-winning team of sports, gaming, and esports leaders, as well as broadcast and digital technology industry experts, software engineers, and athletes. All combined, the team has brought game titles to market for companies like Time Warner Cable, ESPN, Sony Pictures, AXS TV, Intel, AXN, Fiat and CBS.
Episode 5: Cannabis
In episode five, Bradley Moore, CEO and director of Global Cannabis Applications Corp., and Victor Mancebo, CEO and board director at TheraTrue, Inc., join Larry to talk about the importance of data in the medical and recreational cannabis space, lessons they’ve learned from global expansion and the future of the industry.
About Global Cannabis Applications Corp. (GCAC)
GCAC is a global leader in designing, developing, SaaS licensing and acquiring innovative data technologies for the medical cannabis industry. The Citizen Green and Efixii platforms are the world’s first end-to-end medical cannabis data solutions (from patient to regulator). GCAC is focused on acquiring high-quality cannabis datasets that improve user outcomes and becoming the world’s largest cannabis efficacy data provider.
About TheraTrue, Inc.
TheraTrue’s aim is to improve quality of life for individuals with debilitating medical conditions. The company, founded in 2019, plans to redefine the patient experience by offering an elevated in-store atmosphere, opportunities for education and unparalleled customer service. TheraTrue wants to deliver safe, quality cannabis products developed at its processing site and thoughtful, personalized patient care through its proposed retail outlets.
Episode 6: Blockchain Crypto
In the final episode of “Masters of Disruption,” Jonathan Hoyles, CEO and Director of Perk Labs and Jonathan Wiesblatt, Co-founder, Director and Officer of Liquid Meta, discuss with Larry the differences between blockchain and cryptocurrency, acceptance of crypto as related to the economy and what is in store for blockchain and cryptocurrency in the future.
About Perk Labs
Perk Labs owns Perk Hero, the mobile commerce platform on a mission to make shopping and dining experiences more engaging, convenient, and rewarding. The Perk Hero platform, currently available in Canada and the U.S., features Shopify integration; contactless payments using Apple Pay, Google Pay, BitPay, and Alipay, as well as its own digital currency, Perk Coin; a gamified loyalty program with e-commerce dropshipping capabilities, pre-order and pick up options and in-store payments using a QR code.
About Liquid Meta
Liquid Meta, which has recently begun trading on the NEO Exchange, is building proprietary software and tools to access, automate and scale operations within the fast-growing decentralized finance (DeFi) segment of the blockchain industry. The company is hard at work developing best-in-class technology and operational expertise, allowing it to build a scaled business within proof-of-stake based networks.
Get in touch
The Zeifmans team has the expertise to help take your emerging industries business to the next level. Whether you’re starting or growing a business in psychedelics, cannabis, plant proteins, or any other exciting, new sector, reach out to us today to get connected with a trusted advisor.
