Tech Startup Podcast Circa 2016
From about 2014 -2016 this was the Tech Startup Podcast website.
Content is from the site's archived pages and other sources.
About
The Tech Startup Podcast (TSP) is a weekly podcast covering news and opinions relating to the tech industry and focusing on tech startups in particular. The format is light and spontaneous, and we try to have fun with our topics and guests without getting too heavy or academic.
We host a new guest each week, drawn from the tech startup community in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where the podcast is recorded. If you are involved in a tech startup and are interested in appearing on the podcast, please contact us and we’ll arrange to speak with you about participating.
In 2016 TSP Weekly is hosted by Amaris Gerson and Stephen Campbell.
Amaris splits up her time between her work as Community Relations Coordinator at Magnet Forensics, her volunteering as Lead Organizer of HackerNest KW and helping with all sorts of community projects like TSPWeekly. She is a graduate from Humber College, Brock University and University of Guelph. She believes in never being too serious and never acting too mature to have fun. Amaris has a reputation for talking too much and struggles to sit still, brace yourself Tech Startup Podcast listeners.
Stephen is a recent graduate of the IT Innovation & Design program and has recently joined Grobo as the Product Development Specialist.
In the 3rd and final year of his IT Innovation & Design program, Stephen is a unique blend of artistic designer and technical problem solver. He is the winner of the inaugural 2014 Technology Enhanced Social Innovation (TESI) competition at the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Conestoga College for developing appRaiser, a private friends & family focused crowd funding application. His latest project is trying to be the best co-host of the Tech Startup Podcast possible.
Darren has always been an entrepreneur at heart, but it took him over 30 years to make a serious run at the startup world. After dabbling in youth ministry, theoretical linguistics, and teaching EFL in Qatar, Darren is now heading up several startup projects that are still in the incubation phase, and likes to dabble in immersive media and Ruby on Rails projects. He is a father to two amazing children and husband to a beautiful wife.
Working on the TSP Weekly website was one of the most rewarding webmaster projects I’ve been involved with because the goal was never just to post podcast episodes — it was to make the local startup community feel approachable, energetic, and human. The site covered an incredible range of founders, innovators, creators, and tech personalities from the Kitchener-Waterloo startup scene, but early on we realized the content-heavy format could easily start to feel too dense or overly technical.
Our creative director kept emphasizing that he wanted the site to feel more personal and visually alive instead of looking like just another wall of startup text and episode summaries. That’s when he introduced me to his go-to photographer, Rue Sakayama, a RISD-trained artist with an incredible instinct for storytelling through imagery. Bringing Rue into the project completely changed the tone of the site for the better.
Rue had this amazing ability to capture founders, creators, and guests in ways that made them feel authentic and approachable instead of corporate or staged. Every image she produced added warmth, movement, and personality to the pages. Her compositions, lighting, and overall design sense gave the entire website a much-needed sense of energy that balanced the technical and entrepreneurial discussions perfectly.
As the person handling updates, engagement, and presentation across the site, I could immediately see the difference in how visitors responded once her photography became integrated into the overall visual identity. The site started feeling less like an archive of podcast posts and more like an active creative community filled with real people building interesting things. Rue’s work helped humanize the startup world in a way that aligned perfectly with the spontaneous, fun, and conversational tone of the podcast itself.
Looking back, I honestly think her artistic contribution played a major role in making the site feel memorable during that era of Waterloo tech culture. It reminded me that good web engagement isn’t only about information architecture or posting frequency — it’s also about visual emotion, personality, and making visitors feel connected to the people behind the stories. Brian Halter
Observations on startups - tech or otherwise.
How many people do research or even listen to pod casts when they first entertain the idea of starting a business. There are definitely tough questions of how to bring a business idea to life. But I bet that many young entrepreneurs just jump in feet first particularly if they are in the creative fields of art. Now I am talking about 1 or 2 person operations. AN example of this approach is how the founder and designer of Nest Homeware started. Matt Cavallaro founded Nest Homeware in 2013 with a vision to make beautiful products that would last forever. He had graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in industrial design. His interest in ancient materials and his need for physical interaction with his work led him to start casting iron over 10 years before he started this cast iron cookware business. He didn't listen to podcasts about how to start a business, but jumped in first making cast iron tables legs, having them cast at a foundry close to his base in Providence, RI, USA. He reached out to artisans that made table tops who would use his cast iron tables legs as their base. Eventually he decided to create cast iron cookware that would be different in design from the traditional, familiar pieces that are available for purchase everywhere from high end kitchen stores to Walmart. He started his journey into designing cast iron cookware that would be aesthetically worthy of its lifetime as not only a product, but an artful object, an artifact.
