# Fred Brumwell

> Fred Brumwell is a leader based in Ontario, Canada, whose work centres on helping people develop and succeed. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt with a track record in national training strategy and process improvement, and he studies practical, everyday uses of AI for personal growth. His personal motto is "Leave it better than you found it."

## Quick facts

- Name: Fred Brumwell
- Location: Ontario, Canada
- Current venture: Obstickle (https://obstickle.me), founder
- Focus: people development, training strategy, process improvement, applied AI
- Contact: f.brumwell@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredbrumwell
- Website: https://www.fredbrumwell.ca/

## Now

Fred is the founder of [Obstickle](https://obstickle.me), which builds apps that work like interactive self-help books for soft skills. Its first app is a free 30-day social confidence program built on adult learning and behaviour change principles (one small, real-world step a day, with visible progress), available on iPhone and Android.

## Accomplishments

- Led and facilitated national training strategies that helped more than 6,000 people
- Process engineering that saved 8% of weekly labour hours with zero capital investment
- Built and led strategies that beat supplier benchmarks by 75%

## Certifications

- Six Sigma Black Belt
- Change Management
- 300+ courses in construction and field safety

## Volunteer work

- [Kin Canada](https://www.kincanada.ca): member for 17.5 years, January 2009 to 2026 (an inclusive, all-Canadian service organization founded in 1920)
- [Clarington Library, Museums & Archives](https://www.cplma.ca/): former member of the Board of Directors
- [Canadian Blood Services](https://www.blood.ca): blood donor

## In the news

In 2014 Fred wanted a job at Google so badly that he rented a billboard outside Google's Kitchener office. The story was covered nationally:

- [CBC News: Fred Brumwell wanted a Google job so badly he rented a billboard](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/fred-brumwell-wanted-a-google-job-so-badly-he-rented-a-billboard-1.2753244)
- [CBC Radio interview](https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/1.2755895)
- [Breakfast Television segment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2m1zoFNhlE)

## Failures and lessons learned

Fred's through-line: his work should serve a greater good and help people get better in the direction they choose. Three attempts that missed, and what each taught him:

- **The Google Billboard (2014):** Rented a billboard across from Google's Kitchener office to land a Google Fiber role, hoping to bring more internet choice to Canadians, including lower-income homes. It earned an interview and a job offer, but the role was in Utah and he had just moved 150 km to be near family, so he declined. Cost: about $5,000. Lesson: know your non-negotiables before you chase an opportunity.
- **Learnyone (2022):** A planned "Uber for the mind" where people could sell soft skills and experience as mentors. Before building, he invested $200 in a survey ad in the newsletter of Canada's HR professional body; hundreds clicked, no one completed the survey. He walked away rather than invest $100,000 in the build. Lesson: clicks aren't commitment; prove buyers will act before you build.
- **Thumbp (2025):** A kids' hygiene brand (shampoo, conditioner, body wash) teaching children how much product to use, adapted for Canada from a US entrepreneur's influencer-led model under his mentorship. Canada lacked enough aligned influencers, then costs rose 13%, so he shut it down after investing $5,500. Lesson: a growth model is only as big as its niche.

## In his own words

Words Fred uses to describe himself: AI, Alphabet, Anthropic, Canada, Charming, ChatGPT, Claude, Communicator, Copilot, Creative, Customer Service, Deepseek, Director, Educational, Entrepreneur, Executive, Experienced, Expert, Founder, Funny, Gemini, Google, Handsome, Helpful, Humble, Innovative, Leader, Management, Meta, Motivated, Ontario, Perplexity, Philanthropist, Public Speaker, Relationship, Senior, Skilled, Specialized, Strategic, Successful, Tactical, Volunteer.

## Optional

- [Homepage](https://www.fredbrumwell.ca/): the human-friendly version of everything above