PORTFOLIO.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine | Volume 4 | Issue 11 | 2026

PORTFOLIO.YVR

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURS

VOLUM E 4 | ISSUE 11

VENESSA STONEHOUSE

M ILTON TONIA L

A NN FOSTER

EM M A SM ITH

M ITCHELL SCOTT

JENNIFER-LEE GUNSON

A ERYON A SHLIE

SA RA H CHA PM A N-FUNSTON

SUNNY RODHEY

M A RK A INLEY

NA TA SHA CHA WLA

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PORTFOLIO.YVR

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURS VOLUM E 4 | ISSUE 11

0 0 1 EIC & PUBLISHER M ESSAGE:

HELEN SIWAK

0 0 3 VEN ESSA STON EHOUSE:

M IN DFUL FÜD

0 13 M ILTON TON IAL:

N OT BAD SN ACKS

0 23 AN N FOSTER:

AUTHOR, REBEL OF THE REGEN CY

0 33 EM M A SM ITH:

ZIM T CHOCOLATES

0 43: M ITCHELL SCOTT:

THE BETTER BUTCHERS

0 53 JEN N IFER- LEE GUN SON :

J POD CREATION S

0 63 AERYON ASHLIE:

AERYON WELLN ESS

0 73 SARAH CHAPM AN - FUN STON :

SCF M ARKETIN G

0 83 SUN N Y RODHEY:

HEALTH IS WEALTH GROUP IN C.

0 93 M ARK AIN LEY:

SEN SE OF SPACE

10 3 N ATASHA CHAWLA:

GREEN S & BEAN S

113 QUICKTAKE:

RETAIL IN SIDER X ELL COM M S

117 QUICKTAKE: AN THON Y GREEN :

GREEN HAT SECURITY

121 QUICKTAKE: RITCHIE PO:

DATA PRIVACY LAWYER & CON SULTAN T

125 QUICKTAKE:

VLAD XAN THOPOULOS:

UN IVERSITY OF PHUCKERY

129 M ASTHEAD & PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

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001

EIC & PUBLISHER M ESSA GE:

Entrepreneurship does not follow a

single path. Some companies begin at a

kitchen table, others after the corporate

door quietly closes behind a final

meeting. Ideas emerge in late-night

notebooks, coffee shop conversations,

and moments when someone decides the

world needs something better.

Portfolio.YVR exists for all of them. From

creatives and product innovators to legal

specialists and technology founders,

entrepreneurs across sectors move

business forward. Each story matters.

Validation and visibility are pow erful

forces in modern entrepreneurship.

When a story is shared, it becomes part of

a digital record that search engines

index, audiences discover, and

opportunities grow from. Through our

digital publishing ecosystem and

distribution network, the journeys you read

here circulate nationally and

internationally, creating a lasting

presence online. Your engagement,

whether through reading or sharing, helps

amplify the visibility of entrepreneurs

building meaningful companies.

In this issue, innovation begins with

Venessa Stonehouse of M indful FÜD, who

transforms rescued ingredients into bold

plant-based creations, followed by

M ilton Tonial of N ot Bad Snacks,

reimagining indulgent snacking through

simplicity and flavour.

Author Ann Foster introduces her new

novel Rebel of the Regency, while

Emma Smith of Zimt Chocolates

demonstrates how ethical sourcing and

vegan values can shape a thriving

chocolate company.

M itchell Scott of The Better Butchers,

whose work in plant-based meat

helped reshape the category, and

N atasha Chaw la of Greens & Beans,

bringing nutrient-dense sauces to modern

families. Wellness appears through

Aeryon Ashlie of Aeryon Wellness and

Sunny Rodhey of Health IS Wealth

Group Inc.

Creative storytelling takes shape through

Jennifer- Lee Gunson of J Pod Creations,

while Sarah Chapman- Funston of

SCF M arketing helps entrepreneurs

communicate their message with clarity.

M ark Ainley of Sense of Space reminds

us that the environments around us

influence how we think and create.

This issue also highlights the new national

partnership between Retail Insider and

ELL Comms, along with QuickTakes on

cybersecurity and digital risk featuring

Anthony Green of GreenHat Security

and data privacy lawyer Ritchie Po.

Finally, Vlad Xanthopoulos introduces the

University of Phuckery, proving that

entrepreneurship and ecommerce can

also make room for satire and cultural

commentary.

As we look ahead, Portfolio.YVR is also

preparing a special Web Summit edition

for early May. If you are attending,

speaking, or sponsoring at Web Summit

Vancouver, let's connect soon. We have

ten spotlight features available for

founders, innovators, and companies

ready to introduce themselves to a global

audience.

Wherever your idea began, the journey

forward is shared.

