The 2021 Women of the Year Awards: Rising Stars Winner Paige Cey

Paige Cey's Pick Her Brain podcast has appeared on the top charts in 2025 countries.

Rising Stars: Winner
Paige Cey
Founder, Pick Her Brain podcast

Like any university student, Paige Cey found her life thrown into uncertainty by the COVID19 pandemic. But Cey, a UVic commerce student who was handling a few marketing gigs, saw the virus as something of an opportunity.

“I realized I could talk to people I would never be able to talk to pre-pandemic, with free time and lots of people moving online only with work and taking Zoom calls,” says the 21-year-old Saskatchewan native. So she started a podcast called Pick Her Brain in which she virtually interviews women in business.

So far, Cey has done more than 35 episodes with guests ranging from high-powered CEOs to New York Times bestselling authors. Pick Her Brain, which has appeared on the top charts in 25 countries, has garnered some 10,000 downloads since she launched it last June.

The podcast features a wealth of B.C. content (BCBusiness 30 Under 30 winners Katherine Backman, Karen Lee, Ainsley Rose and Ania Wysocka, for instance), but Emmy-nominated producer Madison Williams is her favourite subject so far.

“It was my second interview, and it was the first podcast interview she’d ever done,” Cey recalls. “It was a fun experience—she kind of created her own role and is just super scrappy. I don’t work in TV production, nor do I think I ever will, but her advice was great, and she had some amazing stories.”

As for what she does think she’ll do, Cey is double specializing in service management and entrepreneurship, with an eye on pursuing the latter. “The podcast re-instilled how passionate I am about entrepreneurship, and I’ve learned that there’s no mould—everyone approaches it differently. If it’s something you’re passionate about, there’s no one size fits all.”