In this episode of Insuring Your Success, host Bram Bains sits down with Prince Khan — Supervisor at the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre (BEC) and entrepreneurship lecturer at Guelph-Humber College and Algonquin College.

Bram walked into the BEC unannounced one afternoon, introduced himself to the front desk team, got handed a business card, and a few weeks later was sitting across from Prince for this conversation. After the recording, Prince gave Bram a tour of Brampton's innovation district — and what he saw confirmed it: this city is committed to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

In this conversation, Bram and Prince talk about:

• Prince's personal story — immigrating to Canada in 97 with his family and ten thousand dollars, and finding his calling in entrepreneurship
• Brampton's explosive business growth — 124,000 businesses and counting, with 10,000 new businesses added every single year
• The top industries driving Brampton's economy — transportation, professional services, construction, and retail
• Leadership philosophy — inspired by Simon Sinek and the idea of being the captain of your ship
• What separates entrepreneurs who succeed from those who don't — adaptability, consistency, and the ability to fail well
• AI and automation — is it leveling the playing field or creating new barriers for small business?
• Necessity-driven vs passion-driven entrepreneurship — and how the support looks different for each
• The four pillars of feasibility analysis every entrepreneur needs to understand
• Blush Me Up — a success story born inside the BEC
• The BEC's vision for the next five years and what Brampton looks like at its full potential as an innovation district

Guest: Prince Khan — Supervisor, Brampton Entrepreneur Centre | Lecturer, Guelph-Humber College & Algonquin College Host: Bram Bains | Maverick Insurance Brokers | Maverick Communications | @insuringyoursuccess

🏢 About the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre (BEC) The BEC is a free resource for entrepreneurs at every stage — from idea to launch to growth. They offer one-on-one business advisory sessions, workshops, mentorship, networking events, and programming designed for entrepreneurs at every level. Walk in. Introduce yourself. That's literally what Bram did.

🦁 About Insuring Your Success Insuring Your Success is a platform created to spotlight real success stories and share wisdom that plants seeds — helping elevate the entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make our communities stronger.

🤝 Partner With Us We're actively seeking partners and sponsors who believe in the power of storytelling to inspire growth and impact. If you'd like to collaborate, sponsor an episode, or explore creative partnerships that align with your brand — we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Contact: bram@brambains.com

In this episode of Insuring Your Success, host Bram Bains takes you to the Toronto East Fitness & Wellness Expo at the Canada Event Centre in Whitby — hosted by Cameron Ward and Ricky Lee, with a vision to bring everything fitness and wellness under one roof.

Bram was there alongside The Gratitude Company, with a wall activation in the lobby asking one simple question: what are you grateful for? Before hitting the floor, Bram caught part of a talk on the main stage from Little T Fitness — a content creator with over two million followers — sharing mindset tips and social media wisdom.

From there, Bram went raw and unfiltered on the floor with some of the brands and vendors in attendance.

In this episode you'll hear from:

• Little T Fitness — 2M+ follower content creator speaking on mindset and social media
• Heart of a Champ — Rajan shares the story behind his mental health clothing brand, inspired by DeMar DeRozan's tweet that saved his life
• Bio X Protein — a Canadian brand with decades in the market, available at Popeye's across Canada
• Stretch Healer — Rhonda, a 62-year-old model teaching people to listen to their bodies and reverse the aging process
• Vanguard / Hybrid Training Gym — Josh, running a 10,000 sq ft facility in East York and Ajax, ranked number one in the city
• Fitness & Wellness Travel — helping individuals and communities create customized wellness experiences worldwide
• Power Yoga Canada Durham — Kayla on building a studio that is a true home for healing and community
• Bare Protein — a Canadian-founded, clean protein with just three ingredients.

One theme came up in every conversation on that floor: community. Every single person, when asked what they were grateful for, led with health, family, and community.

Note: This episode was recorded live at the Toronto East Fitness & Wellness Expo in February 2026. Audio reflects the live show environment — the conversations are real and unfiltered.

🦁 Insuring Your Success is a platform created to spotlight real success stories and share wisdom that plants seeds — helping elevate the entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make our communities stronger.

🤝 Partner With Us We're actively seeking partners and sponsors who believe in the power of storytelling to inspire growth and impact. If you'd like to collaborate, sponsor an episode, or explore creative partnerships that align with your brand — we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Contact: bram@brambains.com

In this episode of Insuring Your Success, host Bram Bains sits down with Jessie Panesar — second-generation owner of MAG Print (Media Arts and Graphics), a family-run print shop based in Peel Region that has been serving businesses across the GTA for over twenty years.

MAG Print isn't your average print shop. They print on everything — signs, media walls, glass windows, snowboards, golf balls, fishing hooks, branded merch, and everything in between. If it needs to be printed, MAG Print makes it happen.

