Nejeed Kassam is quick to clarify one thing about his new podcast. "I'm not a Giant," he says. "I'm the guy hosting the podcast. I'm the guy helping amazing leaders tell their stories."

Giants launched this month with Norm Francis — who Kassam describes as a tech titan and godfather of Vancouver's tech ecosystem — as its first guest. The podcast aims to run at least 100 episodes, with 40-minute conversations designed to get past the polished narratives that dominate business media. "Most of the things we see in the press, or on LinkedIn, are too beautified — glorified press releases, in some way," Kassam says. "We want to go behind that, to the grit, to the struggles, to the feelings around success and failure."

The project started as a book. In 2019, Kassam began writing Giants of Vancouver — a collection of stories drawn from interviews with some of the city's most influential builders, scheduled for publication this fall. But as he moved through the publishing process, it became clear there were more stories to tell than a book could hold. The podcast grew out of that realization.

The Vancouver focus matters to Kassam personally. Born in the city, raising his kids here, he pushes back on the idea that Vancouver is better known for its scenery than its business community. "Too often our city gets categorized as a glorified vacation town," he says. "But Vancouver is so much more than that. If we want to make more of our city — to become a truly global city — we need to make sure all those who are earlier in their building careers know that it's possible to build transformative institutions here."

Giants is aimed at three groups: builders already in the thick of it, founders early in their journey, and young people who may not yet know what's been built in their own backyard. The goal is the same for all of them. "These are remarkable people who have struggled to get to where they are," Kassam says. "If we can all see that in those who have made it, then those of us who are still writing our stories can learn a heck of a lot."

Kassam is the founder and former CEO of Keela, an impact tech company that exited in 2023, and is currently co-founder and CEO of Rewire Digital Health and co-founder of Useful Tech, a Vancouver-based venture studio.