Episode Overview

Too often, creative professions like photography, music, or art in general are left out of the equation when discussing entrepreneurship. Angela Percival, professional Outdoor Photographer, believes the startup community should be embracing creativity – both as a profession and as a problem solving tool. 

Adventure and justice are the two threads that makeup Angela Percival’s creative DNA. Evident in her photography is a deep love for wild places and a genuine concern for people. Relentlessly curious, with the stamina to match, she doesn’t shrink from storms or suffering: in fact, that’s what pulls her closer. She’s drawn to the drama – in light, landscapes, or the human quest to explore the impossible and tap the joy that can be found there. National Geographic called her one of the planet’s top nine female Adventure Photographers who are pushing the limits.

Angela Percival spent 14 years shaping and shooting the signature imagery that has defined Arc’teryx, a global apparel brand with deep roots in the most extreme climates and sports. She can conjure stories out of maps and organize expeditions around shot-lists. She brings concepts and campaigns to life through her lens.

Angela’s one of the very few women to have made a career documenting the outdoor and action sports world and is utterly at home skiing, mountain biking, or dragging a team of elite athletes into spectacular and remote settings. She is passionate about catalyzing change in the world to allow women to be the center of their own stories and evolving collective story.

At the end of the day, whether she’s sitting over the lightboard building stories frame by frame, curating expeditions, or pausing chores to call a beloved friend, she’s chasing and championing the most elusive thing of all, time well spent.

“If more photographers, musicians, and creatives thought of themselves as entrepreneurs, it may help them in treating their art as a business.”

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada and Scotiabank, Angela discusses her photography journey, living life through the lens of ‘time well spent’, and the need to include creative professions in Canada’s entrepreneurship conversation.

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