Bringing you curious minds and profound ideas.
Your weekly dose of real conversations. We chat openly with industry and thought leaders from all walks of life, exploring the “what ifs” and “why nots”.
Our Journey
Inspire North was founded in February of 2011 by five Toronto-area entrepreneurs. We’ve come a long way since then thanks to our events committee, student leaders, advisory board and generous sponsors. Inspire North has grown into a vehicle for exploration through a podcast series called Behind Greatness
2011
SPRING
- Inspire launches on June 25, 2011 in Toronto.
- Inaugural Guest Speakers are from business, entertainment, media, music: Rick Campanelli, Enrico Colantoni, Anthony Lacavera, Nick DiDonato & Ivana Santilli.
2011
FALL
- Inaugural event at Rotman Commerce (UofT business school)
2012
- First York University Event
- Scotiabank becomes Title Sponsor for Inspire
- First UofT Arts & Sciences event
- Launches University of Guelph chapter
2014
- Launches chapter with Schulich School of Business (York University)
2015
- Inspire registers as a non-for-profit organization. MacMillan joins as partner/sponsor
- McMillan LLP joins as partner/sponsor
2016
- Inspire launches with McMaster DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton
2017
- Inspire partners with Nestlé Canada
2019
- Inspire North has expanded to the podcast world under the name Behind Greatness to reach more curious ears and minds
Our People
James Lee Chiahan
Graphic Designer
James Lee Chiahan
Graphic Designer
Working closely with marketing & creative agency Casam Inc., James has helped build out much of Inspire North’s evolving visual identity over the years as well as handling its front-end web development. He is an award winning graphic designer as well as an avid fine artist and illustrator.
hi (at) jlee.ca
Christy Lundy
Illustrator
Christy Lundy
Illustrator
Christy Lundy is a Canadian illustrator, currently based in Toronto. With a background in designing locations for animated shows, Christy brings her love of environmental and character design to illustration. She’s inspired by printmaking, a good composition and mid-century modernism. Likes old cars, can’t drive.
hello (at) christylundy.com
Chris Mottram
Podcast Producer
Chris Mottram
Podcast Producer
Christopher Mottram is a Content Director and Podcast Producer. Working in podcasts since 2014, Christopher has produced over 5000 episodes ranging multiple genres, from niche-marketing podcasts, to music-based podcasts hosted by well-recognised actors.
chris (at) podcastily.com
Events
Inspire North has proudly hosted speaker events since 2011. We hope to one day bring back an in-person platform like before. In the meanwhile, please subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated or visit our events archive to explore the work we’ve done in the past:
View past events