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Gissele Taraba has built her career on sharing the transformative power of love and compassion. A TEDx speaker, author, professor and researcher, she is the owner of the Maitri Centre for Love and Compassion, which offers training, workplace support and a podcast titled Love and Compassion with Gissele. Her team is currently producing a documentary, Courage to Love: The Power of Compassion, to further explore these themes.
The idea for the business began with her podcast. While working in the child protection system, Taraba sought to bring compassion into child welfare and interviewed a woman who had introduced compassion into the U.S. prison system. That conversation sparked a realization that such stories needed to be shared more widely. She believes self-love, self-compassion and compassion for others are essential to building a fairer, more equitable world.
The Maitri Centre is guided by the values of love, compassion, voice and innovation. Taraba and her team believe everyone is deserving of love and should feel heard in an inclusive and respectful way. They also use research-driven methods to help improve systems and outcomes. Her advice to fellow Laurier alumni starting a business is to follow their dreams, believe in themselves and persevere through the inevitable “no’s” along the way, never losing sight of their vision.
Julie Diamond saw an opportunity after graduating from the University of Toronto’s Teachers College during a recession. Faced with limited teaching opportunities, she recognized both an abundance of passionate, qualified educators and a growing number of families seeking extra academic support for their children. She launched Diamond Teachers Group to connect those families with certified teachers, building partnerships with schools and supporting thousands of students in the process.
Diamond Teachers Group is helping students across Canada gain skills, confidence, and a love for learning through personalized online tutoring. The team of certified teachers offers one-on-one sessions for elementary and high school students, aligning lessons with the school curriculum while tailoring them to each learner’s interests and needs. By fostering supportive connections, setting clear goals, and offering mindfulness tutoring, the group helps students build confidence and resilience, supporting their growth both academically and personally.
The business is guided by the values of connection, growth and empowerment. Its mission goes beyond academics to include building student confidence, encouraging self-advocacy and ensuring every learner feels seen and supported. Diamond’s advice to other alumni considering entrepreneurship is to hold on to their passion and self-belief, seek out a network of fellow business owners and trust their vision even through moments of uncertainty.
Jackie Donald has found a way to combine her love of reading with her keen sense of smell through her business, Onset & Rime. The company creates premium soy candles with imaginative scents inspired by books, each one designed to evoke the scenes, characters, places and themes from beloved stories.
The idea took shape during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Donald had been keeping a list of book passages that described scents she thought would make great candles but couldn’t find anything similar on the market. She shared the idea with her sister, who had a background in marketing and operations and had been looking for a business venture of her own. They decided to give it a try and now run the business part-time, selling through their online store and a select group of Ontario retailers.
Onset & Rime is guided by values of quality, uniqueness and social responsibility. Donald and her sister use high-quality materials to produce long-lasting candles with distinctive scents found only in their collection. Her advice to fellow Laurier alumni considering entrepreneurship is to start small, focus on taking action and aim for progress over perfection.
Robyn Hobbs has turned her passion for sustainability and style into Le Prix, an award-winning fashion and consulting business she launched while studying Environmental Studies and Business at Laurier. What began as a personal styling project has grown into a global platform offering curated second-hand fashion, wardrobe consulting, public speaking and sustainability coaching for small businesses. Alongside timeless clothing collections, Le Prix offers eco-conscious skincare, plastic-free beauty essentials, garment care tools and reusable home goods, helping customers make mindful choices that align with their values.
Hobbs’ interest in sustainability started early, from a grade-school project on deforestation to a teenage article about child labour in the fashion industry. During her time at Laurier, she began thrifting outfits for herself and was often asked to style friends, which eventually grew into by-appointment sessions and curated collections sourced from her travels. Over the years, Le Prix has diverted more than 3.3 tonnes of waste from landfills, achieved carbon-neutral shipping, collaborated with over 25 community partners and supported other small businesses through mentorship.
Guided by values of sustainability, compassion, empowerment and integrity, Le Prix works to make conscious fashion inclusive and accessible. Hobbs encourages fellow Laurier alumni to start before they feel ready, stay open to learning and trust themselves to adapt as their business evolves. For her, some of the greatest growth has come from purposeful pivots, including shifting from a storefront to focus on e-commerce and consulting after becoming a parent, allowing her to deepen her impact while staying true to her values.
