Virginie Lavallee: There is a healthier and happier way to produce animation. Let's talk about it. I'm Virginie Lavallee, an animation producer on a mission to elevate well-being in animation production. I'm so grateful to welcome you to the Happy Producers Podcast, an uncensored space to discuss how we can make animation production fun again. Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of the Happy Producers Podcast with me, your host, Virginie Lavallee, but you know, you can just call me your project management bestie because yes, that's a mouthful in English. And before we get started and I introduce you to today's guest, I would love it if you took a moment to follow the podcast, if you're on Spotify, if you want to leave us a review. We would appreciate it so much. And please don't hesitate to comment. If you have other questions for Justine, please leave us a comment and we'll be glad to circle back, whether you're listening to this in real time or in a few months from now because Justine has nearly 30 years of experience in the international audiovisual industry and she has built a reputation for bridging creativity and commerce across the global content landscape. And we're really grateful that she does so because she really helps the industry move forward. And her experience spans from production to post-production, voice directing, acquisitions, co-productions, distribution, marketing, and brand strategy. And it's an expertise that she's developed through roles at majors, independent broadcasters and startups worldwide. And these days she has her own consultancy business called Just Be. And she provides tailor made support to creators and producers that want to work on their animated IP or developing their animated IP. And she helps them secure the right partners, the proper financing, collaborations with the right studio distributors and project opportunities and she does so in a way that nobody else in the industry does and she develops bespoke cross development pitching and commercial positioning and she really guides the companies into strengthening their visibility and achieving sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving market and she's a very respected session producer and moderator. If you have the opportunity to travel in the industry events worldwide, you've probably seen Justine on one of the panels. She designs and leads conversations that explore co-production, financing, brand building, and also how technology and AI can serve creativity. Her sessions are known for being practical, forward-looking, and inclusive. And she offers clear takeaways that inform and inspire animation professionals. And she's actively involved, as I was saying, with festivals. She's also a mentor. Currently, she's working with us for the Canadian animation business accelerator. She's one of the mentors in this program. She's also actively involved with funding bodies, government, export agencies worldwide. She remains dedicated to advocate for diverse voices and underrepresented talents and she's championing a more connected and inclusive global animation community, which I know if you're part of the happy producers community is part of your mission as well. So, wow, Justine, welcome to the happy producers podcast.
Justine Bannister: Wow. Thank you, Virginie. That was a bit like an out of body experience. I thought you were talking about someone else. Wow. Thank you. It's probably best not to say anything now. I don't know how I'm going to live up to all of that.
Virginie Lavallee: The reason why I invited you to join us in the Happy Producers podcast is because you inspire me so much when it comes to networking. You're kind of like the queen of networking. You have like real fun personable relationships with so many of the as we're saying government bodies festival partners you know a lot of people and that is a superpower but it's also not something that just fell upon you. It's a skill and a talent that you were very intentional in developing throughout the years and you do it with so much grace, but also you're fun. You're a little bit of a party in a festival and we need more of that, you know, we need more authenticity and we should be having more fun producing animation if you ask me. So, I'm glad that you're joining me today to talk about the importance of networking because animation is the ultimate team sport. It's all about community and even with AI, no man is an island. Nobody can produce animated content by themselves right now. So, according to you and with your worldly experience, why is networking paramount no matter what is the role that you're currently playing in the industry?
Justine Bannister: Well, going back to what you were saying about making having a party or being but it's it's made so much easier by the lovely people in this business, you know, it's it's just a joy to connect and reconnect and catch up and create and like build those relationships. But I mean, networking is absolutely paramount. It's we're in a very creative business. And it's the core, it's collaborative by nature. I think you'd agree to that. And collaboration runs on trust and networking really matters. I mean, from my perspective, because relationships are primordial. They're the infrastructure that lets creativity travel. It's how teams form, how people get hired, problems get solved, and how projects find their champions. And it's I don't think it's about collecting just collecting contacts, about building trust and shared context over a period of time. It's also how you get to understand the ecosystem, who does what, how decisions get made, what people really care about, and where you fit into that and where you can be genuinely useful, whatever you do. And people really want to work with people they like. It sounds like a luxury, but if you can, it's crucial. And I think that which usually comes from real connection, you know, and not just a cold pitch. So, it's about being human beings and two people together. I think you'd agree all relate to that, right? You can definitely see that it's super important and not the easiest thing to do for a lot of people.