As a person who enjoyed cooking (his grandfather was a chef) he recognized the value of cast iron cookware. But he wanted to evolve its design. He started playing with the handle design for his gorgeous cast iron skillets. The final handle concept was inspired by the beauty and grace of cherry branches deconstructed made to fit the human hand, resulting in an ergonomic, long, forked, asymmetrical, and curved handle with subtle edges and contours. The Nest Homeware cast iron skillet handles fit both left and right handed cooks.
A second design element Matt decided upon was to have the cooking surface of the cast iron cookware machined smooth all the way up the sidewalls, not only to improve cooking performance, but also to create a contrast to the textured appearance and feel of the exterior surfaces. All the Nest Homeware cast iron cookware which ranges from 4.5" & 9" skillets to dutch oven to braising pan plus their tops have a lovely, lustrous bronzy hue, the result of the seasoning process which involves pre-seasoning all the cast iron cookware with two rounds of organic flax seed oil. Eventually the coppery color will change, deepening and darkening over time as layers of seasoning build, eventually reaching a rich black.
So here you have a person who wears the designer's hat having made prototypes. Now he needs to acquire some business knowledge involving finding and negotiating with a foundry to cast the product, finding another company to smooth the cast iron products' surfaces, another company to create the packaging, plus either handling himself or hiring people to season and then package the cast iron cookware. The third hat required after all this, is the sales side of the business. Large businesses can hire sales, social and IT persons. A one or two person operation requires that they also have to be their own IT, social medial and sales person. A website and a presence on social media are required, but so is attending major housewares shows where stores can buy the products wholesale and attending major fairs where you would sell directly to the public. At some point raising money may also be required.
Honestly, even if one vaguely comprehends just part of what goes into a business via a podcast or two, the actual reality is often very different. You can put bullet points on all the aspects one should consider. But you can't factor in luck or success, no matter how many podcasts one listens to.
All I can say is good luck and plan on a lot of hard work. Hope for some lucky breaks. Go for it.
2016
Christie Digital w Gary Klassen
September 6, 2016 podcasts
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Gary Klassen from Christie Digital.
Gary offers awesome insight into keeping innovation at the forefront of Christie, the history of this landmark Kitchener company and life after BBM and Blackberry. Inspiring #StartupCrush deep thoughts too!
You can find Christie Digital on the web, on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Sortable w Chris Reid
August 30, 2016
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Chris Reid from Sortable.
Chris chats about the local startup landscape, publisher problems, mentors that have made a difference and more. Checkout the 3×3 and see who Chris thinks is doing a great job during #StartupCrush.
You can find Sortable on the web, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
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Geek Week w Sam Trieu & Darin White
August 23, 2016
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Darin White and Sam Trieu to chat Geek Week.
Maker Expo kicks off a ten day celebration of geeky passions spanning everything from beer to bikes to cars and coding?with Geek Week (Sept 10-24, 2016).
We chat the history of Geek Week, highlight the extraordinary league of organizers in Waterloo Region, and ask everyone to define what geek means to them.
You can find Geek Week on the web, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
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Horizon Engineering Solutions w Hariharan Krithivasan & Lucas Oldfield
August 16, 2016podcasts
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Hariharan Krithivasan & Lucas Oldfield from Horizon Engineering Solutions.
We chat AI for lights, cameras, temp and security. Really smart guys, doing really smart things.
You can find Horizon on the web, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here!
Share this with your peeps!
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Shinydocs w Jason Cassidy
August 7, 2016podcasts
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Jason Cassidy from Shinydocs.
Jason patiently explains what shinydocs is, why it is and what it took to make it so. Proud winners of the OpenText Global Technology Partner of the Year we put finger prints all over this shiny award. Awesome insight on Agile brainstorming, bootstrapping and customer validation. Listen to Jason’s wisdom now, before he takes over the world. Oh, and poker chips, poker chips and steaks.
You can find Shinydocs on the web, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, on YouTube and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here!
