The Entrepreneur Podcast · Eric Janssen and Eric Morse

76. Legends with Kevin Sullivan

·31 min·2 clips

GMP raised $50 million for Research in Motion after Kevin saw email sent between Jim Balsillie and Dennis Cavill.

Kevin Sullivan is welcomed as one of the country’s entrepreneurial legends. He arrives with a long record in Canadian finance. The conversation opens with his history as an investor and operator. Early support for BlackBerry comes up right away. Sullivan also revisits the founding of GMP Securities LP in 1995. He describes how GMP Capital took shape from its earliest days, and how he served as president and CEO. The discussion keeps circling back to the risks involved in backing ambitious businesses. Sullivan reflects on what has changed in the investment landscape over three decades. He points to a market where banks now control most high-net-worth client money. That shift has made it harder for some deals to find capital. The host uses the moment to widen the lens to productivity. Sullivan says he has known Mark Carney for years. He says he voted Conservative because he thought Canada needed change. He also says Carney is the better candidate. He argues that Carney has the best ideas for improving productivity. The conversation then moves to education and immigration. Sullivan calls caps on foreign students ridiculous. He argues that Canada should be opening the door to the best and brightest. He links that openness to jobs, stronger institutions, and the ability to fund education, medical, and infrastructure systems. He also says Canadians tend to move more slowly than Americans on good ideas. The discussion ends with a practical push for policies that help talent stay, work, and build.

As heard by us

A solid portrait of Canadian investing that opens into a frank discussion of productivity policy.

This episode sketches Kevin Sullivan as a founder investor with a long place in Canada’s entrepreneurship story, and it follows that path through the early BlackBerry bet, the start of GMP Capital, and his later work as president and CEO.

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Why you'd press play

A candid walk through BlackBerry, GMP, and the policy fights shaping Canadian entrepreneurship.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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