33-year-old Tameika Gentles grew up in a Jamaican household where good, but often unhealthy food was always in abundance, especially during the holidays. She slowly found herself gaining an excessive amount of weight.

Eyra Abraham grew up with hearing loss, so she learned how to navigate the world without one of her senses. But as an adult, she had an experience with a fire alarm that made her realize she was at serious risk. Out of this fear-filled experience, she embarked on creating Lisnen, a mobile sound awareness application. When there is a fire alarm or siren in the environment, the app uses artificial intelligence to give a notification, whether it be a buzz or a flashing light, it informs the user of what's going on around them.

Gordon Shadrach is a portrait artist, Grade 2 teacher, and public speaker. His work has shown at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia to name a few. As a self-taught painter, it’s even more impressive that he’s been selected by OCAD University as a lecturer at its How We Paint series. Prior to that engagement, ByBlacks spoke to the artist about the themes he explores through his art, the challenges of breaking through institutional barriers as an emerging artist at age 53, and what he most hopes to impart in…

10-year-old CEO, Kayana Williams, raises money for charities through a family-run social enterprise.

Tobi Oluwole’s Nigerian parents sent him to Canada at the age of 15, hoping to give him a chance at a “better life”. But the road to that bright future they envisioned for their young son, was not as easy as it seemed.

Trayon Baksh, aka Tray Arts’ journey to success was fraught with pitfalls, but what seemed like divine intervention nudged him in the right direction while courage and determination pushed him the rest of the way.

Photo: Leilah Dhore/How She Hustles In honour of Small Business Month, ByBlacks spoke with Emily Mills of How She Hustles about what it really takes to successfully build your own business. Mills is fresh off the launch of her latest project - the Startup & Slay Digital Series sponsored by CIBC, Futurpreneur Canada and Ryerson University.