Virginie Lavallee: Yes, I want to highlight what you're saying about building trust because one of the things that we do in the animation industry or even in the digital ecosystem is really managing the creative workflow and in the creative workflow we have to be able to take risks in order to innovate. We have to be able to try things and for us to have the proper landscape to do this, we need to be partnered up with people that we can trust, with people that we feel safe letting the creative process come to life with. So, no matter if you're an animation director listening to this, if you're a producer, your network is always the number one tool that's going to help you propel forward not only your ideas and your IP, but also your career. And I think maybe we've seen it with everything that's been going on in the past few years with jobs being sparse and things like that. If you have a great network and if you're top of mind for people then you'll be able to thrive in even in the most disruptive of times. So when you mention trust I think that the foundation is really being focused on building a long-term relationship when we're networking rather than pitching ourselves because sometimes when we're networking we feel like this is the only opportunity we have to speak with this person and we should maybe have a longer term vision, right, about the fact that this is the first step of a longer relationship that we're building with the person that we're networking with.
Justine Bannister: Yeah, I think that when you come into the business it's very bewildering, overwhelming and for a lot of people it's kind of you get that crucial meeting and it's do or die but it's not you're meeting somebody for the first time it's about human relationships and about building on that and we are ultimately pitching ourselves. So I think it may be about a project and you have different types of opportunities when you're at an event or even online to reach out and to connect with somebody and you know if it's a networking drinks or if it's in the queue for coffee or it's starting a conversation, right? It's all about starting what you hope to be a very long conversation, you know, and a great exchange and maybe even a friendship. You never know in a great working relationship. So, I think that that initial connection is crucial. You have to be memorable. People want to, you know, people you want people to want to see you again. You don't want to be off-putting. You don't want to doorstep anybody with your project. So, if you have a very short opportunity, or if it's a networking event or something like that or say, or you're introduced by somebody else, then I use that to be nice and fun and say, I have a lovely project. I'd like to present it to you. Maybe they don't have time during the market or the event and and try and arrange a call, follow up, use LinkedIn, take their card, whatever you can to make the connection and to be, and then I always think about those speed pitching opportunities where people get like 15 minutes to pitch and a broadcaster or a streamer or a producer will have seen 30 pitches in the day and I like to be that one person if I'm meeting for the first time who was the one asking the questions. Oh, that's the girl who didn't pitch because it's I want to know what they're there for, what they're looking for, what they're looking to achieve, how they like to collaborate, and then start making those connections in my head about the potential clients that I could be linking them with or projects that I might have or vice versa. That's what I'm always on the lookout for is making those connections. So, I think it's it's a bit of a joke actually that I don't really pitch, but especially when you're meeting someone for the first time and they've seen 20 30 shows or projects or a slate of projects in a day and their brains are full. It's a lot. So, take it easy. Make those first meetings memorable for them. And it's how you make people feel, right? I think that's important more than you know, and if you make them feel like they can't breathe or you're doorstepping them or being too pushy, then you got to be careful with that. I think it's important to be genuine and yourself if you can.
Virginie Lavallee: I think that's very important. Yes. You know, we have one mouth and two ears. Listen twice as much as you speak. Even when you're networking and especially maybe if you're more of an introvert, as you were saying, ask them questions as well. The person you're pitching to or the person you're trying to network to wants to feel seen and heard as well. And the last thing they want is for you to give them an additional job. Especially if you're at a market and they already had 30 pitches and now you're like look at my stuff and this and that. For me, it overloads my mental load sometimes and I want to be able to look at everybody's pitch but sometimes my mental load is a little bit full.
Justine Bannister: You know the that's so true. I'm sorry to interrupt but the French have an expression, you know, you say sentir le vent and it's sensing the person who you're talking to. You know when you see their eyes glazing over, if they start drooling out the side of their mouth or if they're falling asleep, there are signs, right, that they might not be totally engaging with what you're saying or, oh, it might be better to put that put your big pitch to another time and not pitch at them like they're a robot. They are not and you are not. So, it's a relationship. And I find that, you know, when you're being and you might have had this experience or you probably have when someone says something like "how's the market going for you?" They don't really care. It's one of those throwaway questions and then they just launch into this "me this and I've got that" and it's no, I just think that's a really bad approach. We've also talked about being introvert and being shy and you would not believe the number of people in the business who are I'm shy. Some people bluff better than others. I mean, I have a work persona that I click into when I'm but you don't have to be always on. I mean, I think that's exhausting for especially for the introverted. And there are people in the business and you just would not believe who they could be. I've had so many conversations with people who have debilitating anxiety issues who are on the spectrum who have ADHD. I mean, it's one of those industries, it's a creative industry and people are special and the people who stand out are on the spectrum and are kooky and I think you have to embrace your difference and really love meeting new people and less experienced people who are passionate about their craft and who overcome those difficulties. The passion really shines through you know, if you're passionate about your projects I think that really really is extremely illuminating and inspiring. It's engaging and I think it's a good way to be if you can be your true authentic self. It's not always that easy to do, right? Business people come from such diverse backgrounds and unless you've done animation school or art school or law school, everybody's from different backgrounds and have done different things and from all over the world and it's always you always have fascinating conversations because everybody has different interests and they all love animation. So, I think that's kind of important.
