Hustle & Grind

Some people build businesses. Justin Mulligan builds experiences. And somehow, he’s doing it inside one of the biggest companies in the country — with the freedom, creativity, and hustle of a founder. This episode is a masterclass in intrapreneurship: how to act like an entrepreneur even when you don’t technically own the business.
Mully’s story starts in one of London’s most iconic small‑business legacies — Pete’s Sports — where he grew up watching his dad and uncle grind, build relationships, and accidentally help launch Vaughn, one of the most legendary goalie equipment brands in hockey. That early exposure shaped everything: the hustle, the people skills, the instinct to create moments people remember.
Fast‑forward to today: Justin is the National Brand Experience Manager for Molson, designing massive festival activations, building speakeasies behind porta‑potties at Stampede, bringing 80s mascots to life as touring DJs, and dreaming up ideas that reach millions of people across Canada. Mechanical bulls, Instagram walls, custom jibbit bracelets — if you’ve seen something wild at Boots & Hearts or Rock the Park, there’s a good chance Mully was behind it.
But the real magic is his mindset. The imposter syndrome he still feels before every event. The notes app full of “fix this next year.” The obsession with making experiences better, tighter, more memorable. The belief that growth lives in discomfort. And the reminder that you don’t need to own a company to think like a founder — you just need to care enough to build something worth talking about.
This episode is pure energy, pure joy, and pure entrepreneurial spirit — even inside a 200‑year‑old beer company.

You don’t stumble into a skull‑cleaning business… unless you’re Katie Dortmans. What started as watching her brother boil deer heads in the backyard turned into one of the most fascinating niche businesses we’ve ever featured — and one of the most unexpectedly inspiring entrepreneurial journeys you’ll hear this year.
Katie went from a secure corporate job with a pension to running a full‑time skull‑cleaning operation powered by dermestid beetles — the same beetles used by museums like the ROM. She built her first colony in a 10×11 shed, took drop‑offs in a wheelie bin beside her house, and slowly grew a reputation for immaculate work that hunters across Ontario now swear by.
But the real story isn’t the skulls — it’s the leap. Katie talks openly about the slow burn of passion, the moment she realized she couldn’t keep one foot in the corporate world, and the mindset shift that pushed her to “burn the ships” and bet on herself. No leave of absence. No safety net. Just full commitment.
And then there’s the art. The part she hid for years. The part she never showed her face for on Instagram. The part that eventually pulled her into her first art show and forced her to admit: she’s not just an entrepreneur… she’s an artist.
This episode is weird, wonderful, and wildly motivating — proof that the most unconventional paths often lead to the most fulfilling work.

Luke Thomas didn’t plan on becoming an entrepreneur… and he definitely didn’t plan on running for City Council. But when COVID hit, when his business got squeezed, and when he watched small businesses get hammered while big corporations stayed open, something snapped — and he decided to do something most people only talk about.
This episode is a masterclass in taking action when everyone else is complaining. Luke goes from Western football to personal training, to accidentally building a meal‑prep company, to scaling it through COVID, to selling majority ownership, to now running for Ward 9 council — all before turning 30. It’s wild.
We get into the stuff entrepreneurs actually relate to: scaling too fast, making mistakes, trusting employees, learning to stop micromanaging, and the brutal reality of competing against giants like HelloFresh and GoodFood. Luke breaks down how he carved out a niche by focusing on quality, community, and relationships instead of ad spend.
But the real twist? Sports. Football shaped how he hires, how he leads, how he builds systems, and how he thinks about community. Coaching shaped his worldview. And now he’s applying that same “do your job, trust your team” mentality to politics — knocking on doors, raising $25K in two weeks, and trying to bring transparency to a city that desperately needs it.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a small‑town entrepreneur decides to step into public service… this is the episode.

