Episode
The Billion-Dollar Lesson in Being Different - Toronto - Canada's Entrepreneur
- Podcast
- Canada’s Entrepreneur
- Published
- Apr 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1738
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Summary
Come into any situation with a clear idea of what you can contribute, and what you would like to get out of it. Michael Shapiro is a cultural entrepreneur, author, and language enthusiast passionate about reviving ancient Jewish traditions through modern innovation. He's spent my life embracing what others might call "personal weirdness" and turning it into something extraordinary. He’s always been fascinated by languages, alphabets, and the meaning of words. At age twelve, he took a Hebrew calligraphy class and in high school, he was the Hebrew language valedictorian. After earning his MBA from the University of Michigan, he spent two years in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, but the corporate world felt too narrow for his creative spirit. In December 1994, he left P&G and flew to Israel to study at the Pardes Institute. By June 1995, he met his first Ketubah (artistic Jewish marriage contract) artist. In 1996, he registered Ketubah.com. What he had envisioned as one product line for a gallery soon became his entire focus online. Nearly three decades later, Ketubah.com has become the largest Ketubah publisher on the planet, featuring 75+ leading artists and 900+ fine art limited edition designs. Michael has created HebrewNamer.com, a platform helping people discover the meaning and proper spelling of their Hebrew names. Last year, a major Jewish Publisher (JPS) published "Ketubah Renaissance", a coffee table book about this ancient tradition's modern revival. And he’s about to launch "Doing Jewish Today" an e-magazine for Jewish, interfaith and LGBTQ+ couples and families interesting in connecting with Jewish traditions on their own terms. As someone who speaks multiple languages and reads 6-7 alphabets (and is aiming for 10!), he believes deeply in embra…