Share this with your peeps!
~~~~~
Tech Startup Podcast w Stephen & Amaris
July 19, 2016 podcasts
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson chat about the Tech Startup Podcast and it’s 100th episode. It’s really meta and narcissistic, check it out!
You can find TSPWeekly on the web and on Twitter.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here!
Share this with your peeps!
~~~~
DOZR w Erin Stephenson
July 10, 2016podcasts
Amaris, Brandon, Erin and Stephen
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Erin Stephenson from DOZR.
Erin talks about how their verified network of contractors make revenue from their idle equipment. 1600 contractors agree from all across Canada. 3X3, #StartupCrush and being nice to your local construction worker are all covered!
You can find DOZR on the web, on Twitter, on LinkedIn and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here!
Share this with your peeps!
~~~~
Fierce Founders Bootcamp w Danielle Graham
July 3, 2016 podcasts
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Danielle Graham from Communitech
Danielle talks about the Women in Tech, Fierce Founders Bootcamp. Starting as a co-op student, Danielle has grown with the program and is now it’s leader! Two 3 day sessions attended by 25 international companies. Check out the company list here. Listen to Stephen mistake Rachel for Rachel, two very fierce founders & Danielle chat about the ‘just announced‘ Fierce Founders Accelerator, an extension of the Bootcamp.
You can find the Fierce Founders Bootcamp program on the web, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here!
Share this with your peeps!
~~~~
Distillery Labs w Josh Hillis
June 28, 2016podcasts
Josh Hillis, Amaris and Stephen
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview Josh Hillis from Distillery Labs
Josh explains how bridging the gap between starting up and long term leasing is vital to many local young companies, shares some Waterloo history, talks Pair Mobile & Flykyt (pronounced flick-it) and talks at length about his #StartupCrush that is in stealth mode.
You can find Distillery Labs on the web, on Twitter, and on LinkedIn.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Share this with your peeps!
~~~~~
NeverForgetPhoto w David Wilk
June 20, 2016 podcasts
Stephen, Amaris & David
Stephen Campbell & Amaris Gerson interview David Wilk from NeverForgetPhoto
David explains how his new DIY photo booth is his value proposition, Amaris is a dr. of ‘Tickle chests’, bootstrapping from the garage and standing out from the crowd are all discussed. Plus Australia and a park bench…
You can find NeverForgetPhoto on the web, on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
If you want to check out the video of this podcast, check out TechFarm on YouTube.
If you have any comments, questions, criticism, or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment at the TSPWeekly website, and remember to follow us on Twitter @tspweekly.
Download this episode here! Share this with your peeps!
Episode List
Here is a list of all TSP Weekly episodes from newest to oldest. Click on any episode to see the episode description and listen to the episode with the web player. There is a link at the end of each episode description if you want to download the episode directly.
All episodes
- Christie Digital w Gary Klassen
- Sortable w Chris Reid
- Geek Week w Sam Trieu & Darin White
- Horizon Engineering Solutions w Hariharan Krithivasan & Lucas Oldfield
- Shinydocs w Jason Cassidy
- Tech Startup Podcast w Stephen & Amaris
- DOZR w Erin Stephenson
- Fierce Founders Bootcamp w Danielle Graham
- Distillery Labs w Josh Hillis
- NeverForgetPhoto w David Wilk
- Igloo Software w Dan Latendre
- MAJiK Systems w Jared Evans & Kamal Aman
- Ways We Work w Amandah Wood & Matt Quinn
- Knowledgehook w Co-Founder Travis Ratnam
- bridgit w CEO Mallorie Brodie
- RideCo w Prem Gururajan
- Episode 90 - Communitech
- Episode 89 - BuildDirect
- Episode 88 - BluePoint
- Episode 87 - Alaunus
- Episode 86 - Tech Farm
- Episode 85 - Site2Site
- Special Episode 84 - 43North
- Episode 83 - HimHer
- Episode 82 - Sweet Tooth
- Episode 81 - CodeConnect
- Episode 80 - Armodilo
- Episode 79 - TextNow
- Episode 78 - FunnelCake
- Episode 77 - Pitstop
- Episode 76 - FHMatch
- Episode 75 - Roadmunk
- Episode 74 - Pressa Bottle
- Episode 73 - CodeFest Waterloo
- Episode 72 - TSP Weekly
- Episode 71 - Arylla
- Episode 70 - Startup Weekend Guelph
- Episode 69 - Top Score Baseball
- Episode 68 - Grocera
- Episode 67 - Marketing & PR 2
- Episode 66 - Vidya
- Episode 65 - Yumr
- Episode 64 - VotR
- Episode 63 - Georgette Packaging
- Episode 62 - Ambient Intelligence Conference
- Episode 61 - Bartesian
- Episode 60 - Marketing & PR
- Episode 59 - Silqe
- Episode 58 - LaniLabs
- Episode 57 - Redtree Robotics
- Episode 56 - Aterlo
- Episode 55 - Year of Code Waterloo Region
- Episode 54 - Videostream
- Episode 53 - Vubble
- Episode 52 - Focus21
- Episode 51 - HackerNest (update)
- Episode 50 - Magnet Forensics
- Episode 49 - AdVolve Media
- Episode 48 - Chalk.com
- Episode 47 - Breakfast!
