Built to Last: Rethinking What It Takes to Keep Young Canadian Founders Well and Winning
Building a company is one of the hardest things a young Canadian can choose to do, and most founders are doing it without any real system of support around them. It shows: 85% of founders in the LOI community report burnout and 63% say stress affects their ability to get work done.
That's not how we develop talent anywhere else. Sport and the arts have spent generations building systems designed to turn good into great: national teams and conservatories, coaches, recovery and mental performance staff. At the highest level, the difference between good, great and best in the world comes down to the smallest margins in mindset, health and focus.
This panel asks what it would look like to build those same systems for Canadian entrepreneurs. How can we as a country help founders thrive as people, and give them the edge to make the jump from good to great on a global stage?
To explore it, we're bringing together three Canadians who have each defined excellence in their field, for one conversation and one shared mission.
Penny Oleksiak is a Canadian sports icon. She won four Olympic medals at 16 and now holds seven, tied for the most of any Canadian ever. She's lived inside world-class high-performance systems since she was a teenager, and she's now building as a young entrepreneur herself.
John Ruffolo is one of the most respected investors in Canadian business. He founded OMERS Ventures and backed Shopify and Hootsuite early. Today he leads Maverix Private Equity as Founder and Managing Partner. Few people have backed more Canadian builders, or championed them louder.
Senator Katherine Hay has spent her career fighting for young people's mental health. She led Kids Help Phone for eight years and built it into Canada's only national, around-the-clock virtual mental health service for youth. She joined the Senate in 2025.
Hosted by Kyle Moore, the 2026 Canadian Alliance of Mental Illness and Mental Health's Champion of Mental Health in the Workplace and Director of Thrive Programming at LOI.
Friday, October 16th from 1 to 1:45 pm PT (4 pm ET). Virtual and free. Lock in your spot.
This conversation caps off the launch of Edge, LOI's new program with GreenShield that makes therapy free for young founders in our community.