Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to Faces of Atlantic, a series hosted by Terianne Richards that gets real with the leaders, change makers and everyday doers shaping Atlantic Canada. Each conversation dives beyond titles to uncover the grit, growth and human stories behind the work.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: This is Faces of Atlantic, where we go beyond titles and talk about the real human side of leadership. I'm Terianne Richards and today I am sitting down with Colm Connolly and we're going to uncover the story behind him as a leader.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: Hey, Colm, excited to be here. Thanks very much.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Thank you. All right, so before we jump into it, because we're going to talk all things leadership, especially here in Atlantic Canada, when I strip away your titles and, you know, tell me something that I can't Google about you that's not on LinkedIn, like, who are you behind all of that? Who are you as a human?
[00:01:02] Speaker C: Yeah, it's so interesting. I met with my therapist last week and they were asking me this very question, and I'm not too sure that I have a full answer yet because I've been processing through that since last week.
And, you know, I think as a business leader, you become so entwined in that business. And like, as somebody who started as a solo entrepreneur, or solopreneur as they call them, your values of your organization are your values. Right, because you're the only one there. And so, you know, I think when you strip it back, I consider myself kind of a little quirky, a little bit funny, into board games, that type of stuff, really love music, all that, like, pretty regular person, I think, in ways. But, you know, we have all these different roles, whether it's a dad, you know, last week we were celebrating business excellence for Bloom Funding, and this week we're dealing with hand, foot and mouth here at the house. So it's a wild ride. But you take on these different roles, I guess, and responsibilities throughout your life, and it's just so interesting.
But you have to change and adapt all the time, no matter what.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: So true. And I think that's why I love having these conversations with folks like yourself, because I think there's a reality to the media, social media, the Internet in general, that we kind of put people in a box, you know, we even put ourselves in those boxes of like, this is what I do, this is my title, so that's who I am. But there's so much more to us than, you know, what meets the LinkedIn headlines. Right. So I appreciate that, that candidness. Well, let's talk about what you actually do on A day to day basis. So let's go to the title and you know your role in your organization, what your organization does. Kind of give me the, give me the story.
[00:02:35] Speaker C: So Bloom funding helps ambitious organizations, be it for profit or non profit organizations, access funding and measure what matters. We do that through three different things. We kind of look at helping maximize your shred claims and then we also do strategic fundraising, so diversifying revenue streams for nonprofits. And then the last one is around measuring your social and environmental impact. So we all know that this is more of a hot button issue in the future, I feel like. But there's an awful lot that could be done in small and medium sized enterprises that people don't really understand and get how their organization fits into the UN sustainability goals. So we're trying to move that piece as well.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: Awesome. So shred and I know there are some folks that know what that is. I still remember when I first joined because we're both alumni of the Wallace McCain Institute and I can remember sitting around a boardroom table with my cohort and a few of them talking about their shred claims and I'm thinking like, what in goodness name is this? So give us like a Cole's note of what that is.
[00:03:33] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm a terrible person for using those shorthand things, but yeah, the Science Research and Experimental Development Program, it's the largest tax incentive program here in Canada and it's essentially helping or it's a refund for organizations that are doing innovative work. And so any organization in Canada can access it depends if you're Canadian controlled as to how much, etc. Etc. But you know, it's all about innovation and moving the field of science forward.
And so you know how I got involved in it is I did a PhD in medical genetics. So a real core science nerd here. And from there kind of fell into the Science Research and Experimental Development Program a little bit and then, you know, had the opportunity to move to Atlantic Canada and saw that the numbers were so different here compared to the rest of the country. And that's how Bloom funding started. I started looking at those numbers and thinking I can make a difference here. So yeah, that's awesome.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: So how big are you now? What's the team size, what's the dynamics and where are you guys based out of?
[00:04:30] Speaker C: Yeah, so there's seven full time members. We have a couple of summer students, co ops right now as well. All the full time folk are here in St. John now. We used to be in Fredericton and in fact like Most of my.