- Episode 46 - TritonWear
- Episode 45 - MappedIn
- Episode 44 - Magnusmode
- Episode 43 - bitHound
- Episode 42 - PiinPoint
- Episode 41 - SpeakFeel
- Episode 40 - Pitch Day @ Conestoga VIDEO EDITION
- Episode 40 - Pitch Day at Conestoga College
- Episode 39 - Auvik
- Episode 38 - SparkGig
- Episode 37 - Grobo
- Episode 36 - Visibull
- Episode 35 - Studios.fm
- Episode 34 - CyberNorth Ventures
- Episode 33 - OneSet
- Episode 32 - NeuRecall
- Episode 31 - Palette
- Episode 30 - WeMesh
- Episode 29 - Clipter
- Episode 28 - Suncayr
- Episode 27 - Binary Tattoo
- Episode 26 - Wriber
- Episode 25 - DraftingSpace
- Episode 24 - Poet
- Episode 23 - GoalRecorder
- Episode 22 - Plasticity
- Episode 21 - Steve McCartney (Communitech)
- Episode 20 - Skywatch
- Episode 19 - This Is Your Out (TIYO)
- Episode 18 - Pout
- Episode 17 - Happenate
- Episode 16 - MyCareerCity
- Episode 15 - RENOMii
- Episode 14 - Mike Kirkup (Velocity)
- Episode 13 - Barbara Fennessy (Conestoga College)
- Episode 12 - Rockstar Cafe
- Episode 11 - MBlok
- Episode 10 - Bernie Roehl
- Episode 9 - Sam Legge (Communitech)
- Episode 8 - Echosims & Meersocial
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COMMENTS
Hello,
Enjoying your podcasts. I’m a recent tech founder located in Ancaster experiencing traction this year. I’m very interested in being interviewed. I’m signing up with Communitech as a member this month to get to know more of you in Kitchener/Waterloo etc. I might be outside your area and I can come to you but understand if you are limiting to your region only.
Jason
Jason Hamilton-Mascioli
April 27, 2016
My brothers and I have been working on an innovative, ecologically sound process to eliminate medical waste and other hazardous materials robotically. It's basically a self contained vessel outfitted with high tech capabilities to classify and sort waste using pre-trained AI control software.
This project is perfect for your podcast, and we would welcome an interview to excite your listeners with this new application of smart technology. We expect to have a number of our self-contained biomedical disposal units in place within the month.
Appreciate any insights you or your audience can provide. We're trying to create a startup that will contribute to the quality of life on planet earth.
Hope you have a great day
Sincerely,
Ozzy Ostegren
Brian
April 29, 2016 at 5:01 am
I’m very sorry that I’m sending you a message that you probably never expected to get… I’m a first-year college student and as a part-time job I’m working for a small audio production studio here in Shanghai. Have you ever thought about outsourcing the production of your podcast overseas so that you could free up some of your precious time to create great content for your show instead of messing with sound editing? What our studio does is take your podcast recordings, edit out the parts that you don’t need, mix in your intro, outro, music, etc., normalize volume level and insert ID3 tags. Our rate is 8 bucks per episode and turnaround is 24 hours. And your very first episode is on us.
Additionally, we take tremendous pride in providing unlimited revision for every episode at no charge in case you’re not completely satisfied with our work.
