Rami Atallah is the CEO and co-founder of SSENSE, a technology platform that focuses on nurturing emerging talent while simultaneously championing today’s most powerful and established luxury brands.

What started as part of his computer engineering graduate thesis, Rami founded SSENSE alongside his brothers, Firas and Bassel, to address the needs of the new generation of consumers. They wanted to build a platform that was, in his words, "interesting, pushed boundaries, and leveraged the internet to reach a global customer base."

An immigrant from Syria, Rami’s journey is one that exemplifies the power of harnessing diverse perspectives and skill sets, and using your work as a springboard for talent in order to usher a new generation of leaders.

Recorded live at the SSENSE headquarters in Montreal, revisit our episode with Rami, where we talk about his immigrant and entrepreneurial journey, how he uses his engineering background to solve problems, and the future of luxury, commerce, and culture.

Youth voter turnout has historically lagged behind older demographics, and trust in political institutions is at an all-time low. In an era of misinformation, democratic backsliding, and global instability, is democracy failing young people—or have young people lost faith in democracy?

To help unpack these questions, we're revisiting Lance's chat with Samantha Reusch, Executive Director of Apathy is Boring—a national, non-partisan organization that has spent 20 years working to increase youth engagement in Canadian democracy. A leading voice on democratic reform and voter participation, Samantha has dedicated her career to ensuring young people feel heard in the political process. Under her leadership, Apathy is Boring has helped mobilize thousands of first-time voters.

In this episode, we explore:

✅ Why youth voter turnout remains low—and what’s keeping young Canadians from the polls.

✅ How global politics is shaping youth perceptions of democracy.

✅ The role of misinformation, social media, and tech algorithms in political disengagement.

✅ What needs to change in Canada’s electoral system to better serve young voters.

✅ Apathy is Boring’s innovative strategies to mobilize youth, including Count Us In and Table Topics.

✅ Samantha’s call to action for young Canadians ahead of the 2024 Canadian federal election.

🔗 Resources & Links:

📌 Apathy is Boring: apathyisboring.com

📌 Take the vote pledge: https://www.apathyisboring.com/votepledge

📌 The Feed newsletter: https://www.apathyisboring.com/feed

What happens when influence isn’t just about followers—but about power, ownership, and rewriting the rules of an entire industry?

In this re-released episode of Mission Critical, Lance chats with Susan Yara—content creator turned beauty entrepreneur, and the co-founder of Naturium, one of the fastest-growing skincare brands in the business.

She started in front of the camera. Built trust. Built community. And then she flipped the script, turning her influence into infrastructure. Naturium scaled fast, stood out in a crowded market, and was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for a reported $355 million. But behind the success story is a woman who’s navigated every tension: between personal brand and product brand, between representation and responsibility, between being taken seriously and staying true to where she came from.

In this conversation, Lance and Susan talk about what it really means to have influence that lasts—not just in beauty, but in business.

Episode highlights and takeaways:

• Why legacy brands are watching: Susan shares how indie beauty brands like Naturium are driving innovation and forcing legacy players to catch up.

• Representation done right: Susan talks about the responsibility (and strategy) of creating an inclusive brand without tokenism — and how her multicultural background shaped her vision.

• From startup to acquisition: What it really takes to scale fast, keep your soul, and partner with a company like e.l.f. to go global without losing your original mission.

• The power of analytics: She reveals how understanding her audience through content data gave her a roadmap for product development, retail strategy, and growth.

• Creating vs. scaling: The difference between building a personal brand and building a business—and why separating the two is essential if you want to exit.

Filmmaker Maggie Kang has captured the world’s imagination with Kpop Demon Hunters, the animated blockbuster that has topped Netflix’s most-watched list and redefined what global audiences expect from K-pop storytelling. Blending the spectacle of superhero cinema with the infectious energy of Korean pop culture, Kang’s film has inspired entirely new audiences and generations to a story that is universal in its themes.

In this re-released episode of Mission Critical, Maggie opens up about her journey from growing up without many Korean friends to becoming one of the most powerful voices shaping Asian representation in Hollywood. She shares what it means to break generational cycles, embrace cultural inheritance, and build worlds where young women can own their power — flaws and all.

Together, Lance and Maggie talk about the universality of K-pop, how the film’s soundtrack became a cultural phenomenon, and what the future of Korean storytelling looks like in a world where “niche” no longer applies.

Key Takeaways

• How Kpop Demon Hunters broke barriers in representation and global storytelling.
• The creative risks behind blending K-pop and the superhero genre.
• Maggie’s reflections on intergenerational identity, cultural inheritance, and belonging.
• Why authenticity (not translation) is the future of cultural storytelling.
• The lessons she’s taking forward into her next projects.

Highlights

• The story behind Kpop Demon Hunters and who it was really made for.
• Why the characters’ flaws were essential to their power.
• The influence of her father’s filmmaking legacy.
• The future of Asian and diaspora narratives in mainstream media.