We used to have our whole team in Fredericton at one point, which was fun. And I would commute up and back to St. John, which is only an hour away. So it's nothing crazy. But, yeah, we're all here and, you know, just trying to make a difference. Obviously, you have clients across Canada now, which is awesome. We just recently hit the $26 million mark back to our clients, and that's, you know, three and a half million of that is for the nonprofit side of the business. So very excited about that. We only started doing the nonprofit stuff in around 2022. And so. So that's been really great. We've been involved in different capital campaigns as well, and we're really excited about some of those. Some of those stories that we could go into, if you want.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, let's go there because I think, you know, there's a few things that I want to uncover. A. I definitely want to know more about some of the cool stuff that you folks are doing and how it's making impact here within our communities. And then I want to more about you and some of the things you've seen as a leader and all of that. But, yeah, 100% share the story.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Yeah, so as a business leader. Right. Like, I could. The organization started around SHRED funding, and it could absolutely have ended on SHRED funding and continued to do that work, build a team, all about SHRED all the time. But we wanted to do more than that. We wanted to contribute more to general society. And so it made sense. My wife is a certified fundraising executive, and so it made sense that we would start doing some nonprofit fundraising. And so we were lucky enough to get involved with the center for Youth care here in St. John. And they've. They had an idea of building youth, homeless building a place where youth who age out of care. So people over the age of 18, you know, they have to go to the adult shelters. And so they had this idea of building something that wraparound supports for youth ages 19 to 25. And so we just have wrapped their capital campaign of $2.6 million raised for that organization.
And, you know, we drive by every week and you can see the walls and the foundations are up. I saw that just last week. The roof is going on now. So I'm very excited to see that. But, yeah, to us, it's about doing more for general society. So, you know, we're involved. We end up getting involved with the City of St. John as well, and ACAP St. John and identified that we could probably raise some money for a project. We kind of helped them figure out which project was going to be. And so we're involved in that project now. It's the Urban Heat island project. I don't know if you've heard about it, But I haven't. St. John's looking at, you know, where does it get extremely hot on those days. And so, like, how, how can they better create more cover for folks or just look after people. Right. In a more meaningful way? As, you know, climate change becomes a real problem in people's lives. Whether you're, you know, standing at a bus stop and the heat is beaten down on you or, you know, you need to walk to the stores and your store, you know, it's paved all the way, etc. Etc. So we're leading the public consultation on that piece, which is very exciting.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: And yeah, that is amazing.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: Doing more than just, you know, here to make some money, et cetera, et cetera.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, there's the give back aspect. And then I think the reality of it is, is there's a lot of struggles, challenges that are happening, you know, within our social infrastructure, you know, especially here in St. John. But I mean, across the board, all over Atlantic Canada, folks are seeing it. And so I think the more organizations that can come up with innovative solutions to supporting and creating those supports, we're all the better for it, right?
[00:07:56] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: So let's dig into you as a human. When you think back to, I mean, your younger years, you decided to go get a PhD, did you ever think, you know, forward thinking, like, hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna lead a team, I'm gonna be a leader and I'm gonna be an entrepreneur. Was that ever, like a thought in the back of your head?
[00:08:15] Speaker C: So I'm a person that. And I know you, you, you briefly touched on it, but I'm a person that doesn't like to be stuck in a box in some ways. And so like, to be considered a leader puts me in a real box. So I just don't like labels too much and know I'm still trying to figure out what that means for me as a person and why. But, you know, I still have a trophy from 1996 and it spells my name incorrectly. C O, L, M. Classic thing for me in my name. But I still have it upstairs and it's the cup of the Year for my. I don't know what it was. I can't even remember the name, the pack or whatever.
And I was a scout leader. When I was quite young and, you know, I didn't think of leadership as a thing or like any. Yeah, I didn't really think about it back then. Right. Like it was just something that you did. Right. Like you led from the front, you did your stuff and everything followed afterwards. And so, you know, as I think about then growing up and in high school, you know, starting a small business, doing high school in Ireland, there's an optional fourth year in high school because there's a total of six years. I should explain a little bit. But there's an optional fourth year and in that year you kind of get to do a different language that you haven't done before.
You start a business. You kind of do some other things, do some. Like I did art for the first time since, I don't know, I don't know when elementary school or something, you know, that type of thing. Just explore different things because you're a little older, you know, 14, 13, 14.
And so, so yeah, that was quite impactful as well. But again, I didn't really think that I was going to be a business leader.
[00:09:41] Speaker C: You know, for me, I've always been a hard worker and wanting to set an expectation of, for the people around me, but that's not really what it's about for me. It's about just getting stuff done and moving quickly. But yeah, moving then like, you know, into those PhD years again, tried to work very hard and get some data together. Obviously, a PhD is a really unique set of circumstances. Very low wages and expectations of massive amounts of work, which, you know, I didn't mind because I was excited to do the work. A few years into my PhD, I really started to question, you know, what was the point of all the hard work, the point of the data pieces. And that's when I got involved in student leadership and I ended up leading the Graduate Student Society out at ubc. Again, didn't really consider it much of a leadership thing, more of a just, hey, I can help out this organization and move it forward. And. And that's kind of where that all stemmed from. And then, you know, graduating from my PhD and joining a team, obviously, again, just working hard and wanted to demonstrate that I can do it. You know, I think hard work is everything and with hard work you can do anything.