Jenn Bieri is helping leaders grow their impact without sacrificing their well-being through her company, The Practice Space. The Canadian leadership development business works with both individuals and organizations, blending high-performance leadership training with the inner work needed to lead with clarity, compassion and authenticity. Services range from 1:1 coaching, group programs and integrative modalities such as energy work, to custom-designed leadership programs, executive coaching, strategy offsites and team workshops. The goal is simple: help people lead better, live better and create workplaces where both people and business can thrive.
Bieri’s path to entrepreneurship was shaped early by her father, who ran two businesses and encouraged her to follow her passion. She began her career as a CPA, but the pandemic reignited her interest in building something of her own. After launching a wellness-focused YouTube channel with her partner, she left her corporate role and discovered coaching. Her experience scaling a global tech company gave her a front-row seat to the demands placed on leaders—and the consequences of burnout and poor leadership. She founded The Practice Space to provide the tools, support and space leaders need to succeed sustainably, while also helping entrepreneurs stay connected to the life they envisioned when they started.
Guided by values of human connection, excellence and sustainability, Bieri is committed to shaping the future of leadership development with depth, integrity and intentionality. Her advice to fellow Laurier alumni is to just start, even before they feel ready. The clarity, she says, comes from taking action, learning through experience, adapting along the way and allowing the journey itself to shape the business you want to build.
Alikhan Popat, Clyde D'Souza and Nibin Thomas are helping young athletes reach their full potential through Football for the World Development (FFTW Development), a training academy dedicated to developing soccer players of all skill levels. Based in the KW region, FFTW Development offers year-round programs designed to improve technical skills, tactical awareness and overall performance on the field. The organization operates through two main branches: the FFTW Academy, which features elite U8–U18 teams competing in leagues and tournaments, and its Development Programs, which include seasonal sessions, summer camps and personalized training for players ages 5–15. The goal is to provide a fun yet challenging environment where players can grow both individually and as part of a team.
The idea for FFTW Development grew from the success of its sister organization, Football for the World Foundation, which focuses on improving the lives of children globally by providing access to equipment, safe playing fields and quality coaching. After working with Arsenal F.C. and gaining experience at the highest levels of the sport, Popat, D'Souza and Thomas saw an opportunity to bring that same quality of training to local players. FFTW Development was launched as a standalone business to focus on helping athletes in the KW region sharpen their skills while also supporting their growth as individuals.
Guided by the motto “Forever Moving Forward,” FFTW Development’s values centre on perseverance, player-focused training and personal growth. Popat, D'Souza and Thomas aim to give players the tools they need to succeed on and off the field, whether they aspire to play professionally, compete at the collegiate level or simply improve their game. Their advice to fellow Laurier alumni considering entrepreneurship is to follow their passion, build a strong support network and keep pushing forward, even when challenges arise. For them, success comes from surrounding yourself with like-minded people, staying resilient through setbacks and continuing to move toward your goals.
Megan Snider is helping shape the next generation’s health and well-being through her business, Appleseed Yoga. Founded in 2017, Appleseed is a mobile kids yoga company that works in schools and daycares while also training people to become skilled kids’ yoga instructors. Snider, the author of A Kids Book About Yoga, is a sought-after kids yoga teacher and trainer passionate about children’s holistic health. Her programs combine yoga, mindfulness and nature to help kids build balance and resilience while creating inclusive spaces for all.
The idea for Appleseed came shortly after Snider completed her kids’ yoga certification and realized her own toddler had nowhere to practice yoga. Seeing a gap in the market, she launched Appleseed at a time when few schools or families had access to kids’ yoga programming. Since then, she has implemented yoga in more than 50 schools and daycares, built a team of 15 instructors, created a virtual studio with over 300 classes, led more than 1,500 classes in 2023 alone and developed a kids yoga teacher training curriculum that has certified 30 new instructors. Her book has reached readers worldwide, further spreading her mission to make yoga more accessible for children and families.