Did you enjoy this episode? Make sure to like, subscribe, and leave a rating.

In this special live episode of Mission Critical, Lance sits down with Charles Khabouth, founder and CEO of INK Entertainment Group, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on entrepreneurship, leadership, and building brands that endure.

From immigrating to Canada at 15 to becoming one of the most influential figures in Toronto’s hospitality and cultural landscape, Khabouth reflects on the early risks that shaped his career, the losses behind every win, and why respect (not money) has always been his greatest driver. He shares how nightclubs once served as cultural incubators for fashion, music, and design, and why hospitality today is less about product and more about trust, people, and experience.

The episode also dives into INK’s newest evolution: 30 Hazelton, the group’s expansion into the medispa and wellness space. Khabouth explains why health and wellness is a natural extension of hospitality, the importance of choosing the right partners, and how trust transfers from brand to experience—whether in dining, nightlife, or skincare.

KEY TAKEAWAYS & HIGHLIGHTS

• Entrepreneurship is built on loss: There is no winning without losing—failure is a prerequisite for success.
• Hospitality is about trust, not product: People return because they feel cared for, not because they need another steak or cocktail.
• Culture beats everything: A strong internal culture is the foundation of any scalable hospitality brand.
• Leadership at scale is about people: With thousands of employees, every interaction matters—and every person represents the brand.
• Consistency is harder than growth: Maintaining status quo is more difficult than getting there.
• Hospitality is bigger than food and nightlife: Wellness, skincare, art, and design all fall under the umbrella of caring for people.
• Legacy is built through others: True success comes from helping people grow and creating opportunities beyond yourself.

In this episode of Mission Critical, Lance sits down with Kim Chi (the drag superstar and beauty entrepreneur behind KimChi Chic Beauty) for a candid conversation on creativity, cultural identity, and building one of the most inclusive beauty brands today.

From the rise of drag as a global culture to the realities of growing a business through COVID, TikTok, and an unpredictable beauty landscape, Kim Chi shares how she stays resilient, innovative, and unapologetically herself. She opens up about navigating Korean and Western beauty standards, the pressure of representation, and the role drag continues to play as both art and protest.

With humour and unfiltered honesty, Kim Chi offers a rare look at the mindset, mission, and cultural impact behind her work — and what the future of beauty, visibility, and creative entrepreneurship might look like.

Key Highlights & Takeaways

• Representation that matters: How growing up between cultures shaped her voice, vision, and leadership.
• Drag as cultural power: Why drag remains a vital artistic and political force.
• Inside KimChi Chic Beauty: Building an inclusive, community-led brand through creativity and resilience.
• The new beauty economy: TikTok reviews, indie brands, shifting consumer habits, and the rise of AI.
• Entrepreneurship in uncertainty: Lessons from launching a brand before COVID and navigating global volatility.
• Joy as strategy: How food, beauty, and community continue to inspire her craft.

DEI has become one of the most polarizing conversations in the corporate world, especially in the 2025 Trump era. Is it a critical business strategy, or just corporate virtue signaling? On this episode of Mission Critical with Lance Chung, Lance sits down with Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio, to cut through the noise and uncover what’s really happening behind the headlines.

McGee shares how Diversio is using AI and data analytics to make workplaces more productive—and why the backlash against DEI is based more on perception than reality. She breaks down the myths surrounding diversity efforts, reveals the surprising truth about which companies are actually pulling back, and explains why leaders should embrace uncomfortable conversations instead of avoiding them.

Key Takeaways:

• The media’s portrayal of DEI is misleading—most companies aren’t canceling it, they’re rebranding it.
• Why fear, not facts, is the biggest barrier to progress.
• The global differences in how companies approach inclusion—and what North America gets wrong.
• How to shift the DEI conversation from divisive to productive.

It’s time to separate fact from fiction. Listen now to this re-released episode with Laura from March, 2025.

In this episode of Mission Critical (presented by Ryde:), CEO Richard Schmidt joins Lance to explore what modern wellbeing really looks like. Richard shares how his background leading major CPG brands shaped his approach to building Ryde, a fast-growing company focused on functional shots designed for the real rhythms of daily life.

During their discussion, Richard breaks down his leadership philosophy (“team awesomeness-making”), the rise of wellness as a catchall buzzword, and how Ryde: aims to bring science, simplicity, and levity back into the conversation. From energy and focus to calm and clarity, Richard reveals why the smallest products can have the biggest impact on how we move through our day.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership with clarity: Why Richard believes a CEO’s job is to empower people, not micromanage.
• The wellness paradox: How “wellness” lost meaning—and how consumers are redefining what they actually need.
• Inside Ryde: Why ENERGIZE, FOCUS, and RELAX were chosen as the brand’s core mood states.
• Science made simple: A look at Ryplenish™ and the idea behind fast-acting, functional mood support.
• The modern professional: Why today’s busy, always-on lifestyle demands practical, pocket-sized solutions.

Learn more about Ryde: https://ca-en.ryde.com/