And. And so, yeah, so just continued that mantra all the way along. And then as I mentioned, right. As a solopreneur, when you start out on that journey, you know, that first year, I remember, I just wanted to make enough money that it was Equal to EI as an example. So employment insurance or something. It wasn't. I didn't have grandiose ideas for Bloom Funding when we first started at all. It was more or less, can I make ends meet here? That was it. But then a few years in, I started to think about employees and a team and what that really means.
And I guess as I look back and draw on all those experiences in those little teams, I guess, you know, I am very people focused and. And so once I have a team, you're, you know, you're part of my team. And so I'm going to do everything I can to support you in every way I can. And that's what we've been doing with Bloom. And, you know, we got a business Excellence award recently, which means we're certified excellent in Canada. And part of it was, yes, our approach to end innovation towards our people, but also our customers and how we're thinking outside the box in relation to how we can help our customer or our clients excel and do big things.
And so I think the team that I have around myself right now at Bloom, like, you know, I, I hate to talk about people as A and B players and things like that. I don't think that makes a whole bunch of sense. But I really feel like we have an A team at Bloom Funding, so I'm very excited about that.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I've certainly had the privilege of meeting a few folks on your team and I would agree with you. Great personalities, great people, intelligent and rather funny as well, which I always enjoy.
[00:12:20] Speaker C: You got to bring your whole self to work. Right.
[00:12:22] Speaker B: I like that. I like that authenticity.
And I also just wanted to make the comment that recently you spoke on the Disrupt HR stage and as well, Maria has and oh my gosh, I just absolutely loved the voice switch over that just. That was awesome. So I will put those links at the bottom. So when you think about your journey in leadership, has there been anything that, you know, I always think of like patterns and lessons we've learned from, you know, other folks who've led us in the past. Has there been anything that you've had to unlearn to become the leader you are today? Like old stuff that you just kind of brought in that, you know, that baggage of this is what we were told that a leader is to how you show up today as a leader. Has there any been any on learning or any patterns, shifts?
[00:13:15] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that I'm a quite analytical person. Like, I know that I'm a weird combo of analytical and Empathetic. So it's a really strange combo. I think the one thing that I think my analytical brain, I'm always trying to determine what the other person's intent is in any interaction, which is a really bad default to have. And I'm recognizing that as I go along this journey. And so that's what I've had to unlearn. So always kind of like assuming that positive intent to start with I think is a key that, you know, if I started with that seven years ago, it would have been way. But you know, I'm curious where our trajectory would be today. I'm very excited for where we are. But you know those little things that I think you learn along the way, so important.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: So when you look at the world as it is today, right. There's a lot of overwhelm, there's a lot of stress. I think both personally and professionally.
How do you, what tools do you, what is the process that you put yourself through to remain grounded but also equally how do you remain sort of the calm in the storm for your team? Right. And so I'm talking about stress, burnout, overwhelm, just. There's just so much chaos. And I think the more individuals I speak to, the more I note that folks are feeling the pressure of life on all ends.
[00:14:30] Speaker C: I think an important piece is to remind yourself that like human evolution has happened and we're now living in a world that we're not really optimized for anymore.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:14:41] Speaker C: Like the tools and the things that we use on a daily basis like are. We have not evolved to use these in like a proper manner is how I would describe it. And you know, people are using and organizations are using these devices to go off our base or instincts and stuff like that. Right. So this anxiety is not, is not internal. Right. It's all coming from external. And I think it's important to remember that. And you can really get grounded in nature. Take a walk, you know, really easy stress relievers that I think are super key.
You know, recently we held an event here in St. John around research productivity and sustainability and how they're kind of all, all connected. And we had a client of ours, Dr. Paul Atkinson here at the, he's at the emergency department here in St. John. He was talking about the well being of folks and like how, you know, yes, encouraging people to have stand up desks is a great idea but like don't do the gym membership thing, don't bother with any of that. Get people actually move around for 10 minutes a day, etcetera Etc. Right. Like we should care about the health of our individuals who are working because they will be better workers. So, you know, don't do a pizza lunch thing. Do like some healthy food or something, right? Like really demonstrate what you can do. So there's some interesting things there. I think ultimately it's all about recognizing that everybody is going through life. Right? Like we're all human. So these interactions with your team members, be it one on one or groups of them, you don't know how their day is going, what news they've received today that has got them on edge for whatever reason. So it's really important to just stay collected and, you know, explain specifically why you're making XYZ decision or ask them for more feedback. You know, that one, three, one method of, hey, here's the problem, one of the three solutions. And it's not every day that somebody's going to have those solutions for you.
