The Profit or Pivot Podcast

Max Abergel signed one of the most influential rappers in the world without an intro, a résumé, or permission. He literally slipped past security and walked into a green room.

That moment led to a long-term partnership with Waka Flocka Flame, an artist with diamond-certified records, collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Drake, and a brand that stretches far beyond music into business, philanthropy, and politics.

But this episode isn...

Every brand is trying to influence you but only a few succeed. Why? Because great brands understand human psychology better than their competitors.

In this episode of the Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Rena Nickerson, the General Manager of the Quaker and Sabra brands in Canada, who has spent her career understanding how people think, what motivates them, and how to turn that into real business growth.

We go deep into the...

Ever wondered how the Russian oligarchs were made? This episode gives you a glimpse into that world… through someone who lived it, built through it, and survived it.

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, Matan speaks with Marat Ressin, an entrepreneur who built and bought over 30 businesses after the fall of the Soviet Union, escaped the rising control of the KGB to Canada, and went on to build the #1 ranked university-li...

By his mid 20's, Ryan Henry became Head of Engineering for a fast growing mobile game developer. It was his first exposure to scaling a tech company, which he later leveraged at Freshbooks, a Canadian "unicorn" startup (over $1 billion valuation). At Freshbooks, Ryan hired 100 engineers in 1 year, a real rocket ship. He shares his insights on scaling a business, hiring the best people, how AI will change the tech landscape, and oth...

Geoff became an accidental entrepreneur building a 150 employee business and becoming a prolific angel investor with investments that include a $500 MILLION exit.

Geoff's journey illustrates the unpredictable path of entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and being open to unexpected opportunities. Geoff and I discuss how to build a business, the many tough choices one has to make, and t...

By age 22, Alex Siplyarsky failed in his 1st business, was $40,000 in debt, and had his 1st child on the way.

Life looked bleak and he didn't know how to dig himself out of this deep hole. However, Alex defied the odds. Initially struggling with sales, he transformed his life by understanding what makes buyers tick and how to overcome an initial "no" and influence people to buy.

Starting with the humble beginnings of selling chocol...

🏠 Is Canada’s dream of home ownership officially dead?

In this episode of the Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Mark Freedman, entrepreneur, investor, and former Head of Product who helped lead a startup to a $100M+ exit, to talk about building and scaling businesses, product leadership, and why real estate in Canada and other major cities is becoming increasingly out of reach.

Mark shares how he helped grow a SaaS company ...

Join me as I sit down with Jeremy Zuker, a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully built and sold multiple marketplace startups.

In this insightful conversation, we'll delve into: Growth Strategies: Learn how Jeremy scaled WagJag to 180 employees and $50 million in revenue.

• Bootstrapping Success: Discover why Jeremy chose to avoid venture capital and the benefits of bootstrapping.
• Overcoming Challenges: Hear about the tough...

🇨🇦 Canada is not the country it once was.

Economic stagnation, failing institutions, rising crime, a massive brain drain, a housing crisis, and a political class unwilling to confront the growing divisions and hatred. In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Melissa Lantsman, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, to discuss what’s gone wrong in Canada and what it will take to fix it.

Melissa of...

How do you build a venture capital firm in a market that isn’t mature? And what does it mean to be an entrepreneur shaped by experiences in Iran, Israel, and Canada?

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Sion (Zion) Balass, co-founder and Managing Partner of The Group Ventures, a Toronto-based VC firm. Sion shares his remarkable journey, born in Iran to Iraqi Jewish parents, moving to Israel after the rev...

Are you an entrepreneur feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or questioning if you should keep going? You’re not alone. In this 21-minute compilation, we've pulled together the most powerful insights from guests of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, founders, investors, and business leaders who have faced struggles just like you.

This episode is packed with real talk and actionable strategies to help you:

• Push through doubt and failure
• Build...

Jonathan built a successful news app that reached the top 10 on Apple's app store and decided to let the startup fail. In this video, Jonathan and I discuss his winding journey as a startup founder, the challenges he faced, why he let his startup fail, and why and how he ultimately revived it.

Also, we discuss how he made a lot of money trading stocks, why he is bullish on crypto and why he thinks Ethereum is the future of money. A...

How can ancient Jewish wisdom guide the way we live, work, and build businesses today?

In this episode of the Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with R. Josh Kaller who is an entrepreneur, attorney, real estate investor, and community leader, to explore the intersection of Judaism, spirituality, and business. In addition to being a real estate attorney and investor, Rabbi Kaller is building a nonprofit like a business, where he ca...

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 succe...

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...

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 as...

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 pr...

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. ...