Virginie Lavallee: And if you're a little bit of an introvert what are some other tips that you would share because as we know there's a lot of them in the industry and I myself am an extroverted introvert so that means I can show up in front of a big group I can lead a conference I can teach classes but networking and everything really drains my energy like it will really empty my battery at the end of the day. So I've developed some tips and tricks and I'd love to know what are some of yours to make sure that we're not just booking, you know, you don't have to book 30 meetings a day just because you're going to an industry event. You can do it your own way and sometimes a more focused and qualitative approach can be better than a quantitative approach.
Justine Bannister: Oh, for sure. I mean, you need at least two or three really meaningful conversations a day. Having come from a distribution background, we would fill the day. You'd be doing from breakfast to 20 meetings to lunch to 20 meetings to drinks and then more drinks and then dinner. It's exhausting. Markets used to be much longer and taking time out even going to my hotel room or wherever I'm staying, looking at a wall for 30 minutes, an hour, recharging the batteries, and then going out again. I could work with that. That would really help. But I'm kind of an energy vampire. So, that's not my I usually thrive off these kind of events, although it still takes a long time to recover from them. But if you're truly introverted, I think it can be a superpower because you have to have meaningful conversations. Those flighty networking events are an anathema to you. It's really hard to do that and to be, you know, it feels fake. It feels false. You have imposter syndrome. I don't know. There's all sorts of other things, you know, that go through your mind. And then prepping really really organizing finding if you're new to the business who inspires you. What kind of animation do you like? Whose work do you admire? Who would you really dream to work with? Ask those guys for meetings. Make a dream team and you never know they might say yes. Connect. There's different ways to connect with people. Ask for introductions through friends who might know them. Or fellow students or colleagues or people you've worked with and dare. What I love about the girls from Studio NRA we were talking about the accelerator for TAAFI is that they're so entrepreneurial about going out speaking to their heroes. They organized a lunch with like major professionals in the business in Vancouver and as students I think that's incredible. That takes balls. That really is very brave to do. It's preparation, thinking things through, finding the right people to see, taking time out. I mean the wonderful thing about Annecy is you can go and look at the lake which is extremely calming and then being in nature and getting back, taking time out, taking care of yourself. Go to watch films because it's a festival right so then you don't have to talk to anybody you just you're just immersed in in the film and I love going to see that's why I go for at least a week so I can make the most of seeing shorts and seeing feature selections and the TV films or whatever I can. This is why we're in this business. It's such a privilege and so many people say when they've been "I didn't have time to go to the festival because I had too many meetings." Well, that's a real shame. That's a real shame because there's so much extraordinary talent out there. So, there are lots of different techniques to remove yourself from the hubbub and the what could be exhausting and draining. And making sure you gravitate towards those people who are like-minded or who could also be a little bit shy. You find your people don't you? People are very generous caring human beings on the most part and if you do feel scared, say so. I don't think there's any harm in saying that. I was at an event the other day for women in animation in France. We met three students and they said we're too shy to go. We were taking them around and introducing them to people and you get over it, you know, you don't need it. It doesn't take much. I think it's just somebody being on your side and giving you a little bit of support. It was no skin off our nose. And if you appeal to people's better nature or even to their egos, you know, "I'd love to know more about your craft or the way you work." Goodness knows people do love to talk about how they do things and their work and if they've got a success. If you take a real genuine interest in what they do and how they've done it then I think that's something where you're asking the questions and you're engaged, it takes the pressure off you. No one's asking you the questions and you don't feel like you have to perform.