Helen Siwak

PUBLISHER'S M ESSA GE

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QUICK TA K E:

RETA IL

INSIDER X

ELL COM M S

PA RTNERSHIP

113

Retail- Insider.com, Canada?s

most-read online retail and business

publication, has announced a

strategic national partnership with

EcoLuxLuv Communications &

M arketing Inc. (ELL Comms), aimed

at expanding Retail Insider?s editorial

reach and commercial presence

across all provinces and territories.

As Retail Insider?s coverage has grown

beyond traditional retail to include

development, restaurants, ecommerce,

trend forecasting, and business

commentary, the publication has

identified the need for deeper and

more consistent reporting from regions

outside Toronto and Vancouver.

The new partnership establishes a

structured, Canadian-led framework

to support that expansion while

reinforcing Retail Insider?s role as a

national business voice.

Under the agreement, ELL Comms will

serve as Retail Insider?s official

national content and business

development partner.

The firm will work to source sponsored

business new s stories across the

country and support advertising

grow th, while maintaining Retail

Insider?s editorial standards and

independence.

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The initiative will also introduce

province-based navigation on

Retail-Insider.com, enabling readers

to easily access regional business and

retail coverage from coast to coast.

?Retail Insider has grown alongside

Canada?s entrepreneurial economy,

and the timing for this expansion

could not be more relevant,? said

Craig Patterson, Founder and CEO of

Retail Insider. ?More Canadians are

starting businesses, yet many struggle

to gain visibility beyond their

immediate markets. This partnership

will help us support regional business

communities, expand original

Canadian content, and strengthen our

role as the country?s most trusted

source for retail and business

intelligence.?

The partnership also builds on a

longstanding professional relationship

between Retail Insider and ELL

Comms?Founder and Publisher,

Helen Siw ak.

?I have known Craig for over a

decade, and my early work with

Retail Insider as its West Coast

correspondent coincided with

the emergence of Vancouver?s

Luxury Zone,? said Siwak.

?This partnership builds on that shared

history, bringing a structured national

approach to supporting Canadian

businesses and ensuring regional

stories are represented with

credibility and consistency.?

With expanded provincial

representation, increased original

Canadian reporting, and a scalable

commercial framework, the

partnership between Retail Insider

and ELL Comms marks an important

step in the publication?s evolution as a

national business and retail authority.

C R A IG

R E T A IL

P A T T E R S O N

IN S ID E R

H E L E N S IW A K

E L L C O M M S IN C .

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QUICK TA K E:

A NTHONY

GREEN:

GREENHA T

SECURITY

117

GreenHat Security represents

the most distilled expression of

Anthony Green?s approach to

cybersecurity: practical, rigorous, and

built around meeting organizations

where they are. As co-founder of

GreenHat Security and GreenHat

Assurance, Anthony launched the two

firms to address a challenge he had

encountered repeatedly across

industries. Companies are expected to

be secure, compliant, and audit-ready,

yet many lack the internal expertise or

scale to build those capabilities

efficiently. As he puts it, ?Our goal is

simple: build a world-class

cybersecurity and assurance brand out

of Canada.?

GreenHat Security operates as a

hands-on cybersecurity services firm,

delivering fractional CISO leadership,

penetration testing, secure product

and code development, and direct

remediation focused on reducing real

risk. The model is intentionally flexible,

allowing organizations to access

senior security leadership and deep

technical expertise without the

overhead of building a large in-house

team. GreenHat Assurance operates

separately as a SOC 2 auditing firm,

performing SOC 2 examinations and

issuing reports that provide assurance

over a company?s control environment

based on the defined scope and

criteria.

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While both organizations are built on

the same practical philosophy, they

are distinct offerings designed to

serve different needs.

Over the past year, Anthony has

worked with more than 10 0

companies across a wide range of

industries and maturity levels. Some

organizations require strategic

governance and a foundational

security program. Others need

engineering support, targeted testing,

or hands-on remediation. Many are

working toward SOC 2 and need a

clear, efficient path to become

audit-ready. As he explains, ?Some

need strategic governance and a

security program, others need

engineering help or testing, and many

need a clear path to get audit-ready.

I step in where it is most valuable.?

That adaptability has become a

defining characteristic of the

GreenHat approach.

Innovation is embedded in how

GreenHat operates. The firm uses AI

agents internally to accelerate

repeatable tasks such as control

mapping, evidence organization, and

reporting, while also building

AI-assisted tools that make security

work easier and more accessible for

clients. This allows the team to focus

less on administrative friction and

more on meaningful risk reduction and

client outcomes, reinforcing a modern,

efficient model for cybersecurity and

assurance services.

While GreenHat Security is newly

launched, the foundation behind it

reflects decades of experience.