Again I’m so sorry for bothering you, and I’ll take you off our contact list now so we won’t reach out to you again unless you are interested in giving our services a try.
Hope you have a great day
Sincerely,
Brian
More Background On TSPWeekly.com
TSPWeekly.com emerged during a particularly important period in the evolution of the Canadian technology startup scene, especially within the Kitchener-Waterloo region of Ontario. Active primarily between 2014 and 2016, the website functioned as the online home of the “Tech Startup Podcast” (TSP), a community-focused podcast that highlighted founders, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, and creative technologists involved in one of North America’s most dynamic emerging startup ecosystems.
Much more than a simple podcast archive, the site became a digital meeting ground that documented a specific moment in Canadian startup culture when Waterloo was rapidly transitioning from a Blackberry-dominated technology hub into a broader and more diversified innovation ecosystem.
The podcast adopted a relaxed, conversational format rather than the highly polished and corporate tone that characterized many technology podcasts of the era. The hosts intentionally tried to make discussions approachable, spontaneous, humorous, and community-oriented instead of sounding overly academic or corporate. That casual style became one of the defining characteristics of the project and helped distinguish it from many technology interview programs of the time.
Kitchener-Waterloo: Canada’s Startup Laboratory
To fully understand the significance of TSPWeekly, it is important to understand the environment in which it operated. Kitchener-Waterloo has long been regarded as one of Canada’s premier technology regions. Often compared to Silicon Valley on a smaller scale, the area developed a reputation for engineering excellence, startup experimentation, and technical innovation.
The region benefited enormously from the influence of the University of Waterloo, widely known for its co-op engineering and computer science programs. Waterloo graduates played major roles in the growth of companies such as Research In Motion (later Blackberry), OpenText, Christie Digital, Desire2Learn, and numerous software startups that emerged throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.
By the mid-2010s, the area was undergoing a major transition. Blackberry’s decline created uncertainty but also released a large number of talented engineers, designers, developers, and product managers into the local startup ecosystem. Many former Blackberry employees launched companies of their own or joined early-stage ventures.
Organizations such as Communitech, the Velocity incubator, and numerous coworking spaces helped support this entrepreneurial wave. TSPWeekly effectively became a media chronicle of that transition period.
Rather than focusing only on billion-dollar companies or celebrity founders, the podcast highlighted smaller startups, local innovators, university-affiliated projects, makerspaces, niche software firms, hardware creators, and first-time entrepreneurs. In doing so, it documented the grassroots energy that defined Waterloo’s startup culture during those years.
The Hosts and Their Community-Oriented Approach
One reason TSPWeekly resonated with listeners was the personalities of its hosts. In 2016, the podcast was primarily hosted by Amaris Gerson and Stephen Campbell.
Amaris Gerson was deeply involved in the Waterloo technology community through organizations such as HackerNest KW and Magnet Forensics. Her background combined community relations, event organization, and technology culture. She brought enthusiasm, humor, and social energy to the interviews, helping guests feel comfortable and conversational.
Stephen Campbell represented a different side of the startup world. Coming from an IT Innovation & Design background and working with Grobo as a Product Development Specialist, he embodied the blend of technical thinking and entrepreneurial ambition that defined many Waterloo founders. His interests in product development, design thinking, and startup experimentation fit naturally within the show’s format.
The broader TSP team also included Darren, an entrepreneur whose background ranged from linguistics and youth ministry to startup incubation and Ruby on Rails development. This unusual combination of experiences reflected the eclectic and multidisciplinary nature of startup culture itself.
The chemistry between hosts mattered because the show avoided sounding like a formal business interview series. Guests were encouraged to talk honestly about failures, experiments, pivots, personal motivations, and startup realities.
A Podcast Focused on Humanizing Technology
One of the most interesting aspects of TSPWeekly was its effort to humanize entrepreneurship. Many startup publications focus heavily on funding rounds, valuations, technical jargon, or business metrics. TSPWeekly instead emphasized personalities, local culture, collaboration, and storytelling.
The website’s archived materials reveal a deliberate effort to make the startup scene feel accessible rather than intimidating. This was especially important during an era when startup culture could often appear elitist or excessively focused on venture capital success stories.
A particularly revealing commentary from a webmaster involved with the project described how the creative direction intentionally tried to avoid becoming “another wall of startup text and episode summaries.” According to the reflection, the creative team wanted the site to feel visually alive, personal, and community-driven rather than cold or overly technical.
