It started in a hospital
I have told this story before, but it bears repeating because it is the honest origin of Built for Freedom.
My wife Erica had just given birth. The extended family had descended. She had a forced smile. And my phone rang.
One of my largest clients had an equipment problem...
I have always believed in data
Not instinct. Not gut feeling. Data.
Instinct is useful when it is informed by years of pattern recognition. But it is not a substitute for measurement. I learned that the hard way early in Solpak's history, when I kept a team member in a role to...
The problem the method was built to solve
I started coaching entrepreneurs because I kept meeting the same person.
Different industries, different cities, different ages. But the same essential problem: a founder who had built something real, something that worked, and who was completely trapped b...
The call came at the right moment
I had been following the Montreal Economic Institute for years before I became involved with it.
The MEI is one of Canada's most credible free-market think tanks. Its researchers produce work that influences policy, shapes public debate, and defends the kind of ec...
I did not expect to be moved by it
I have been recognized by chambers of commerce, industry associations, and federal programs. I understand what recognition is and what it is not.
When members of Quebec's National Assembly acknowledged Solpak's contribution to the province's economy and manufactu...
Being asked to evaluate other people's work is a particular responsibility
When the MEQ, Quebec's Ministry of Economy and Innovation, invited me to serve as a judge for their Innovation Awards, I did not take it lightly.
Judging is the opposite of the work I usually do. Coaching is about drawing o...
The federal government announced a National School Food Program in 2024.
One billion dollars over five years, with meals for 400,000 more children annually starting next school year.
Solpak supplies the packaging that makes school meal programs work. Compostable fibre trays wit...
Solpak exhibited at SIAL Canada in 2024.
The event drew more than 800 exhibitors from 55 countries. It is one of the largest food industry gatherings in North America.
For a packaging distribution company, an event like this is not about volume. It is about signal. The shif...
The problem with geography
Entrepreneur Sherpa started as a local practice. I was coaching founders in Montreal and the surrounding region. People who could meet me in person, who had context about the Quebec business environment, who knew the same market I knew.
That model worked. But it had a ce...
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Solpak has been named a finalist at the 44th edition of Les Mercuriades, in the Employer of the Year category.
Les Mercuriades is organized by the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec. It is one of the most prestigious business competitions in the province. Seventy-five...
It started with a submission I almost did not send
The CMAA Idea Fair is an annual showcase where North American professionals share what is working in their industries. The audience is serious. The bar is high.
When someone on my team suggested we submit Solpak's packaging appro...
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I am spending three days at the Enercare Center in Toronto.
The RC Show runs Sunday through Tuesday. Solpak has a booth on the East side. Number 1850.
Two of our team players are with me. Nicky Martineau just joined us as new products and solutions advisor for Ontario. Véronique ...
