Canadian Keynote Speaker

for Conferences, AGMs & Business Events

Joshua Counsil is a Canadian keynote speaker and entrepreneur based in Halifax. He speaks at conferences, AGMs and business events across Canada and internationally, covering topics like entrepreneurship, marketing, creativity, tourism, food & beverage, hospitality and startups.

Meet Joshua Counsil, Entrepreneur & Guest Speaker

Raised by murder mystery dinner theatre owners, Joshua Counsil is a recovering engineer turned entrepreneur and Canadian keynote speaker. In 2014, he and his buddies quit their engineering careers and founded Good Robot Brewing in Halifax, which has expanded to three award-winning hospitality venues, wholesale craft beer across Canada and B2B beverage manufacturing services.

Josh brings a mix of road rash, tactical info and humour to every stage, offering authentic stories and motivational insights from building a company from scratch. His keynote topics include entrepreneurship, small business growth, creativity, marketing, tourism, hospitality, food & beverage, customer experience and product development.

Good Robot Brewing has won Halifax Business of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Storyteller of the Year from Food & Beverage Atlantic, East Hants Tourism & Hospitality Business of the Year and the Social Media Award from Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia.

And yes, he’s aware he looks like Jack Black.

Past speaking events:

  • Joshua Counsil spoke at an EO Atlantic Canada event in Halifax
  • Digital Harvest Conference – Joshua Counsil on Harvesting Growth from Customer Insights
  • SocialEast Marketing Conference – Closing Keynote by Joshua Counsil on Team Creativity
  • HeyOrca Community Summit – Speaker Joshua Counsil on Brand Building with Online Haters
  • TIANS AGM at Fox Harb'r Resort – Keynote by Joshua Counsil on Tourism & Memory-Making
  • Food & Beverage Atlantic Conference – Joshua Counsil on Beverage CPG Growth
  • SocialWest Marketing Conference – Guest Speaker Joshua Counsil on PR Nightmares
  • IGNITE Atlantic – Guest Speaker Joshua Counsil on Startup Marketing Without a Budget

“More like watching stand-up comedy with really good tactical info. Josh is the definition of ‘edu-tainment.’”

— Joe Teo, CEO, HeyOrca!

Keynote speaker at TIANS AGM 2025 in Fox Harbour, Nova Scotia

Sample Keynote Topics

Sea Stink & Grit: Creating Memories Through Tourism

  • In this keynote from the TIANS Annual General Meeting 2025 at Fox Harb’r Resort, I explore the real reason we remember vacations, the psychology behind memories and scrappy ideas to create long-lasting memories.

    • Scrappy ideas to drive tourism and hospitality revenues with minimal spends

    • Psychological insights on why tourism and hospitality matter to the human experience

    • Inspirational, real-world stories of Good Robot Brewing and other tourism businesses who persevered through tough times

  • Owners, operators and managers who work in hospitality, tourism and customer service industries

Keynote | Stimulating Creativity in Teams: Lessons Learned from Scaling a Business

Average attendee rating: 98.6%

  • This is a tough time for Canadian organisations. Leaders need to de-risk and stabilize cash, but employees in creative roles feel micromanaged and undervalued. In this ending keynote presentation from SocialEast 2024, Atlantic Canada's largest marketing conference, I discussed actionable insights that may help inspire a balance of stability and risk to stimulate creativity and value in organisational teams.

    • Actionable insights to stimulate creativity in your teams with minimal spends

    • Real-world lessons (and road rash) from an entrepreneur whose business doubled in the last two years

    • Psychological insights on what enables and blocks creativity

  • Executives, Managers, Team Leaders, Social Media Managers, Community Managers, Entrepreneurs

SocialEast conference presentation

PR Nightmares: How a Public Relations Disaster Can Become Your Best Brand Awareness Tool

Average attendee rating: 100%

  • In 2016, a brewpub and a mosque earned unwanted national media attention. This story, originally delivered at SocialEast (Atlantic Canada's largest marketing conference), is about why content goes viral and how to use social media to navigate a crisis.

    • What makes social media posts go viral?

    • How to manage a PR crisis

    • Why do ideas spread?

    • The importance of public relations

  • Executives, Managers, Team Leaders, Social Media Managers, Community Managers

Good Robot employee at a phone booth

Shut Up and Listen: Harvesting Growth with Scrappy Insights

  • Many business problems can be solved by talking to customers. Yet even in the social media age, we talk at our customers rather than with them. This session, originally given at Digital Harvest, shares stories of unconventional insights and online conversations that fueled success at Good Robot Brewing Company.

  • Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, Founders, Farmers, Agriculture Businesses, Social Media Managers, Restaurant Managers

Joshua Counsil at HeyOrca Community Summit 2025

Crop-tops and Condoms: Building Communities Using Online Haters

  • Sometimes, the strongest communities are built from haters. In this funny and insightful presentation delivered at the HeyOrca! Community Summit, I share three real-life stories from Good Robot Brewing in which trolls were used to develop a strong community following for our brand.