Most entrepreneurs think their biggest problem is sales. Glenn Mowat says that’s dead wrong — the bottleneck is always the owner. Every. Single. Time.
“Every single time, every single time, every single time.”
This episode is a masterclass in pattern recognition, personal blind spots, and the uncomfortable truth that your habits — not your market — determine your growth ceiling. Glenn’s been doing this for 40 years, from early EDI sales at GE to being one of Cisco Canada’s first 11 employees. He’s seen founders burn out, scale fast, stall hard, and reinvent themselves… and he can spot the root cause in minutes.
The wild part? His entire philosophy started with one moment: two exhausted sales reps drowning in purchase orders who realized they could flip the model and make customers come to them.
“We invited 30 or 33 people and 25 or 26 signed that night.”
Glenn breaks down why entrepreneurs stay stuck, why time and money are the only real investments, and why tracking your day in 15‑minute increments can expose the patterns that quietly run your life — and your business.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, under‑leveraged, or suspicious that you might be the reason your business isn’t growing… this conversation will hit hard. It’s raw, tactical, and full of “oh damn” moments that make you rethink how you operate.

The wildest part of this episode? Rokhsana didn’t set out to build a natural‑skincare empire… she just got pissed off. She saw an industry full of toxic ingredients, fake “natural” labels, and giant corporations greenwashing their way into consumers’ wallets — and decided she wasn’t having it.
What started as a few homemade products in her basement turned into a full‑blown movement. No funding. No roadmap. Just obsession, grit, and a community that showed up even when her shop was hidden in a sketchy warehouse with zero signage.
This conversation is a masterclass in how real businesses are built: not from perfect plans, but from frustration, curiosity, and a refusal to accept the status quo. Rokhsana breaks down the early days, the grind, the festivals, the collaborations, the accidental virality, and the moment she realized she had created something people were hungry for.
If you’ve ever wondered how a tiny idea becomes a city‑wide brand — or how to turn passion into something people line up for — this episode hits hard. It’s raw, honest, and full of the kind of entrepreneurial chaos that never makes it into business textbooks.

The wildest part of this episode isn’t that a 23‑year‑old built a landscaping business from a Ford Ranger and a borrowed trailer. It’s that he did it with zero fluff, zero ego, and a mindset most entrepreneurs don’t figure out until their 40s.
Jake Van Dam didn’t wait for permission. He didn’t wait for a “perfect plan.” He didn’t wait for capital. He went broke‑as‑hell, bought mulch he could barely afford, and bet on himself. And it worked—because he understood something most people miss: trust is the real currency. Grass‑cutting is just the foot in the door.
This conversation goes deep into the stuff entrepreneurs pretend they’ve mastered: fear of failure, balance, burnout, working with friends, managing growth without blowing up your life, and the difference between running a business and running yourself into the ground. Jake’s honesty about the grind—missing cottage weekends, learning to say no, realizing he doesn’t want a 5‑crew empire—is the kind of clarity founders spend decades chasing.
And then there’s the content game. Jake straps on Meta glasses, films raw day‑in‑the‑life clips, and accidentally creates the most addictive landscaping content you’ve ever seen. No scripts. No strategy decks. Just documenting the grind. It’s the perfect example of how authenticity beats “marketing” every single time.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re too young, too late, too inexperienced, or too scared to start—this episode will punch you in the chest. Because Jake proves the only real requirement is deciding to go.

On this episode of the Hustle & Grind Podcast, we're joined by one of our youngest guests ever, but don't let his age fool you. At just 20 years old, Cameron Usher has already built an impressive business with Crushers Demolition, proving that entrepreneurship isn't about age—it's about mindset, work ethic, and execution. Cameron's story is one of taking opportunities, earning trust, and delivering results. Early on, people took a chance on him, and through hard work, reliability, and a willingness to outwork the competition, he absolutely crushed it. What stands out most isn't just the growth of his company, but his ability to build relationships. He understands something many business owners take years to learn: people do business with people they know, like, and trust. What's fascinating is that the signs were there long before Crushers Demolition existed. From buying chicken burgers at school and selling them for a profit, to spending more time talking to people than his teachers probably would have preferred, Cameron was developing entrepreneurial instincts and communication skills from an early age. Looking back, those conversations helped shape a young man who can connect with almost anyone—a skill that has become a major driver of his success. In this episode, we dive into the realities of building a business at such a young age. We talk about the wins, the lessons, the pressure of making payroll, the responsibility that comes with leading a team, and the challenges that most people never see behind the scenes. Cameron shares some hilarious stories, valuable insights, and a refreshingly honest look at what it takes to grow a business when most people your age are still trying to figure out what they want to do. This is an inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship, communication, relationship-building, and the power of betting on yourself. Whether you're a young entrepreneur, a seasoned business owner, or someone with a dream you're thinking about pursuing, you're going to get a lot out of this one. Please welcome Cameron Usher of Crushers Demolition.