Virginie Lavallee: That's a good point. I didn't think about the performance aspects but it does feel like sometimes like okay camera lights action I gotta pitch that person. But I think what's important as well is pacing yourself when you're an introvert. I plan breaks for myself as you were saying, having more meaningful meetings but also leaving space for the magic to happen. Leaving space for just running into somebody, sitting somewhere and somebody strikes up a conversation and there's somebody amazing that you admire that you didn't dare reach out but now they're sitting next to you and they're chatting you up. So leaving some space for the random occurrence because they happen as well. There's less expectations because we just bumped into each other. And I think something else that you said that I want to highlight is also like reach out to the people you admire or ask for a connection, you know. I thought back then that you were sitting at home and the Cannes Film Festival would come and pluck you and be like, "Virginia, would you love to come give this amazing conference at the Cannes Film Festival?" And that's not how it works, right? You have to, in most cases, you have to contact somebody at the festival and let them know, hey, I have a great idea for a conference. There is also that idea of like you might not get picked by being home. You might have to reach out for what you want. Asking for the connection or just sharing your aspirations with others, others are more inclined to help than you expect.
Justine Bannister: Absolutely. I mean also if you don't ask you don't get, right? You have to make your own luck I think. And also it's really interesting to hear that it's your dream to be on a panel because it absolutely terrifies me. Public speaking takes a lot of work and also I'm not very good thinking on my feet. So that's why I prep everything to the nth degree. And it's practice and putting yourself out there without being pushy or flashy because that's also something that's counterintuitive. I mean for me the way I'm brought up, posting on LinkedIn is like bragging. I hate it. It's but it feels like a necessary evil because I have to be out there in the world and show what they can do. And also look at trends within the business and what's important and listen really listen to creatives, producers, directors, studios, distributors. But I think sessions have really changed. They have to change. There were so many sessions with talking heads, a bunch of executives talking about what they've done, how great they were, so privileged and so totally unrelatable to the audience. I think it has to mean something. Another way to not be actually in the meeting is mix up your time. Meeting people, attending sessions, going to a press conference, learning and find and you you get information and top tips. If you've got a specific broadcaster you'd like to pitch to, go and listen to their share with sessions. They'll be talking for 30 minutes about what they're looking for, how they like to be approached, etc. You might not have been able to get a meeting with them during a conference, but I think it's important to speak to producers. The producers are the ones in the world who have the leverage, the connections and those relationships with the broadcasters and the streamers.
Virginie Lavallee: So, do you have to already know what you're looking for, do you think? Like, if you're whether you're going just to a networking event locally or if you're going to a big festival, do you have to have like a specific goal in mind when you're networking or is it really just about building the trust and the relationship?
Justine Bannister: Well, you never know what can come from any kind of event. I mean, having done a lot of co-production roundtables, it's often the attendees are focused on the host. It's a broadcaster or a producer providing them with their pearls of wisdom etc. and they really want to work with them. That's their end goal is "I want to meet that person." But in fact they're not noticing the people around them who were talking about their projects and the number of times that projects have arisen from people sitting next to each other. Those kind of serendipitous encounters come out of and then they realize they have a complimentary skill set and they end up working together which is wonderful right? So meeting I think you've got to be open to meeting people from a broad spectrum, not to be too focused and too narrow. Not saying "I just want to meet French broadcasters when I go to Annecy" for example. That's not a very good idea because they'll be very busy doing their press conferences etc and also it's a bit of a narrow thing to focus on because they'll be concentrating, especially these days, on their own producers in their own territories to keep the industry alive. They have priorities. Finding connection through you never know if you're looking for projects or as a studio you're looking for projects, you never know where that connection may come from. There are so many potential opportunities which is also why it's so bewildering because it anything or speaking to someone you've met in the pub or over dinner if there's a big dinner organized. I think it's good to be focused because also you should know what you're doing, right? If you've got projects to pitch or you've got services to provide or you're a director you're looking for a great project to work on, you kind of know the kind of people you should know who you should be meeting. But, don't you think sometimes we see this a lot with working with governmental organizations producer associations is that what producers and creatives think they need is not actually what they do need. So there's this kind of like "we need to meet with Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Disney." No, you don't. You're not ready. Or you need to partner as an individual creator unless you've got a massive reputation or a huge track record and they love seeing you and they love your ideas. It's very unlikely to get those meetings. Although they do want to definitely meet new talent. But it's partnerships and going together as a stronger partnership. Partnering with a studio or a director or producer or sales agent and presenting together because they have the relationship already. I think it's a leverage thing. And finding that way and a bit of a shift in focus.