    • Actionable insights to create online communities for growing brands

    • Real-world stories from an entrepreneur and social media manager who has dealt with many, many negative user interactions online

    • Psychological insights on why angry content is so effective at spreading

  • Social Media Managers, Community Managers, Entrepreneurs

Jalapeños, Crop Tops & Condoms: The Best Marketing Costs Nothing

  • Big brands burn millions on marketing. Startups? We have jalapeños, crop tops, and condoms. In this fun and insightful talk at Marketing Your Startup by IGNITE Atlantic in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, I share how Good Robot Brewing went from weeks away from bankruptcy to a thriving brand without spending a dime on traditional marketing.

  • From beer packaging mishaps to crop top activism and a condom scandal that made international news, this talk explores the wild, creative, and cost-free ways startups can stand out. Learn how to leverage review mining, generosity, community engagement, and audacity to build a business people can’t stop talking about.

  • Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners and Operators, SME Managers, Marketers

Real audience quotes

"Such an awesome storyteller"

"Real. Raw. Funny."

"Such a transparent presentation"

"Brilliant presence on stage"

"This guy is awesome, so engaging"

"Such an awesome storyteller" "Real. Raw. Funny." "Such a transparent presentation" "Brilliant presence on stage" "This guy is awesome, so engaging"

"So engaging and entertaining"

"Amazing presentation"

"Great speaker and storyteller"

"Really enjoyed Josh’s humour and down to earth presentation"

"So engaging and entertaining" "Amazing presentation" "Great speaker and storyteller" "Really enjoyed Josh’s humour and down to earth presentation"

"Wish the presentation was longer!"

"My favourite talk of the conference"

"Informative, concise & still entertaining"

"Great motivational speech!"

"Genius"

"Wish the presentation was longer!" "My favourite talk of the conference" "Informative, concise & still entertaining" "Great motivational speech!" "Genius"

"Awesome advice peppered with lots of humour."

"The best one of the two days"

"Helpful and inspiring"

"So fun, so engaging, so creative."

"Awesome advice peppered with lots of humour." "The best one of the two days" "Helpful and inspiring" "So fun, so engaging, so creative."

Sample Keynote Videos

Customized Keynote Presentations

I’ve worn many hats as an entrepreneur, from sales, marketing & community engagement to fundraising, management & recruitment.

Want a tailored keynote or guest speaker engagement? Let’s chat.

FAQs

  • A keynote speaker sets the tone for your event. They’re usually your opening or closing act, delivering high-impact insight with lasting energy.

    The testimonial below from one of Josh’s keynotes is exemplary of the impact a keynote speaker should have.

    “ [Josh truly is] an inspirational speaker and business leader. I absolutely loved [his] energy and authenticity, and I left the conference feeling recharged and excited about new possibilities."

    — Kandace Forward, Executive Director at Lunenburg Board of Trade

  • A keynote speaker headlines.

    A guest speaker supports.

    Josh does both. He’s delivered keynote speeches for major conferences and casual guest talks at smaller AGMs, summits, conferences, team retreats and summits.

  • Joshua’s most requested topics include entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, public relations, creativity, tourism, hospitality and customer experience. Sample keynotes and guest speaking presentations can be found here.

    Joshua is happy to curate a tailored keynote or presentation to your audience.

    He draws from his journey co-founding Good Robot Brewing, scaling it from a Halifax garage to national recognition.

  • Anywhere.

    Josh is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and speaks at events across Canada and internationally. He’s been featured at marketing summits, tourism AGMs, startup accelerators, corporate retreats and more.

    Josh loves to travel. Don’t hesitate to contact him for international events and conferences!

  • Fees typically include a flat rate plus travel. Every event is different. Variables like location, time of year and presentation complexity impact price. Reach out and let’s chat.

  • Yes. Every keynote can be customized to your theme, industry or in-jokes, whether you're hosting 30 staff or 3,000 delegates.

  • Josh doesn’t do clichés or cookie-cutter slides. He shares real, scrappy stories from building a brewery brand with no money and a lot of heart, plus actionable takeaways they audience will actually use.

    The most frequently used words in reviews from Josh’s audiences include:

    • “Authentic”

    • “Transparent”

    • “Funny”

    • “Insightful”

    • “Inspirational”

    • “Tactical”

    • “Actionable”

    • “Real”

  • Absolutely. He has dual Canadian-American citizenship and can travel easily across North America and beyond.

  • Yes. Especially for teams looking to dig deeper into creativity, brand storytelling or customer experience. Let him know what you're planning, and he’ll recommend a format that fits.

  • Yes. While Josh often headlines events, he's also a strong panelist: quick on his feet, full of stories and actionable insights and great at keeping the energy up.

    Whether you need a moderator, guest voice or someone to stir the pot in the best way, he’s in.

  • Yes. Josh has hosted everything from brewery events to business conferences. As an emcee, he brings humour, smooth transitions and just enough chaos to keep things memorable (but never off the rails). Whether it's an awards night or multi-day summit, he keeps the energy up and the audience engaged.

Ready to book your next keynote?

Contact Josh today to discuss timing, topics and more.