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Janice Taylor

CEO, Mazu

Janice Taylor is a social entrepreneur, mother, inspirational speaker, author, and online safety advocate.

She has a Bachelor of Psychology, Honours Thesis Option. It was from her research focused on self-esteem and self-efficacy among women that she sought to create a solution to the issue of social media addiction and how it was affecting women, children, and families.

Her credo of compassion, community, and caring drives the vision of her company Mazu, a healthy, positive, and fun engagement platform for families, founded in love. Mazu gives children and parents a place to communicate and connect, creating the “digital family village” – the antidote to social media, that awakens families with love.

Mazu pays tribute to traditional family values and brings “it takes a village” to today’s mobile era. This passion for connecting families stems from Taylor’s own upbringing in Saskatchewan, Canada, where despite the hard times her family faced, she found comfort and belonging in the arms of her neighborhood and community. Watching her two daughters grow up among the isolation and pressures of childhood today, Taylor felt a need to provide a healthy, digital village where parents still matter and love reigns supreme.

The movement to bring parents and children together online has resonated with families from all walks of life. Sports teams and brands have used Mazu as a secure channel, to connect with fans and their kids, celebrating common interests and sharing content. Professional leagues such as the NHL, NBA, WNBA, and MLS have joined the movement, leveraging Mazu’s platform as their core engagement strategy for families.

Janice has brought this message to such esteemed conferences as TEDx, Marianne Williamson Events, and Tech TO, among others. She is a contributing writer to Huffington Post, was named one of twelve extraordinary Women in Tech by the Consulate General of Canada, chosen as one of Oprah’s Ultimate Viewers, and selected as a finalist for the 2013 Woman of Worth Awards. Additionally, in 2016, Mazu was recognized as one of the five Most Innovative Companies in British Columbia.

Janice also founded a mentorship program called The Dream Project to inspire and guide women healing from addictions to achieve their dreams. To further her research on women’s self-esteem and self-efficacy she authored Wisdom. Soul. Startup. Where she shares the life-lessons and unique perspectives to which she attributes her success. In this inspiring book, Janice shares wisdom gleaned from childhood struggles in small-town Canada. The book’s essays share how she found the courage and insight to turn her life around and grow into a successful entrepreneur and community leader.

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