In this episode of Marketing Corner Talks, host Dave Keighron is joined by entrepreneur, marketing instructor, and escape room founder Chris Ricard for an in-depth conversation on creativity, resilience, and learning through real-world hustle.

Chris traces his entrepreneurial journey from early sales experiences such as working the paper routes, telemarketing, and door-to-door selling, to building and scaling SmartyPantz Escape Rooms, downtown Vancouver’s first escape room business. The discussion unpacks how marketing fundamentals such as identifying the ideal customer and testing for a minimum viable product are put into practice. Chris also shares behind-the-scenes insights into SmartyPantz’s guerrilla marketing, and earned media such as his memorable appearance on Dragon’s Den. The episode also discusses the cha ...