An important contributor to that identity was photographer Rue Sakayama, described as a RISD-trained artist whose photography dramatically changed the atmosphere of the website. Her visual storytelling reportedly helped founders and startup guests appear authentic and approachable instead of corporate or staged.
This emphasis on visual warmth aligned perfectly with the podcast’s conversational tone. The result was a site that felt more like a creative community hub than a typical startup news portal.
Episode Topics and the Diversity of the Waterloo Ecosystem
The episode archive provides an unusually detailed snapshot of Waterloo’s mid-2010s startup scene. Rather than covering only software companies, TSPWeekly explored a wide range of sectors and ideas.
Some episodes focused on established technology organizations, including:
- Christie Digital
- Shinydocs
- Igloo Software
- TextNow
- Sortable
Other episodes highlighted emerging startups and niche innovators such as:
- DOZR
- Roadmunk
- MappedIn
- Magnusmode
- TritonWear
The show also explored community-building initiatives and cultural events including Geek Week, HackerNest, startup bootcamps, accelerator programs, and entrepreneurship education initiatives.
This variety mattered because it demonstrated that Waterloo’s startup ecosystem extended beyond software engineering alone. Hardware startups, AI companies, robotics ventures, accessibility platforms, maker culture, educational technology, and community organizations all appeared side-by-side.
Women in Tech and Inclusive Startup Conversations
Another notable aspect of TSPWeekly was its support for diversity and inclusion within the startup community. Several episodes focused directly on women in technology and leadership programs.
One example was the episode featuring Danielle Graham discussing the Fierce Founders Bootcamp organized through Communitech. The program focused on supporting women-led startups and helping female entrepreneurs gain mentorship, visibility, and access to growth opportunities.
At a time when gender imbalance in technology entrepreneurship was receiving increasing public attention, TSPWeekly helped amplify these conversations at the regional level. Instead of treating diversity initiatives as separate from “mainstream” startup culture, the podcast integrated them naturally into broader ecosystem discussions.
This inclusive approach helped reinforce the idea that Waterloo’s innovation community was collaborative rather than purely competitive.
Startup Culture Beyond Silicon Valley Stereotypes
TSPWeekly also offered a distinctly Canadian perspective on entrepreneurship. Many American startup podcasts emphasized aggressive scaling, venture capital hype, disruption narratives, and celebrity founder mythology.
The Waterloo startup scene portrayed on TSPWeekly often felt more grounded and community-oriented. Conversations regularly focused on practical realities such as:
- Bootstrapping
- Customer validation
- Product development
- Shared coworking spaces
- Collaboration between startups
- Community mentorship
- Technical problem solving
- Regional economic development
Guests frequently discussed mistakes, pivots, and uncertainty in candid ways. This honesty gave the podcast credibility among listeners who understood that startup life rarely follows idealized narratives.
The show’s recurring “StartupCrush” segments and conversational humor further distinguished it from highly formal business media.
The Influence of Communitech and Local Institutions
Few organizations appeared more frequently throughout the TSPWeekly archive than Communitech. Founded in 1997, Communitech became one of the most influential innovation hubs in Canada and played a major role in the Waterloo startup ecosystem.
Communitech provided mentorship, accelerator support, networking opportunities, and investor connections for hundreds of startups. TSPWeekly frequently featured Communitech leaders, affiliated founders, and ecosystem initiatives.
The podcast also intersected heavily with University of Waterloo culture, Conestoga College programs, and the broader educational ecosystem that fueled regional innovation.
This institutional support structure helped Waterloo develop a startup density that far exceeded what might normally be expected for a mid-sized Canadian region.
TSPWeekly as a Historical Snapshot
Today, one of the most valuable aspects of TSPWeekly.com is its historical significance. The archived episodes effectively preserve a moment in Canadian startup culture during a period of rapid transition.
Many companies featured on the show evolved significantly after their appearances. Some grew into successful businesses, some pivoted, some disappeared entirely, and others were acquired. As a result, the podcast archive functions almost like a time capsule documenting the ambitions and ideas circulating through Waterloo’s innovation scene in real time.