Appleseed’s work is grounded in the values of preservation of self, connection to nature and social justice. Snider and her team help kids build strong relationships with themselves, teach respect for the natural world and foster inclusive, equitable spaces for all families. Her advice to fellow Laurier alumni considering entrepreneurship is to prioritize self-awareness and continuous learning. She believes that knowing yourself deeply, understanding when to push and when to rest and trusting your own inner guidance are key to building and sustaining a business over the long term.
Erin Wong is helping professional women navigate one of life’s most challenging transitions through her business, Thriving Minds at Work. She specializes in supporting women experiencing the pressures of mid-life, perimenopause and new or suspected ADHD and mental health diagnoses. Her mission is to help clients move beyond the constant struggle of keeping up and instead feel accomplished, confident and proud of their progress.
The idea for Thriving Minds at Work came from Wong’s personal and professional journey. After years of working as an executive in the tech industry while managing the demands of mid-life, she hit burnout and decided to leave her corporate career. Through her own process of improving executive function skills, she discovered how many women receive late-in-life diagnoses of ADHD, ASD, anxiety or depression and how few resources exist to support them. Combined with the executive function challenges that often arise during perimenopause, Wong saw a significant gap in care. Drawing on her new certification as an executive function coach, she launched Thriving Minds at Work to help women navigate these challenges with compassion and practical tools.
Guided by values of curiosity, learning, compassion, trust and empowerment, Wong strives to create an environment where clients feel psychologically safe and supported as they grow. Her advice to fellow Laurier alumni considering entrepreneurship is to expect challenges and lean on their passion during difficult times. She recommends keeping reminders of motivation close at hand, as she does with her own personal list titled When Feeling Fear and Doubt, which she built from advice shared by successful entrepreneurs. For Wong, persistence, self-awareness and a strong connection to your “why” are key to building a business and sustaining it through uncertainty.
Juanita Metzger has spent more than 25 years helping people connect with their communities and now she has turned that passion into Stroll Walking Tours, a guided tour business exploring the rich and diverse stories of Waterloo Region. Based in Waterloo, Metzger and her team of nine local guides lead tours through Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and St. Jacobs covering everything from art and architecture to food, social history and hidden histories. Each guide not only researches and develops their own tour but also lives locally bringing an intimate knowledge of the area’s streets, landmarks and stories.
What sets Stroll apart is its dedication to uncovering histories that are often overlooked. The tours delve into narratives that have been forgotten, underrepresented or left untold, from the experiences of women and people of colour, to the unique Black history of both Kitchener and Cambridge. “We’re telling stories that could only happen here,” Metzger explains. “Making sure people can see their own histories reflected.” This approach expands beyond the familiar tales of European settler and Mennonite heritage ensuring a more inclusive and complete portrait of the region.
The inspiration for Stroll grew out of Metzger’s decades in community development and neighborhood engagement. She often used walking as a way to get to know communities using it not just for exploration but as a tool for community building and a way for people to share what they already knew about their neighborhoods. She also led and coached Jane’s Walks, free community walking tours held annually in honour of urbanist Jane Jacobs. When she realized no one in the Waterloo Region was offering professional guided walking tours, she decided to launch her own venture in 2018–2019.
Originally Stroll was envisioned to offer the occasional guided walk for visiting groups. But when COVID-19 disrupted tourism, Metzger had to rethink her business plan entirely. The shift led to a more robust year-round operation with a variety of themed tours each deeply researched and uniquely tailored to the communities they explore. Five years later, Stroll is a thriving enterprise with a loyal local following and a growing reputation among visitors.
For Metzger, the heart of the business comes down to three words: connectedness, hyperlocal, and belonging. She believes that walking tours do more than teach history, they foster a deeper relationship with places. “When people see their own knowledge and histories reflected in the stories we tell, it builds a sense of belonging,” she says. By focusing on narratives that could only emerge from Waterloo Region, Stroll creates experiences that feel both personal and rooted in place.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs reflects the same openness and curiosity that fuels her tours: “Talk to as many people as possible about your idea. Speak to professionals in your field but also to people in completely different industries. Diverse perspectives will challenge your thinking and help you avoid tunnel vision.” It is this spirit of curiosity, inclusion and connection that keeps Stroll Walking Tours and the communities it serves moving forward one step at a time.