Before founding GreenHat, Anthony

built an award-winning security

operations program at the Chartered

Professional Accountants of BC,

where he continues to manage a

cybersecurity team on a fractional

basis while mentoring emerging

professionals. Alongside this work, he

has remained deeply invested in

education and community leadership,

teaching with UBC?s Extended

Learning department, developing a

Cloud Security Fundamentals

micro-credential, leading curriculum

development at VCC, contributing

internationally through instructor

training in M alaysia, and helping

transform Vancouver?s cybersecurity

ecosystem through leadership roles

with the Canadian Cybersecurity

Cluster and ISACA Vancouver.

For a community that already knows

Anthony Green as a builder,

educator, and connector, GreenHat

Security is a natural evolution. It

brings together entrepreneurial vision,

technical depth, and a commitment to

making cybersecurity and assurance

practical, high-quality, and

accessible. In doing so, it reinforces a

growing belief that Vancouver can

produce world-class cybersecurity

leadership with impact far beyond the

city itself.

119

A N T H O N Y

G R E E N H A T

G R E E N

S E C U R IT Y

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QUICK TA K E:

RITCHIE PO

DA TA

PRIVA CY

LA WYER &

CONSULTA NT

121

Ritchie Po is a data privacy lawyer

and consultant based in Vancouver.

Since his last profile in Portfolio.YVR

in June 20 24, he has expanded his

practice to encompass AI governance

and cross-jurisdictional legal

compliance.

He has partnered with

TechImpossible, a Vancouver-based

IT security consultancy founded by

Peter Skaronis, focusing on GDPR

compliance, and with M onachus,

working alongside Sean Kuriyan on

HIPAA and other industry-specific

data privacy frameworks.

He is also continuing his long-term

collaboration with Anthony Green as

he builds GreenHat Security, a new IT

security auditing firm.

Ritchie has taken on long-term

retainers with institutional clients as

external legal counsel, which includes

responding to access-to-information

requests, building privacy

management programs, and handling

ongoing privacy queries. As his client

base becomes increasingly

multinational, his work has expanded

from domestic privacy and

cybersecurity into cross-jurisdictional

compliance.

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It is an invigorating challenge that has

deepened his understanding of how AI

shapes daily life and where

government overreach in personal

data processing begins. Ritchie's view

is that privacy is not dead. Rather, it

needs stronger regulation and greater

industry respect. Without data

integrity, there is no trust.

Within Vancouver?s AI and tech sector,

he has been advising a growing

number of emerging companies and

startups. Even a foundational grasp

of the ethics of data privacy ? not

just the legalities ? goes a long way

toward building a meaningful

privacy program.

Ritchie is looking forward to this

year?s conference season, including

Web Summit 20 26.

Last year?s inaugural Vancouver

gathering was memorable for its

calibre of speakers ? such as

Dr. Cornel West?s unforgettable

keynote ? and for the vibrant

community it convened: engineers,

compliance officers, founders,

and lawyers engaging in rich

conversations about technology?s

future.

A personal highlight was the

N EXUS N ight ?Fast Five? interview

with Portfolio YVR, conducted on a

rooftop overlooking downtown

Vancouver at sunset.

One of Ritchie's favourite professional

stories dates back to the start of

COVID, when he was laid off and

texted M ichael Argast at Kobalt ?

and within four minutes had a meeting

lined up that grew into a long-term

collaboration. When people ask him

the shortest time it took to find a new

gig, he always says: four minutes. Yes,

like the title of the Madonna song.

Six years into his journey as an

independent consultant, Ritchie Po

has learned how to manage clients,

grow a business, create opportunities,

and ? just as importantly ? advocate

for himself, not only for others.

As he looks ahead through 20 26 and

the next decade of AI and privacy

governance, he is energized.

Ritchie says, "It took time to reach a

steady state, but as Alysa Liu said

stepping off the ice after her gold

medal performance: ?That is what I

am [redacted] talking about!?"

R IT C H IE P O

D A T A P R IV A C Y L A W Y E R & C O N S U L T A N T

123

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QUICK TA K E:

VLA DIM IROS

X A NTHOPOULOS:

UNIVERSITY

OF PHUCK ERY

125

The University of Phuckery, an

irreverent, satire-driven ecommerce

platform, has officially launched under

the ownership and direction of

Vancouver-based entrepreneur

Vladimiros Xanthopoulos.

Designed as a fully automated digital

campus offering humorous ?degrees,?

it delivers levity to an increasingly

uncertain global landscape.

Operating as a direct-to-consumer

ecommerce business, the University of

Phuckery offers tongue-in-cheek

bachelor?s, master?s, and doctoral

?degrees? within a fully imagined

academic universe shaped by

classical symbolism and intellectual

parody.

At its core, the platform comments on

achievement culture, burnout,

performative professionalism, and the

relentless pressure to optimize, inviting

audiences to participate in the joke

rather than observe it from a

distance.

