This episode of Mission Critical is presented in partnership with Mastercard and explores what it really takes to turn a small-business dream into something real.

What does it take to build a successful Canadian small business while staying true to your values? On this special episode of Mission Critical, Lance Chung sits down with Trisha Pitura, co-founder of MINI TIPI, the Gatineau-based textile manufacturer named Small Business of the Year in the inaugural 2026 Canada Small Business 100 presented by Mastercard.

Founded in 2016 by Pitura and her business partner, Melanie, MINI TIPI creates blankets, accessories and home décor featuring authentic Indigenous designs that celebrate culture, share stories and spark conversations about reconciliation. Working with Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, the company brings community knowledge and cultural teachings to life through textiles, while ensuring artists receive royalties for their work.

Pitura shares the lessons behind a decade of entrepreneurship, from overcoming imposter syndrome and building a Canadian manufacturing business to protecting intellectual property and earning customer trust through quality, authenticity and word of mouth. She explains why MINI TIPI chose to manufacture locally in Gatineau, how the company creates meaningful community impact beyond financial contributions, and why success means bringing other Indigenous businesses along for the journey.

Key Takeaways

• Overcoming imposter syndrome: Why Pitura would tell her younger self that she deserves to succeed, and how confidence can shape an entrepreneur’s potential.
• Building a purpose-driven brand: How MINI TIPI uses authentic Indigenous designs and artist collaborations to share cultural stories through textiles.
• Choosing Canadian manufacturing: Why local production, product quality and creating jobs in the community remain central to the company’s mission, despite the operational challenges.
• Protecting intellectual property: How design infringement can affect a business financially and emotionally, particularly when the work carries deep cultural meaning, and why prevention matters.
• Measuring impact beyond revenue: Why MINI TIPI evaluates success through community well-being, supporting other Indigenous entrepreneurs and creating opportunities for others to grow.

About the Guest

Trisha Pitura is the co-founder of MINI TIPI, an Indigenous-focused textile brand and manufacturer based in Gatineau, Quebec, on Algonquin territory. Founded in 2016 with her business partner, Mélanie Bernard, MINI TIPI creates blankets, accessories and home décor featuring authentic Indigenous designs, collaborating with artists from across Turtle Island to bring their stories and cultural teachings to a wider audience.

Presented by Mastercard

This episode is made possible by Mastercard, which supports small business owners with resources, tools and community to help them grow with confidence. Join the Mastercard Small Business Community to access learning opportunities, events and resources to help manage and expand your business: https://www.mastercard.ca/en-ca/business/overview/business-resource-centre/small-business-community-signup.html

This episode of Mission Critical is presented in partnership with Mastercard and explores what it really takes to turn a small-business dream into something real.

What does it take to build a Canadian small business when you're self-funded, wearing every hat, and navigating a world of tariffs, supply-chain disruptions and constant uncertainty?Samantha Ong, founder of Toronto-based Joeydolls, knows the answer firsthand.

Samantha created Joeydolls after realizing that she and her daughters couldn't find dolls that reflected their culture and identities. What began as a deeply personal gap has grown into a culturally representative toy brand serving families, educators and collectors across Canada, the United States and Australia.

In this episode, Samantha gets candid about the realities behind that growth: launching Joeydolls with nearly 1,700 orders in its first 24 hours, learning the hard way how much infrastructure a growing business needs, figuring out wholesale from scratch, building a global operation with a lean team, and navigating tariffs and a devastating $50,000 inventory loss after a train derailment.She also shares how customer feedback keeps her connected to the mission, why she has learned to embrace imposter syndrome, how she decides where to spend her time, and why staying true to the company's purpose matters even when commercial opportunities come along.

Samantha is a 2026 Canada Small Business 100 honouree, presented by Mastercard, recognizing the resilience, ambition and impact of Canadian small businesses.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, representation, resilience and the messy reality of building something you believe in.

What happens when the goalposts for success keep moving, and you decide to stop chasing them?

In this episode of Mission Critical, Grammy Award-winning Canadian recording artist Alessia Cara reflects on a decade in the music industry and the lessons she's learned about building a career on her own terms. From navigating an industry that has fundamentally changed to letting go of perfection, trusting her instincts and embracing creative freedom, Cara shares a candid playbook for anyone trying to evolve without losing sight of who they are.

Her journey offers a powerful lesson for entrepreneurs, creatives and ambitious professionals alike: sustainable success isn't about constantly proving yourself. It's about creating work you're proud of, staying open to change, and defining your own version of what it means to win.

Key Takeaways

1. Stop creating for approval and start creating from conviction. The strongest work often comes when you stop optimizing for approval and trust your own instincts.

2. Let experience make you more free, not more rigid. After a decade in the industry, Cara says she feels she has less to prove and more freedom to experiment. Experience shouldn't narrow your thinking; it should give you the confidence to explore.

3. Don't let perfection get in the way of impact. For anyone building something, the takeaway is clear: perfection and impact aren't always the same thing, and sometimes the most memorable work is the work that feels human.

4. Your identity doesn't have to be fully formed before you begin. You don't always need to have the full vision before you start. Sometimes the work itself reveals who you're becoming.

5. When the goalposts move, redefine what winning means to you. When external measures become unstable, the most sustainable definition of success is one you control yourself.

About the Guest

Alessia Cara is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter who rose to global prominence with her breakout hit "Here" before earning international recognition for songs including "Scars to Your Beautiful" and "Stay." She went on to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and establish herself as one of Canada's most distinctive voices in contemporary pop.

Beyond her success as a recording artist, Cara's career offers a compelling case study in navigating early success, public expectations and personal evolution. From finding her voice as a young artist to redefining what success means on her own terms, her journey reflects the challenges and opportunities that come with building a career while continuing to grow as a person.