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Megan MacQuarrie, Business Operations Specialist for Opencare, is photographed in the company's downtown Toronto office, on April 25 2019. Opencare, a company that helps patients find dentists, spends about $50,000 on coaching for its team per year, and it's been particularly well-received by younger or less-experienced employees, a group that typically faces different challenges than management.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The latest perk for tech companies wooing talent: on site career coaching
In Showtime’s Billions, performance coach Wendy Rhoades offers a valuable service to hedge fund Axe Capital: helping insecure traders feel confident so they can focus on making money. Story
Direct-to-consumer brands are becoming massive - but Canada is falling behind
Direct to consumer (DTC) is the hot new category for investors in the United States. With rising brands such as makeup company Glossier and luggage company Away, it’s no secret that such large conglomerates as Procter & Gamble Co. and General Mills, Inc. are feeling threatened. This huge shift from large-scale consumer packaged goods (CPG) to indie brands is obvious to everyone – consumers, founders, retailers, investors – but Canada risks being left behind. Story
Hootsuite lays off nearly 10 per cent of workforce after failed attempt to sell company
Vancouver social-media management company Hootsuite Inc. laid off nearly 10 per cent of its work force Tuesday, sources said, as it seeks to cut costs following an abandoned plan to sell the company. Story
Moosehead and Sproutly partner on cannabis-infused beverages
Moosehead Breweries Ltd. is the latest beverage company to form a joint venture to enter the cannabis-infused beverage market in Canada once it is legalized. An affiliate of the independent brewer, OCC Holdings Inc., is partnering with Sproutly Canada Inc. to develop, produce and market non-alcoholic beverages using Sproutly’s naturally-produced water soluble cannabinoids. Story
BMO to launch tech-focused banking group
Bank of Montreal will launch a new banking group focused on technology companies Tuesday, joining the growing ranks of financial-services companies servicing a sector they long deemed risky. Story
Plenty of Fish founder Markus Frind sets his sights on B.C. wine industry
Markus Frind became one of British Columbia’s richest individuals by helping people fall in love. Now the billionaire entrepreneur hopes to create another fortune by becoming the toast of the province’s wine industry. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Vancouver council approves 2% tax shift from businesses to homeowners
Vancouver businesses being squeezed by the city’s high real estate prices are getting some relief from City Hall. On Monday, council voted to shift 2 per cent of the tax burden from businesses to homeowners. Global News
No growth: Canada’s craft cannabis producers mired in red tape
Six months after recreational cannabis became legal in Canada, only one company in the entire country holds a licence for craft production, but that’s not discouraging micro-producers from gearing up to enter the legal market. CTV News
New Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce hopes to give business owners a ‘unified voice’
When Lola Adeyemi decided to leave behind a career in information technology to start her own line of African-inspired soups and stews, it seemed there was no one she could really relate to who could guide her through the process of starting her own business. CBC
Could bike couriers be unionized? Labour drive aims to set a precedent for the gig economy
When Foodora bike courier Hunter Sanassian limped into the online delivery giant’s downtown office, bleeding and in shock after being smashed by a car door, he was hoping staff could offer a little help. Instead, he says he ended up retrieving his own first aid kit and bandaging himself. Toronto Star