And it's important to recognize that we all have good days and bad days and we hope that we have more good than bad.
But at the same time, some people go through very difficult personal situations and it's important to be there and understanding as a person who is, you know, managing these people, but in inverted commas, you know, you're not really managing the people, you're managing your workflow and helping to optimize the people to be able to achieve blah, blah, blah, productivity. Insert productivity metric here. But like ultimately you are your team and your organization is defined by how well your team does and it's just so important to look after them.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: I agree. There's a reality to that, that at the end of the day, if you just take it all down, we're humans and we're living the human experience. And I think to your point, there is, there's a lot of noise, there's a lot of things that are affecting how we are feeling, how we are experiencing this human experience. And you know, I think being calm, being clear, being open to having dialogue and conversation, super important. But I love that you kind of brought it back to there is some personal responsibility in there as well. Like go for a walk, do the personal care.
And as a leader, when you're trying to look at wellness and improvement of your culture overall, go one step further than just bringing people together to have pizza. Let's figure out how do you bring people together, which is important, but I don't know. Let's have a salad.
[00:17:59] Speaker C: Yeah. You know, we did some tree planting, say we as the broader bloom team, because I'm stuck at home with a kid with hand, foot and mouth.
Well, the team went and did some trees yesterday and so planted a whole bunch of trees with ACAP St John yesterday as like a team building activity. Right. So a little bit of activity outside of the office, etc. Etc. So some good team building, I'm sure.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: I love that. When you think about, you know, what you know now that you maybe didn't know then, is there something that you know today that you Wish you knew 10 years ago, 15 years ago?
[00:18:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's only a recent thing for me to bring my whole self to work. I used to really segregate my personal life and my professional life. So throughout my PhD, nobody knew what I was up to at home or anything like that would just gloss over things.
And you know, this year Bloom funding got certified as to SLGBTQ owned, which just means that we're queer owned. Myself and my wife are bisexual and you know, when we met we were both in same sex relationships and there's a story there for sure, but it just, you know, realizing that you can show up as your full self and you know that piece as to the previous question as well. Right. Like you have to walk the walk and you have to talk the talk as a leader. And so if you show up as your authentic self, then everybody around you should feel the signals. That's acceptable.
And you know, when you bring your whole messy self to work, it means there's more understanding of who that person is and the things that are going on around. So it affects everything.
And I just think it's so important, but something that I definitely didn't live by previously nor. Yeah. And I do have regrets about that. Right. Like it's sad. Regrets is maybe a strong word, but it's just sad to think about that I wasn't feeling comfortable enough to show up as my whole self at work.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: But yeah, yeah. And it's interesting. I mean, I have a lot of conversations with folks from all over the globe and that's a really common theme. Right. Like we actually speak all the time in social media and you know, through articles about authenticity and bringing your whole self. But putting it into practice.
There's some specific modeling that actually needs to occur in most cultures and organizations to make it feel safe enough to do that. And I think that is both an internal dialogue that we need to have have with ourselves, but also like, I think organizationally leaders need to recognize that if you're not modeling that safety, those brave spaces where people are free to be themselves, that it is difficult. And what you will get is segregated humans who show you a very specific, polished version of them in your space. But when they have all these other nuances, all these other multifaceted things happening in their life, they're not being brought. And what happens is you get a fragmented human. A fragmented human isn't going to be able to give you their full self, which means not full productivity, not full engagement, not full, full even loyalty. Because they're not two feet in. They're, you know, a foot and a half in.
[00:21:02] Speaker C: They're not vested in a way. And you know, it's a piece of that trust too, and building a team based on trust. And I mean, there's multiple ways to build trust, but authenticity is number one for me.
And you know, as you know, I self reflect on some of my personal values, like trusted. I would argue I was dishonest for many years about myself and not bringing my authentic self to work. So, you know, there's some weird juxtapositions, but you know, we're all human. We have these idiosyncrasies and that's okay too.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think that's the reality, right? Like that's the human side of being human, but also like leadership, entrepreneurship, foundership, right? That at the end of the day, we're just humans also living our own experience. And we have mental health struggles, we have imposter syndrome. There's all these other things that happens and you can be, you know, on the front foot page of a magazine looking like you got your, you know, your shit together. So, you know, I think that's, that's the beauty of this com, these types of conversations is it shows folks that you can do amazing things and actually still be human. Right? And still experience things.
When you look at, as you know, at Atlantic Canada as a whole, and I mean, you certainly are having lots of conversations with not for profits with, you know, organizations, you know, across the board.