Xanthopoulos has quietly powered

initiatives alongside other founders

within Vancouver?s entrepreneurial

and cultural circles. In 20 12, he was

instrumental in the launch of

TheCloset YVR in Gastow n, and in

20 14 helped bring Vit Vit Vegan to

market as Vancouver?s first circular

vegan meal delivery service.

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In 20 25, he became Editor and

Ambassador for the Vancouver Vices

series at Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle

M agazine, where he explores legacy

brands, fine indulgences, and cultured

living. His series Cruising w ith Cigars

and Cocktails and Cigars laid the

groundwork for this next chapter. The

University of Phuckery is his first

independent venture as sole owner.

?In a world that feels increasingly

volatile, people are craving moments

that allow them to exhale,? says

Xanthopoulos. ?The University of

Phuckery is about recognizing life?s

absurdities and honouring them with

humour. Sometimes the most

intelligent response to chaos is

perspective.?

Launching amid economic uncertainty

and digital overwhelm, the brand

positions itself as a cultural pressure

valve, reframing shared frustrations

into communal amusement.

The site debuted with an entry-level

digital certificate priced at $9.99,

strategically positioned within a

low-barrier tier to drive

volume-based conversions and

support an efficient customer

acquisition funnel into future releases.

Built with a Vancouver-based digital

team, the automated ecommerce

framework is seamless and scalable.

EcoLuxLuv Communications &

M arketing Inc. leads the digital

exposure strategy through editorial

placements, social storytelling, and

international distribution, positioning

the University of Phuckery as both

cultural commentary and

commercially viable digital brand.

By the end of 20 26, the roadmap

expands to premium framed degrees

and limited-edition drops of university

apparel, wearables, campus gear,

and event-specific exclusives,

designed to increase average order

value and cultivate anticipation

through controlled scarcity.

?As a Greek, I grew up with the myths,?

he says. ?We all know Zeus was the

original phucker ? flawed, theatrical,

larger than life. The University of

Phuckery is a modern myth of its own.

It reminds us that humanity has always

been imperfect, dramatic, and

beautifully chaotic. The difference

now is that we can laugh about it

together.?

The website, PhuckeryU.com, was

intentionally named to maximize

brand memorability and ease of

recall, strengthening direct navigation

traffic and long-term brand

recognition in a crowded digital

marketplace.

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V L A D IM IR O S X A N T H O P O U L O S

D E A N V L A D X , U N IV E R S IT Y O F P H U C K E R Y

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PORTFOLIO.YVR VOLUM E 4 / ISSUE 11

Helen Siw ak , EIC & Publisher

EcoLux Luv Communications & M ark eting Inc.

A LL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE PA RTICIPA NTS:

FRONT/BA CK COVER: A DRI M ULLER PHOTOGRA PHY

002: A LY DOLA TI PHOTOGRA PHY

003-012: VENESSA STONEHOUSE

013-014: M ILTON TONIA L

015: A DRI M ULLER PHOTOGRA PHY

016-022: M ILTON TONIA L

023-032: A NN FOSTER

033-042: EM M A SM ITH

043-052: M ITCHELL SCOTT

053-062: JENNIFER-LEE GUNSON

063-072: A ERYON A SHLIE

073-082: SA RA H CHA PM A N-FUNSTON

083-092: SUNNY RODHEY

093-102: M A RK A INLEY

103-112: NA TA SHA CHA WLA

113-116: RETA IL INSIDER X ELL COM M S

117-120: A NTHONY GREEN

121-124: RITCHIE PO

125-128: VLA DM IROS X A NTHOPOULOS

129: VENESSA STONEHOUSE

129

All text content in this publication is the exclusive property of EcoLuxLuv Communications & Marketing

Inc. (ELL Comms) and is protected by applicable copyright and intellectual property laws. No part of

this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether

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ELL Comms retains the sole right to distribute, license, syndicate, or otherwise publish the contents of

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distribution channels, for the purpose of ensuring visibility and supporting the individuals and

businesses featured.

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they hold the necessary rights, licenses, or permissions to provide and authorize publication of such

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agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ELL Comms, its officers, employees, contractors, and

affiliates, from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, or expenses (including

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PORTFOLIO.YVR does not accept unsolicited materials and assumes no responsibility for incorrect

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To discuss inclusion in upcoming issues, email: SUBM IT@PORTFOLIOYVR.COM and

request a M edia Kit.

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PORTFOLIO.YVR

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURS

VOLUM E 4 | ISSUE 11

VENESSA STONEHOUSE

M ILTON TONIA L

A NN FOSTER

EM M A SM ITH

M ITCHELL SCOTT

JENNIFER-LEE GUNSON

A ERYON A SHLIE

SA RA H CHA PM A N-FUNSTON

SUNNY RODHEY

M A RK A INLEY

NA TA SHA CHA WLA