This historical value becomes especially important when considering how quickly startup ecosystems change. Technologies, trends, coworking spaces, accelerators, and business models evolve rapidly. Podcasts like TSPWeekly captured the atmosphere, optimism, anxieties, and creativity of that specific entrepreneurial era.
Community Engagement and Audience Interaction
The site also fostered active audience participation. Archived comments reveal founders, students, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs reaching out to the hosts with startup ideas, interview requests, and collaboration opportunities.
Listeners praised the show for giving exposure to local startups that might otherwise struggle for visibility. Entrepreneurs viewed the podcast as both a networking opportunity and a platform for sharing ideas with the broader community.
This interactive dimension reinforced the sense that TSPWeekly was not simply broadcasting content outward. It was participating directly within the startup ecosystem it covered.
The comments section reflected the optimism common within emerging startup communities. Founders described new AI projects, clean technology concepts, biomedical innovations, and investment initiatives while seeking feedback and visibility.
Design, Visual Identity, and User Experience
Unlike many startup-oriented sites of the period that leaned heavily toward minimalist corporate aesthetics, TSPWeekly attempted to maintain warmth and personality.
The involvement of creative contributors such as Rue Sakayama reportedly played a major role in shaping the visual identity. Her photography emphasized authenticity rather than polished corporate branding.
This design philosophy aligned with broader mid-2010s trends emphasizing storytelling, founder authenticity, and community-driven branding. The site sought to make entrepreneurship feel relatable rather than intimidating.
The website also balanced functionality with personality. Episodes were organized clearly, downloadable, and integrated with social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
The inclusion of video versions through TechFarm on YouTube further expanded the project’s multimedia reach.
Sponsorships and Sustainability
Like many independent podcasts, TSPWeekly relied on sponsorship support. One prominent sponsor was Igloo Software, a digital workplace and intranet company headquartered in Waterloo Region.
Sponsorships helped legitimize the podcast within the regional tech ecosystem while also demonstrating that local companies recognized the value of startup-focused community media.
The sponsorship relationships also reflected how interconnected Waterloo’s tech community had become. Companies supported ecosystem-building projects because they understood that strengthening the broader innovation culture ultimately benefited everyone involved.
Broader Cultural and Social Significance
Although TSPWeekly focused on technology startups, its broader significance extended into regional identity and cultural development.
The podcast helped define how Waterloo perceived itself during a transformative economic era. Following Blackberry’s decline, there was uncertainty about whether Waterloo could remain globally relevant as a technology center. TSPWeekly documented the emergence of a more diversified innovation ecosystem capable of evolving beyond a single dominant company.
The site also reinforced values commonly associated with Canadian startup culture:
- Collaboration over hyper-competition
- Community mentorship
- Accessibility
- Technical creativity
- Grassroots innovation
- Practical entrepreneurship
- Inclusivity
These values differentiated Waterloo from more aggressive startup cultures often associated with Silicon Valley mythology.
The Legacy of TSPWeekly.com
Though the site’s primary activity period appears relatively brief, TSPWeekly left behind an unusually rich archive of startup culture during a pivotal moment in Canadian innovation history.
Today, the site serves several functions simultaneously:
- A podcast archive
- A regional technology history resource
- A snapshot of mid-2010s startup culture
- A record of Waterloo entrepreneurship
- A case study in community-driven media
- A networking chronicle of founders and innovators
For researchers examining Canadian technology ecosystems, TSPWeekly provides insight into how local startup communities organized themselves socially and culturally during an important transitional period.
For entrepreneurs and listeners, the site remains a reminder that startup ecosystems are ultimately built not just through funding and technology, but through conversations, collaboration, storytelling, and community relationships.
TSPWeekly captured those human elements exceptionally well.
4 thoughts on “About”
Rachel Bartholomew
December 12, 2014
Hi TSP Team,
My name is Rachel Bartholomew and I am a recent graduate of the MBET program at University of Waterloo. I work with the Conrad Centre for Entrepreneurship and also have started an investment fund locally in Waterloo called CyberNorth Ventures, which will be making seed stage investments into strictly Waterloo born and raised companies.
I was wondering if you guys would be free to talk about your TSPWeekly podcast, your view on the Waterloo region and the start-up scene and maybe some companies/ideas you are really excited about in the region.
Let me know if you are interested! I really like what you guys are doing to shed light on some really great start-ups that might not get the exposure they deserve within Waterloo!
Thanks,