Brad Poulos

Disclaimer:
This transcript has been cleaned and edited for clarity while preserving the original meaning and conversational tone. Minor adjustments have been made to improve readability.

Henry Harrison:
Welcome to the Henry Harrison Podcast, Entrepreneurs, Business and Finance. Today we're very fortunate to have Brad Poulos with us. Before we started recording, we were talking about how difficult it is to summarize everything he’s done—entrepreneur, founder, business scaler, mentor, investor, professor, and accelerator advisor. Brad, welcome.

Brad Poulos:
Hi Henry, thanks for having me.

Henry Harrison:
Let’s start with what you’re doing now, and then we’ll go back through your career.

Brad Poulos:
Sure. I split my time between advising small businesses—typically in the $5M to $50M revenue range—and teaching entrepreneurship at Toronto Metropolitan University, where I’ve been a part-time professor for about 15 years.

Henry Harrison:
When you say advising, what does that look like?

Brad Poulos:
There are a couple of angles. I advise startups that can pay, but I also spend time mentoring in the accelerator and incubator ecosystem. Toronto has a well-developed startup community, so I’m involved in that as well.

Henry Harrison:
How do you decide where to focus?

Brad Poulos:
I have strengths in certain industries, but I also follow what’s emerging. For example, when Canada moved toward cannabis legalization, I started studying the space early. That positioned me to advise companies as the market developed. It turned into an interesting industry with a lot of capital and overbuilding, which created its own challenges.

Henry Harrison:
You also teach entrepreneurship. What are some of the core concepts you focus on?

Brad Poulos:
Lean startup is a big one. The simplest way to explain it is we used to do “ready, aim, fire,” and now we do “ready, fire, aim.” You test ideas early, sell before you build, and learn directly from customers.

In contrast, earlier in my career, I wrote a business plan, got $2 million approved, and hadn’t spoken to a single customer. That’s the opposite of lean startup.

Henry Harrison:
So it’s about validating ideas first?

Brad Poulos:
Exactly. You start by identifying whether a problem exists. Then you learn about the customer, and only then do you think about solutions. Many founders—especially technical ones—build products based on assumptions. What matters is what the market thinks.

Henry Harrison:
What skills do entrepreneurs need?

Brad Poulos:
Research and interviewing skills are critical. I push students away from surveys because surveys only answer predefined questions. Interviews allow discovery and real-time learning. That’s where pivots come from—learning something unexpected and adjusting.

Henry Harrison:
And founders need to do that themselves?

Brad Poulos:
Absolutely. Early customer discovery must be done by founders. They have the authority to pivot and the full context of the business. Delegating that too early creates blind spots.

Henry Harrison:
Let’s talk about risk. Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone.

Brad Poulos:
That’s right. One concept we teach is “affordable loss”—only risk what you can afford to lose. Lean startup helps reduce risk by allowing small experiments before major commitments.

Also, entrepreneurs often perceive risk differently. Where others see danger, entrepreneurs see obstacles to navigate.

Henry Harrison:
Do you have an example of failure or a difficult period?

Brad Poulos:
I went through the tech bust in the early 2000s. Revenues dropped by half in a year. At one point, our only goal was survival.

I also made mistakes investing outside our core business. One venture failed because I didn’t do proper due diligence on a partner. That taught me to stay focused and avoid unnecessary risk.

Henry Harrison:
What about your early entrepreneurial experience?

Brad Poulos:
I started my first business at 14—raising chickens and selling eggs. That ended quickly thanks to my dog.

I was also heavily involved in Junior Achievement, where we built and ran companies during the school year. That gave me a strong foundation in business early on.

Henry Harrison:
You’ve also written books. Tell us about those.

Brad Poulos:
The Small Business Operator’s Manual is a practical guide for running a business.
Most Problems Solve Themselves is a collection of essays on leadership and decision-making.
And From Pitch to Payoff focuses on venture finance—how startups get funded and grow.

Henry Harrison:
Where can people find you?

Brad Poulos:
On my website or LinkedIn—both are great ways to connect.

Henry Harrison:
Brad, this has been fantastic. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Brad Poulos:
Thanks, Henry. I appreciate it.