We’re lucky to be joined by Bruce Croxon for a conversation on business, real estate, investing, and entrepreneurship. Bruce co‑founded and grew Lavalife, later selling it for more than US$150 million. He’s a former Dragon on CBC's Dragons' Den, a partner at Round13 Capital, and co‑host of BNN's The Disruptors. A serial entrepreneur and investor, he focuses on scaling Canadian tech startups — and he’s just a great guy. In this episode he shares candid, honest stories about failures, lessons learned, and his entrepreneurial journey.

Thanks to myAbode and Valery for setting this up! 

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We&rsquo;re lucky to be joined by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucecroxon/?originalSubdomain=ca">Bruce Croxon</a> for a conversation on business, real estate, investing, and entrepreneurship. Bruce co‑founded and grew Lavalife, later selling it for more than US$150 million. He&rsquo;s a former Dragon on CBC's Dragons' Den, a partner at <a href="https://round13.com/">Round13 Capital,</a> and co‑host of BNN's The Disruptors. A serial entrepreneur and investor, he focuses on scaling Canadian tech startups &mdash; and he&rsquo;s just a great guy. In this episode he shares candid, honest stories about failures, lessons learned, and his entrepreneurial journey.
Thanks to <a href="https://www.myabode.ca/">myAbode </a>and <a href="https://valery.ca/">Valery</a> for setting this up!&nbsp;
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The Podcast For Canadian Real Estate Investors.

The podcast features in depth discussion around investing in real estate, ongoing news in the Canadian real estate market, how to structure deals and grow your portfolio.
Show hosts Daniel Foch and Nick Hill bring experience, fresh takes, well-researched information and entertainment to a real estate investing podcast for Canadians.

The Podcast For Canadian Real Estate Investors.
The podcast features in depth discussion around investing in real estate, ongoing news in the Canadian real estate market, how to structure deals and grow your portfolio. Show hosts Daniel Foch and Nick Hill bring experience, fresh takes, well-researched information and entertainment to a real estate investing podcast for Canadians.

The Canadian Real Estate Investor

The Podcast For Canadian Real Estate Investors.

The podcast features in depth discussion around investing in real estate, ongoing news in the Canadian real estate market, how to structure deals and grow your portfolio.

Show hosts Daniel Foche and Nick Hill bring experience, fresh takes, well-researched information and entertainment to a real estate investing podcast for Canadians.

The Podcast For Canadian Real Estate Investors.
The podcast features in depth discussion around investing in real estate, ongoing news in the Canadian real estate market, how to structure deals and grow your portfolio.
Show hosts Daniel Foche and Nick Hill bring experience, fresh takes, well-researched information and entertainment to a real estate investing podcast for Canadians.

Real Estate & Business Lessons from Dragons' Den — Bruce Croxon 

Canadian borrowers and investors are shifting from variable and long fixed terms toward 3-year fixed mortgages in 2026, seeking short-term certainty without locking into long rates, and how that decision ties into portfolio planning, refinancing risk, and programs like CMHC MLI Select.
Fixed (3- or 5-year) = predictable payments, easier modeling for equity/refinance and portfolio scaling.
Variable = a macro bet (rates must fall for it to be advantageous); can cause sudden payment spikes.
3-year fixed = compromise: short-term protection with flexibility if rates decline; financing programs (e.g., CMHC MLI Select) can affect timing and cost.

 

Canadian borrowers and investors are shifting from variable and long fixed terms toward 3-year fixed mortgages in 2026, seeking short-term certainty without locking into long rates, and how that decision ties into portfolio planning, refinancing risk, and programs like CMHC MLI Select.
<ul>
<li>Fixed (3- or 5-year) = predictable payments, easier modeling for equity/refinance and portfolio scaling.</li>
<li>Variable = a macro bet (rates must fall for it to be advantageous); can cause sudden payment spikes.</li>
<li>3-year fixed = compromise: short-term protection with flexibility if rates decline; financing programs (e.g., CMHC MLI Select) can affect timing and cost.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Fixed Or Variable Mortgage For 2026

We cover a whole bunch of breaking news in this episode. 
Construction productivity is collapsing (−37% since 2001) amid a massive retiring workforce and small‑firm dominance, constraining new supply and raising costs.
Affordability gains are concentrated in condos — not broad-based — while taxes, development charges and stalled starts (RESCON’s HST‑holiday pitch) risk deepening the supply shortfall.
Financial and market stress is rising: power‑of‑sale listings are spiking in Ontario, rental affordability is worsening regionally (Nova Scotia worst), and growing private‑credit exposure could tighten financing for builders and buyers.

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We cover a whole bunch of breaking news in this episode.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Construction productivity is collapsing (&minus;37% since 2001) amid a massive retiring workforce and small‑firm dominance, constraining new supply and raising costs.</li>
<li>Affordability gains are concentrated in condos &mdash; not broad-based &mdash; while taxes, development charges and stalled starts (RESCON&rsquo;s HST‑holiday pitch) risk deepening the supply shortfall.</li>
<li>Financial and market stress is rising: power‑of‑sale listings are spiking in Ontario, rental affordability is worsening regionally (Nova Scotia worst), and growing private‑credit exposure could tighten financing for builders and buyers.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://nordvpn.com/realestate">Try it NordVPN risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Use our code "realestate" to get 4 extras months from a 2 years plan</a>
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Construction Trouble, HST Relief, & Nova Scotia’s Rental Crisis

The Bank of Canada and Better Dwelling argue Toronto’s condo boom was driven by investor speculation and presale funding, creating Ponzi‑like dynamics where ongoing new-buyer inflows were needed to sustain prices and projects; when demand and returns fell, many projects stalled, inventory surged, and systemic risk materialized.

3 major bullet points:
Presale-dependent financing + high investor leverage (small deposits, assignment flipping) made the development model reliant on continuous new buyers rather than end-user demand.
Rising interest rates, easing population growth, and oversupply collapsed expected short-term returns, leaving many investors with negative‑cash‑flow units and unsold inventory.
Consequences: record unsold/returned units, halted starts and cancellations, developer stress : a market correction that resembles Ponzi finance dynamics but lacks outright fraud.

Try it NordVPN risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Use our code "realestate" to get 4 extras months from a 2 years plan

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The Bank of Canada and Better Dwelling argue Toronto&rsquo;s condo boom was driven by investor speculation and presale funding, creating Ponzi‑like dynamics where ongoing new-buyer inflows were needed to sustain prices and projects; when demand and returns fell, many projects stalled, inventory surged, and systemic risk materialized.
3 major bullet points:
<ul>
<li>Presale-dependent financing + high investor leverage (small deposits, assignment flipping) made the development model reliant on continuous new buyers rather than end-user demand.</li>
<li>Rising interest rates, easing population growth, and oversupply collapsed expected short-term returns, leaving many investors with negative‑cash‑flow units and unsold inventory.</li>
<li>Consequences: record unsold/returned units, halted starts and cancellations, developer stress : a market correction that resembles Ponzi finance dynamics but lacks outright fraud.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://nordvpn.com/realestate">Try it NordVPN risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Use our code "realestate" to get 4 extras months from a 2 years plan</a>
<a href="https://www.bmogam.com/ca-en/products/exchange-traded-funds/?ecid=dw-F25GAMOrganicGAM1-BMUM14">Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) | BMO Global Asset Management</a>
<a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/unpacking-multiplexes-vancouver-tickets-1854695467069?aff=PODCAST">VANCOUVER MULTIPLEX EVENT TICKETS</a>
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Real Estate & Business Lessons from Dragons' Den — Bruce Croxon

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