AI isn’t coming for your job — it’s coming for your blind spots. That’s the uncomfortable truth most business owners don’t want to hear. In this episode, Scotty and Ryan break down why 85% of businesses still aren’t using AI even though the tools are now powerful enough to replace hours of repetitive work with a single prompt.
This conversation gets real about the fear, confusion, and hype surrounding AI — from “six‑fingered weird images” to the early days of ChatGPT when everything took 20 iterations to get right. Now? The tech has leveled up, and the only thing holding most people back is the belief that AI is “too complicated” or “not for them.”
You’ll hear how businesses are already using AI to automate FAQs, speed up customer response times, build websites in days instead of weeks, and even jump into long‑form AI conversations through AEO — Answer Engine Optimization, the next evolution of SEO. If you’ve ever wondered how your business shows up inside AI tools like ChatGPT, this is the episode that finally explains it.
And yeah… there’s also music‑making AI, roasting coworkers with custom songs, and a story about a guy skipping a trade‑show booth to play golf. Because AI isn’t just powerful — it’s fun as hell.
If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or just AI‑curious, this is your sign: stop watching from the sidelines and start experimenting. The tools are here. They’re accessible. And they’re already changing the game for the people willing to try.

Chalkboards to Boardrooms: The Courage to Start, The Wisdom to Exit
Today on the Hustle & Grind Podcast, we're joined by an entrepreneur whose journey has taken her from the classroom to the boardroom.
Erika Oakes is the co-founder of Os & Oakes, the London-based retail and e-commerce brand she built alongside her brother from a simple idea into a well-known and beloved business. What started as an online children's clothing company grew into a thriving brand with a loyal community, a retail storefront, and a powerful online presence before eventually leading to a successful exit.
But Erika's story started long before entrepreneurship. She began her career as a teacher, helping students learn and grow before discovering her own passion for building businesses. That entrepreneurial path eventually led her to the startup and innovation ecosystem, where she now helps founders navigate their own journeys through her leadership role at TechAlliance, supporting entrepreneurs and startups across Southwestern Ontario.
In this episode, we dive into the realities of building a brand from scratch, what it's really like working alongside family, the lessons learned through scaling and selling a company, and how her experience as both an entrepreneur and mentor has shaped her perspective on business today.
Please welcome Erika Oakes

Baseball, Bins, and Being Kind
Cleveland Brownlee didn’t just arrive in London, Ontario — he built a legacy here. From an Atlanta kid grinding through Division II baseball, to hitting 13 bombs at an open tryout, to becoming one of the most recognizable community leaders in the city… this story is wild.
What starts as a baseball journey quickly turns into something bigger: mindset, service, resilience, and the long‑game discipline most entrepreneurs never master. Cleveland breaks down the self‑talk that carried him through failure, the “office mindset” he brings into the batter’s box, and the Lil Wayne lyric that became his personal mantra.
But the real twist? Baseball didn’t just shape his identity — it opened the door to his entire business career. A fundraiser, a chance meeting, and a promise from a local CEO changed the trajectory of his life. And instead of chasing the big leagues, Cleveland built his own version of them right here in London.
This episode hits on everything: community leadership, purpose‑driven business, work‑life balance, and why helping others — even when nobody’s watching — is the ultimate competitive advantage. If you’re building something, leading something, or trying to become someone… this conversation is a must‑listen.