What do you see as our, I don't know how I put it like that lowest hanging fruit or our next best opportunity for growth and cohesion here in Atlantic Canada? Because I look at Atlantic Canada sometimes and be like, man, like we've got all the right pieces, but all the right pieces aren't always talking, they're not always working in unison. They're not always in the same canoe, you know, rowing the boat in the same direction. That's what I see. But what do you see when you look at Atlantic Canada and our growth opportunities?
[00:22:46] Speaker C: I Think I would largely agree. You know, I was at an AI conversation recently and I really, I started this conversation with somebody and when I sat back and thought about it afterwards, I was like, no, actually like that's not just a minor talking point that could be a real thing which is like, you know, Atlantic Canada is known, and Atlantic Canadians are known for being really nice people, really empathic people. And so I actually think that we should lean into empathic AI and be the empathic AI hub for the world.
And nobody's really talking about it at all. But like when you think about the values here and the people, that would be massive and huge, right? Like I can see, you know, the agentic AI space and where that's going, it is going to be quite old. I think there's going to be a lot of, just a lot of coldness coming from a lot of this future AI piece, I think. And so I do think there's an opportunity for Atlantic Canada to lean in there. But I recognize that like if you're talking about specific industries and stuff, obviously, like, you know, whether it's our seafood or forestry or farming, you know, these are the classic industries that are well known here. You know, there's often talk of resource development here as well. I definitely think that there are some opportunities there, but I would want to see it done really sustainably, both from a social and environmental footprint and perspective. But yeah, that's my gut feeling is like an empathic AI or like how can we drive that home and like be the hub for that? Which is something I think that could be really different and interesting.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Well, and you know what's really cool, anybody who's listening or watching this is, you know, if you go down like the R D route and do some research, you just reach out to Bloom Funding and they'll help you with your shred credits. So, ta da.
We've got a plan. We just need folks to put their name in.
So as I sort of wrap this up, it's a question I like to ask everyone and I understand that in some ways it's a very large question and folks are always, whoa, that's a big question. But I like to ask it anyway. So the question is when you look towards your future, and I'm not going to use the word legacy, I want to use sort of the terminology of like, what do you hope folks who are seen by you, who are led by you, folks who know you remember you as, what is your hope? What's that dream that they remember you as?
[00:25:10] Speaker C: Honestly, like I'm not too sure that I would have a really great answer for this question other than like a positive force, a force for positivity. Right. Like whether that's, you know, again, I try to listen to everybody and take on everybody's advice or, you know, I just think that as long as I'm remembered in a positive light, I'd be pretty happy. Like I'm trying to do well by, you know, the people who I mentor or manage, etc. Etc. Clients, etc. So like, you know, just be now remembered in a positive light. I think I'd be pretty happy with that. You know, maybe some specific instances of ways in which I helped particular people, but nothing grandiose. You know, like, realistically, I hope that they remember little about me, like a little bit of good stuff, but ultimately that they're, you know, able to reach their dreams and aspirations and that's what they're happy about. Right. So it's less about me and more about helping them achieve their goals. Right. So, you know, lovely answer. Yeah. But I don't think they should remember me for helping them to get to those goals. You know, they did that themselves. Yes, I may have been a helping hand in some ways, but not, you know, I should be.
What's the wording that I should be a small, small flex text or something right now?
[00:26:25] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I love that.
[00:26:27] Speaker C: Those little pieces, it's those little things and ways in which you can help people and going through life with the attitude of, you know, you do not understand what happened in this person's life today I think is really life changing.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: True story.
[00:26:39] Speaker C: Because like that person who, you know, cuts you off on the road, etc. Etc. Like you have no idea what's going on in that person's life and just assume that they're having a really tough day because you know, we're not in a car accident, we're just free flowing here, driving. That's okay.
[00:26:55] Speaker B: And so.
And you know what little things, that's one of those instances where thinking positively about intent actually works in our favor. Right. If you just assume that folks are good and that their intentions were not negative, that there's just living their human experience and you know, they could be rushing to the hospital because they just got, you know, the worst news of their life. Right. So, you know, I appreciate your honesty, your candidness today and showing up with your whole heart being vulnerable. I think that there's a beauty to more of us having conversations like this. I am grateful for the work you're doing within your organization, your team. Like I said, I've had the pleasure of meeting a few folks and you're all just delightful. So I'm wishing you lots of love and happiness and continued success. And I appreciate you for being on the show.
[00:27:41] Speaker C: Sure. Thanks very much, Darian.
[00:27:43] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:27:44] Speaker A: This has been Faces of Atlantic with host Terianne Richards. Real conversations with the people shaping Atlantic Canada.
If you like this episode, be sure to follow, subscribe and share it with someone who'd love these stories, too.