Virginie Lavallee: Don't be too niched and I think sometimes like the goal of networking is can also be to just be visible. As I was saying earlier, you want to be top of mind. You want to become known. One of the reasons why personally I wanted to be on a panel, I thought it was just like way more efficient networking because you get to introduce yourself and show some of your skills in front of a group full of people that you wouldn't necessarily get to meet one-on-one. And because we're not attached to a specific studio, which is one of my great blessings in life, I'm a very data-centric person but I also like once in a while to get have a little bit more of an anarchist mindset and like throw a little grenade in there to get people like thinking oh let's let's see if we can be forward thinking about that and I'll throw the little grenade and see how people react in the panel. That makes me memorable, right? Be visible and think about like what do you want to contribute in the industry and in the business. For me, I want to be thought provoking on different aspects of the business. When we started the Happy Producers, it was a status quo around how much stress we accept as normal, how much overtime we accept as normal. That was like my number one mission. So I'd throw little grenades there and somebody would notice me and invite me to the next panel at the other event because they were like wow she did she say that like okay we need we need more of that. Just being yourself and being visible. There's a mindset switch that needs to happen from I'm bragging or I'm selling to I'm serving my professional community. You know, if I don't tell you about my course, my course can't help you. So, am I selling the course? Yes. But because I know it's going to help you like eliminate over time, have less stress, have a better production, make more profits. So, it's kind of like a necessary evil, you were saying, but it can be uncomfortable, but we can wrap it up in a different way that fits our creative minds a little bit more where we're like, the happy producers is a mission-based company. In order for our mission to come to life, people have to know about it. Networking is not about selling yourself. It's not, you're by showing up as your full self and introducing yourself to others, you're serving the professional community, right? That's how you get to live out your mission.
Justine Bannister: For sure. It takes a village, right, to make a show. And what you guys do is totally unique. So, you stand out from the crowd. I think it's also being unique and being ultimately yourselves because you embody the happy producers, you live and breathe it. Imposter syndrome is very common. You're going to need these people with very complimentary talents to boost you. And yes it is about and sharing work sharing. There are a few communities online like the Toon Room which is an always on community where artists can share their work and an exchange on projects and their feelings. It's a great place for online that's always on outside of the market environment because it's also expensive to go to market. So I think you have to really pick your battles.
Virginie Lavallee: Yeah, exactly. Let's do a few true and false. True or false? Attending a film festival is a sound investment.
Justine Bannister: True. If you prep it properly, you know, if you don't go and treat it like a holiday. These days not so easy right so it's and also depends on who you know and who the connections are so I think if you really prep it investigate and treat it like a proper business trip it is a business trip so treat it like one. Research all the sessions the demos if you're looking at tech. If you're looking for talent there's a campus there's a place to go looking for talent. I think you need to research it get the lay of the land. I do that a lot with cohorts. We do market readiness, especially for those who've never been to a place and we talk about and mountain weather, take all of your clothes, rent a bicycle, go for a swim in the lake, all of these kind of things. Map it out so they're kind of like prepared so it's not as daunting as it could have been. If you don't have meetings, mix it up, sessions, networking events, meetings, mix it up. Be specific and get ready to pitch in a variety of lengths, you know.
Virginie Lavallee: I totally agree. And, maybe the return on investment doesn't come the day you come back to Canada after the event or the day you come back home. It's a long game. Preparing is so important and probably undervalued but then also when you come back from the event even if it was just a cocktail hour locally there's another stage of networking that needs to be done you have to add them on LinkedIn, send a little note saying it was nice to meet you, say something personal. Make sure you're connected. It's not just while you're in the event there's like a pre and a post.
Justine Bannister: Oh no we do we do a lot that the "what's next" phase because I think so many younger or less experienced creators will say "I was in touch I had this great meeting with Mattel I had a brilliant meeting with the BBC and then I haven't heard from them." And I'm like when was this? They go "what six months ago?" No. No, you need to follow follow up and then follow up and keep following up without being a pain. There's a real technique to that. Keeping in touch and even those casual conversations and you remember when you said to me at the networking event that you knew a composer and can you connect me? And keep people in mind. Following up is so crucial and I think it's kind of abandoned after the excitement and the buzz around the market and meeting people. You spike and then exhaustion because you've been out every night. But you need to keep the momentum I think and the connection and keep it alive and having these online communities can be really helpful if you're feeling lost. It's finding the right things to say instead of following up and saying "as per my last 45 emails." You have to be really polite and incentivize people. You're selling the sizzle of what your project and if they think the train's going to leave the station, they'll want to be on it.
