One conversation at WBE Canada’s 2025 National Conference and Tradeshow sparked a collaboration between two women-owned businesses. Nancy De Santis of Expertis Solutions and Rebecca Coleman of Oak Bay HR share how shared values, complementary expertise and a willingness to collaborate are turning connection into opportunity.
At WBE Canada, we know that meaningful connections can lead to extraordinary opportunities. Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation.
That was the case when Nancy De Santis, Founder and CEO of Expertis Solutions in Quebec, connected with Rebecca Coleman, Founder of Oak Bay HR in Nova Scotia, at WBE Canada’s 2025 National Conference and Tradeshow. What began as a networking conversation has grown into an ongoing collaboration, with the two entrepreneurs now working together to develop a new solution for the market.
Expertis Solutions is a global provider of talent solutions and services, specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), technology, engineering and industrial sectors. With more than 20 years of talent acquisition experience, the company supports organizations across industries including IT, cybersecurity, manufacturing, construction, marine and aerospace.
Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Oak Bay HR was founded by Rebecca Coleman, an experienced human resources leader with more than 15 years of cross-industry experience. The company provides purpose-driven HR support grounded in strategy, inclusion and results, offering services such as talent acquisition, fractional HR, employee policy manual development, termination assistance and workplace investigations.
Together, Nancy and Rebecca are exploring how their complementary expertise, regional knowledge and shared commitment to people can help organizations navigate workforce challenges and uncover new possibilities.
We spoke with both entrepreneurs about the partnership, the lessons they have learned and why collaboration among women-owned businesses can be a powerful driver of growth.
WBE Canada: What brought your two businesses together? What did you see in each other’s expertise, approach or values that made collaboration a natural fit?
Nancy De Santis, Expertis Solutions: Rebecca and I connected at WBE Canada’s National Conference in 2025 and quickly discovered that we shared an entrepreneurial mindset, a commitment to building meaningful relationships and similar values.
What made the collaboration a natural fit was our shared people-first approach, our willingness to innovate and our desire to turn conversations into action. We saw an opportunity to help employers address workforce challenges by combining our expertise and extending our reach across different regions.
Rebecca Coleman, Oak Bay HR: Nancy and I connected at WBE Canada’s 2025 National Conference and quickly recognized a shared entrepreneurial drive and commitment to people. Our complementary expertise and networks in Quebec and Atlantic Canada made collaboration a natural fit, and we both wanted to turn that connection into something practical for job seekers and employers.
WBE Canada: What unique contributions do you each bring to the partnership?
Nancy De Santis: Expertis Solutions brings more than 20 years of talent acquisition experience, specialized knowledge across technology, engineering and industrial sectors, and an established network in Quebec and beyond. Our bilingual capabilities also help us connect opportunities across Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Rebecca brings a thoughtful approach and a broader human resources and change management perspective to our conversations. Her insights help us consider how organizations can support their people and navigate change alongside their hiring needs. Together, we can look beyond filling positions to consider the broader workforce and organizational challenges businesses face.
Rebecca Coleman: Nancy brings deep recruitment expertise, bilingual capabilities and strong networks in Quebec, particularly across technology, engineering and industrial sectors. I bring more than 15 years of recruitment and HR experience, change management expertise and an Atlantic Canadian perspective. Together, we understand both how to attract talent and what employers need to help people succeed. We align with regards to our strategic vision for recruiting and retaining top talent.
WBE Canada: What makes a partnership successful? What does each partner need to bring to create a mutually beneficial and lasting collaboration?
Nancy De Santis: The number one criterion for a successful partnership is trust, supported by shared values and honest conversations. Rebecca and I are committed to working together, respectful of each other’s expectations and clear about the contributions each of us brings to the table.
I believe successful collaboration also requires an openness to new ideas and a willingness to listen. When both partners understand what they bring to the relationship and remain focused on a shared goal, it creates a strong foundation for building something meaningful together.
Rebecca Coleman: Strong partnerships are built on a commitment to each other’s success. Each partner needs to bring complementary strengths, communicate honestly and follow through on commitments, while ensuring both businesses benefit as the relationship grows.
WBE Canada: What have you learned from working together about partnership, leadership, business growth or yourselves that you might not have learned working independently?
Nancy De Santis: This collaboration has reinforced how resilient and resourceful women entrepreneurs within the WBE Canada community are. Even when circumstances change or challenges arise, we continue looking for solutions. One recent conversation Rebecca and I had led to a new idea that we are now developing together: a minimum viable product (MVP).
It reminded me that business growth often starts with an honest conversation, a shared challenge and a willingness to explore what is possible. As leaders, we do not need to have every answer ourselves. We need to be open to building those answers together.
Rebecca Coleman: Working together has reminded me that I do not have to solve every business challenge on my own. Having someone who understands entrepreneurship, brings a different perspective and is willing to work through ideas together has helped me see opportunities I might not have recognized independently.
WBE Canada: What advice would you give other women entrepreneurs looking to build meaningful business relationships and grow through collaboration?
Nancy De Santis: There is real power in collaboration! My advice is to be open to connections beyond potential buyers, including other women-owned businesses in your field.
Take the time to understand each other’s strengths, share ideas and explore where you could work together. Sometimes, the most valuable opportunities emerge from conversations that begin without a specific outcome in mind. I would also encourage entrepreneurs not to focus exclusively on corporate buyers and procurement professionals. There is an entire community of women entrepreneurs who may need your products or services and who are ready to explore opportunities to work together. Once those conversations begin, ideas for collaboration can follow naturally.
Rebecca Coleman: Stay curious. Other women entrepreneurs can become valuable partners. Take time to understand their businesses, stay connected after the event and follow through when you see an opportunity to work together.
WBE Canada: What’s next for Expertis Solutions and Oak Bay HR?
Nancy & Rebecca: Our collaboration is opening the door to developing a new workforce solution together. We have been accepted into a Volta startup cohort to build our minimum viable product, and we are working as partners to define our path to market across Canada.
It is exciting to see how an initial connection has evolved into an opportunity to explore a new business concept together. We are looking forward to seeing where this next phase takes us.
By combining our expertise and knowledge of Atlantic Canada and Quebec, our goal is to build something practical, inclusive and responsive to the needs of the businesses and people we serve. We see potential for the solution to grow beyond our initial markets, and we are excited to continue exploring that opportunity together.
From networking to meaningful opportunity
The story of Expertis Solutions and Oak Bay HR is a reminder that networking is about more than exchanging business cards. It is about building relationships, recognizing complementary strengths and remaining open to what can happen when two entrepreneurs share ideas and take action.
For women-owned businesses looking to grow, collaborate or enter new markets, the next opportunity may begin with a simple conversation.
At WBE Canada, that is the power of connection in action.