In this conversation, Jessie and Bram talk about:

- Growing up in the family business — from typesetting at age 11 to running the operation today

- What 'organized chaos' really looks like when you're building a family business from the ground up

- Navigating the 2025 real estate market slowdown and how MAG Print pivoted to survive and grow

- Why consistency in advertising is the one thing that separates businesses that last from ones that disappear

- The power of print media in a digital world

- Bold marketing strategies and what it takes to get someone's attention

Guest: Jessie Panesar — MAG Print | @magprint.ca

Host: Bram Bains — Maverick Insurance Brokers | @insuringyoursuccess

Insuring Your Success is a platform created to spotlight real success stories and share wisdom that plants seeds — helping elevate the entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make our communities stronger.

We're actively seeking partners and sponsors who believe in the power of storytelling to inspire growth and impact.
If you'd like to collaborate, sponsor an episode, or explore creative partnerships that align with your brand — we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Contact: bram@brambains.com

In this special holiday episode of Insuring Your Success, host Bram Bains sits down with his high school friend Sandy Mann — founder of Uncle Vinny's Toy Drive — to talk about one of the most moving community stories to come out of Brampton in recent years. Uncle Vinny's Toy Drive was born out of loss. Sandy's cousin Vinny passed away in December 2019 at a young age. Rather than let grief define the holiday season for their family, Sandy channelled it into something powerful — a charity drive that honours Vinny's love of kids, community, and the holiday spirit.

In this conversation, Sandy and Bram talk about:

- Who Uncle Vinny was and why his memory inspired a community movement

- How the toy drive grew from a small idea into a full-scale charity event

- What it felt like to hand Vinny's parents a cheque on stage in front of a packed room

- The role of community, culture, and giving back to Malton

- What's next for Uncle Vinny's Toy Drive

This year's event was held at Elite Banquet Hall in Brampton — generously sponsored for the entire venue and food. With the support of platinum, gold, silver, and bronze sponsors — including Maverick Insurance Brokers and our partners who provided $4,000 worth of Aura Kids products, and raised over $17,000. The original goal was $5,000. Every dollar raised went directly into purchasing toys for kids in the community.

Guest: Sandy Mann — Founder, Uncle Vinny's Toy Drive | @unclevinnystoydrive.gta

Host: Bram Bains — Maverick Insurance Brokers | @insuringyoursuccess

Note: This episode was recorded during the 2025 holiday season.

Insuring Your Success is a platform created to spotlight real success stories and share wisdom that plants seeds — helping elevate the entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make our communities stronger.

We're actively seeking partners and sponsors who believe in the power of storytelling to inspire growth and impact.
If you'd like to collaborate, sponsor an episode, or explore creative partnerships that align with your brand — we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Contact: bram@brambains.com

In this special on-site edition of Insuring Your Success, host Bram Bains takes you inside one of the GTA's most celebrated family-run businesses — The Samosa and Sweet Factory.

Recorded live from the 36th Annual Diwali Mela, this episode offers a candid look at the legacy, leadership, and lessons behind a business that's been serving Canadian communities since 1989. What began as a small restaurant has grown into a global brand producing over half a million samosas a day — built on unity, innovation, and an unwavering work ethic.

Guests:

• Mr. Harpal Sandhu, CEO & Founder – on the immigrant story, perseverance, and the role of faith in success.

• Harman & Param Sandhu, Second Generation Leaders – on legacy, leadership, and adapting in the modern era.

• Manraj Sandhu, Director of Retail – on scaling operations, partnerships with major retailers, and customer experience innovation.

Key Themes:

• Building from humble beginnings

• Hard work, faith, and family unity

• Generational succession and leadership transition

• Pivoting with purpose: from radio to social media

• Modernizing a legacy brand while staying rooted in values

Recorded at:
Elite Banquet Hall, Etobicoke – during the 36th Annual Diwali Mithai Mela

Insuring Your Success is a platform created to spotlight real success stories and share wisdom that plants seeds — helping elevate the entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals who make our communities stronger.

We're actively seeking partners and sponsors who believe in the power of storytelling to inspire growth and impact.
If you'd like to collaborate, sponsor an episode, or explore creative partnerships that align with your brand — we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Contact: bram@brambains.com

In this episode, host Bram Bains participates in an interview conducted by Alyssa from Canadian Underwriter as part of a broader exploration of mental health within the insurance sector. The discussion covers Bram's professional path across multiple roles in the industry — including brokering, underwriting, and claims — and explores his reflections on stress, burnout, and workplace support structures.

📌 Key Discussion Points:

• Career trajectory: Starting at Grey Power, moving through claims and underwriting, and entering the high-net-worth insurance space as an Underwriter before becoming a Broker

• Personal experience with burnout and how personality-job fit plays a role

• The value of peer support and creative outlets

• How self awareness leads to better decisions and better outcomes

• Perspective on shifting from competition to collaboration over time

• Recommendations for industry leaders regarding employee wellness

🧩 Selected Quotes:

• "Burnout is very real… it's very high demand."

• "You can be a leader without the title — it's an energy thing."

• "At the beginning, I was competing. Over time, it shifted to collaboration."

• "Organizations that integrate wellness practices will see better long-term results."

🔗 Full article: Canadian Underwriter – Read Here

Connect with Bram:

WEB: www.maverickinsurance.ca
INSTAGRAM: @insuringyoursuccess

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brambains/
EMAIL: bram@maverickinsurance.ca

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