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Everything is degrading in major cities like Toronto.

Violent crime has skyrocketed, homelessness is rampant, living is increasingly unaffordable, and we are paying more in taxes & receiving worse services. In the latest episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast I am joined by Toronto City Councilman James Pasternak to discuss these myriad issues Toronto is facing.

One story I simply cannot wrap my head around.

A few months ago, a group of ISIS linked terrorists planned kidnappings of Jewish girls for r*pe, torture and ransom. Thank God, their first potential victim was able to escape by yelling for help. Police found weapons such as automatic rifles and plans for various attacks in their homes. And its been credibly reported that at least 1 of them has been released on bail.

Read that again:

A dangerous terrorist caught trying to kidnap girls, who has access to weapons, and a means to carry out attacks has been released. And I bet most of you haven't heard this story.

Its been buried.

Why???

While our discussion is about Toronto, the challenges we face are mirrored in other major cities across the West. James and I unpack some of the underlying causes, and potential solutions.

Watch on YouTube.

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ABOUT JAMES PASTERNAK

James was first elected to Toronto City Council in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Prior to coming to City Council he served 4 years as a Trustee on the Toronto District School Board. James is known for advancing creative solutions to complex urban problems and has been a leader in fighting antisemitism and hate in all its forms. James was the founding Trustee of the Africentric Alternative School, was the first to bring the concept of participatory budget making to Toronto, initiated the review of the consequences of drone technology and the implications of e-cigarettes. He was the first on Council to sound the alarm of the consequences of tariffs and a potential trade war with the United States. James currently serves as Chair of North York Community Council and has Chaired a number of City Council standing committees. He is a lifelong resident of York Centre.

Jim Ferry, a Partner at Volition Capital with $1.7B AUM, recently posted a VC analyst role and received 2,500 applications in one week.

That number alone says everything. In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, we unpack what that level of competition really means, why traditional career advice is broken, and how hiring managers actually think when they’re flooded with applicants who all look the same on paper.

If you’re trying to get hired into a competitive role, this episode will force you to rethink your approach. This conversation isn’t about polishing résumés or gaming LinkedIn. It’s about thinking like the person doing the hiring.

We get into:

• What 2,500 applications for one role tells us about the job market
• Why credentials & grades matter less than most people think
• How candidates disqualify themselves before interviews
• What hiring managers are actually screening for
• Common resume and interviewing mistakes
• How to position yourself when competition is extreme

His perspective on investing in the age of AI This episode is a wake-up call for anyone trying to break into competitive roles especially in VC, startups, and high-performance environments. If you want to get hired, promoted, or taken seriously, this conversation will change how you approach your career.

🎧 Listen now and rethink how you stand out.

About Jim Ferry

Jim is a Partner at Volition Capital, a Boston-based Series A / Series B growth equity firm with over $1.7B in assets under management. Volition invests ~$15M to ~$60M in technology startups with a ~$5M+ run rate. Since joining the firm in 2014, Jim has focused on high-growth, founder-owned companies in the internet and consumer sectors. Jim specializes in high-volume transactional businesses across sectors including ad tech, marketplaces, fintech, consolidation platforms, and more, partnering with founders to scale their businesses efficiently.

Connect with Jim

X

LinkedIn

Volition Capital (email)

If you are a high growth startup with a ~$5M+ run rate looking to raise ~$15M-60M, feel free to reach out to Volition Capital:

dealflow@volitioncapital.com

Who you know in business is critical to your success, especially as a startup. And meeting the right people whether its best employees, partners, customers, and investors often requires networking and meeting new people in person.

But what if you're an introvert like me and dread networking and meeting new people in person?

There are a few simple and easy steps you can implement to overcome your fear, get out of your comfort zone and start meeting new people.

This advice is not limited to business events, but can be implemented more broadly, such as social events. This advice is borne out of my own experience as an introvert after realizing early on that in order to achieve my business and financial goals, I would have to get out of my comfort zone, and meet new people in person at scale. And its worked wonders for me!

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’t about celebrity. It’s about the operators behind the scenes, the people who turn influence into a business.

And Max didn’t come from music. He came from tech.

That initial pitch in the green room turned into an 11-year partnership spanning:

• Touring and brand deals

• Business operations and management

• Investments and exits

• Building businesses around a personal brand without diluting it

Waka Flocka Flame isn’t just a rapper, he’s a cultural force. Platinum records. Global tours. One of the defining voices of modern trap music. And someone who understood early that brand > product.

We get into:

• The wild story of how Max met Waka and why it worked

• How to turn proximity into partnership (without being transactional)

• Why brand affinity matters more than follower count

• The difference between selling hours vs. building leverage

• Lessons from working with one of the biggest artists in the world

• Why authenticity compounds over time

• What “escaping the matrix” actually looks like in real life

• Why most people miss opportunities that are right in front of them

• Why Wocka endorsed Trump for President before it was cool

If you’re a founder, creator, or operator trying to build something that lasts, this episode is a real-world lesson in how relationships become platforms.

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 mechanics of brand building, behavioral influence, and the subtle line between persuasion and manipulation. How do you shape perception? How do you create emotional attachment? Why do some brands scale to millions while others burn out?

Rena also opens up about her own corporate path: learning she was going to be fired, the wake-up moment that forced her to rethink her leadership style, and how that experience reshaped how she approaches communication, team dynamics, and personal identity and being Jewish in the corporate world today.

If you care about marketing, growth, influence, or building something that actually lasts, this episode is for you.

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About Rena Nickerson

Rena is a respected leader within the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. As General Manager, Quaker Canada, she has led a national team of 650 since 2023. Prior to that, she was GM, SodaStream Canada for 7 years, tripling the business.

Prior to joining PepsiCo as a GM, Rena started her career as a marketer on top brands such as Colgate, Campbell and Kraft. You can find her on LinkedIn, where she spends way too much time.

LinkedIn

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-linked business accelerator in the world.

Marat shares his unbelievable journey:

• Becoming the 22-year-old director of a government venture before the USSR collapse
• Buying Soviet factories about to go bankrupt and turning them into profitable businesses
• Facing pressure from the KGB to sell his companies and become one of their men
• Building major real estate and business turnaround projects in Canada
• Creating the York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) and training 2,000+ entrepreneurs
• His core lessons on communication, raising money, problem-driven business creation, and AI

This is one of the most insightful, candid, and inspiring founder stories you’ll hear.

About Marat Ressin

Marat is the founder of the York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI), a globally top-ranked university-linked accelerator, professor, turnaround specialist, real estate developer, and serial entrepreneur with 30+ business acquisitions across multiple industries.

Learn more about YEDI

Connect with Marat

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 other important learnings.

Ryan also launched a startup and now runs a VC fund, Sand Hill North, where he invests in Seed stage companies in Canada and the US.

In this conversation, we focus a lot on what is considered a venture scalable business, how VCs think through an investment, and why entrepreneurs need to adopt a VC scalable perspective if they choose to raise money.

Entrepreneurs and investors will gain a lot from hearing Ryan's perspective.

Don't miss out!

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About Ryan Henry

Ryan manages venture investments at Sand Hill North, focusing on pre-seed and seed B2B software in Canada and the US. They invest in day-0 companies with a particular focus on robotics, energy and AI. Previously, Ryan co-founded Wisely, an AI-powered fundraising enablement platform for charities, and scaled FreshBooks from their series-A.

With over a decade of leadership experience, Ryan has built SaaS, AI, fintech, mobile games and AR apps and worked with brands like Disney, Mattel, and McDonald's.

Connect with Ryan

Website

LinkedIn

X: @IAmRyanHenry