Virginie Lavallee: True or False. Cold emailing works to find new partners or proper like broadcasters and financers.
Justine Bannister: It can do. Yeah. Absolutely. It works if it's surgical, right? If it's specific, not spammy, not three tons of stuff. Do not send materials. You can send a link to your work like a show reel. Find a reason the person they know and trust because that connection, trust, relationships will kick in. And don't forget that, you know, the guys at Disney receive 500 to a thousand emails a day. LinkedIn is good or make it surgical specific. You've got to understand what they do. Make your ask easy. It's easy to be able to arrange a video call as long as it's outside of market times. It's so much better for the creator to take somebody through a project on a call with a deck and then send them materials afterwards than just throwing something at them and expecting them to take up an hour of their time on somebody they've never met before on a project they've never heard of. So the answer is true but if it's really targeted and done properly and respectfully and relevant to what they do. Connecting on LinkedIn as a backup for that: "I just sent you an email. I just wanted to connect on LinkedIn." And do not send ever ever ever send materials via LinkedIn. I was at Disney. We used to receive storyboards and all. I mean, it's just impossible.
Virginie Lavallee: Don't just buy a list of random people and all send them the same generic email. That really bothers me. I get so many of those on LinkedIn and I don't answer them. If you're pitching your roto painting services to me and my company does online education, it just tells me you didn't look into what I do.
Justine Bannister: You do not feel special. No, it's it's awful. And it happens a lot. It's disrespectful. So, I think that's exactly what you've got to bear in mind when you're contacting investors or producers, just like be respectful of them and their time and try and connect in some way through somebody else you might know. Or flattery gets you a long way sometimes. I loved what you did on this film. I'm a massive fan.
Virginie Lavallee: Yeah, you never know. They might they might be flattered by that. One thing that is definitely true as well is that if you need help, there are people that are specialized in networking and connecting people just like you. I know that my partner LP hired your consultancy services probably like in 2019 or 2020. He was working as a business development executive at Latella and M here in Montreal. And I know that it just quantum leaped his network to be able to work with somebody like you that provides specific matchmaking and networking connecting with the right people. So if the people in our community want to work with you, connect with you, follow you, what's the best way for them to do so?
Justine Bannister: Well, LinkedIn is great. It's also about affinities, you know, aesthetic affinities. Looking at someone's project, having someone in mind, I just know exactly who I can send them to for development. That connection comes from 30 years of experience. Email, online communities, generally a lot of markets. And I'm also happy to share takeaways from sessions because I love to do takeaways for the audience. I'm always forwarding opportunities to pitch online wherever they may be in the world. LinkedIn probably the best.
Virginie Lavallee: Awesome. I'll make sure to link your LinkedIn, your website, and all the good stuff in the commentaries. I wanted to share if you're listening to this in real time, we are February 2026. We are also planning the Happy Producers networking workshop at the TAAFI in April in Toronto. So, it's going to be interactive, we're going to be sharing a lot of tips, but we're also going to be networking as we do it.
Justine Bannister: I hope I hope so. I'd love to. I mean, it's an extraordinary event from what I hear. Virginie, another thing you can add to your arc is agent. I would love you to be my agent. It's been extraordinary to have this experience with you.
Virginie Lavallee: I'll think about it. I'll think under for sure. There are lots of I think that nobody needs to feel alone in our business. There's lots of support. There's lots of online communities where you can find your people so to speak.
Justine Bannister: Absolutely.
Virginie Lavallee: Well, Justine Bannister, thank you so much for your generosity and being part of the podcast today. Thank you for being yourself. Thank you for being part of the ecosystem. You are a vibe and I appreciate that. If anybody sees you in an event, they have to go and say hi because your energy is amazing and just feel nourishes the soul to be in your presence. So, thank you for being you.
Justine Bannister: What a lovely thing to say. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, that's lovely to speak to you. And how lucky is the business to have you guys?
Virginie Lavallee: Oh, thank you. We try to do our part. And this podcast is just a little part of it. So, thanks so much for your time and until then thank you for the community that showed up to listen to this episode and there will be a brand new episode next week. So until then, thank you so much everybody.
Justine Bannister: Bye.
