http://iveylocal:8888/index.php/blogs/ en ejanssen@ivey.uwo.ca Copyright 2010 2010-02-07T17:01:24+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/dialogue_in_the_den/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/dialogue_in_the_den/#When:17:01:24Z Brought to you by KPMG Enterprise.  Canadian entrepreneurs need skills and knowledge to build their business empires. Listen to Dialogue in the Den to find out more about the education of an entrepreneur. THE EDUCATION OF ENTREPRENEURS By Dennis Fortnum, National Leader, KPMG Enterprise   Canadian entrepreneurs need skills and knowledge to build their business empires. Listen to Dialogue in the Den to find out more about the education of an entrepreneur.  PDF HERE.   Events, Featured Leaders, Entrepreneurial Thoughts/Ramblings 2010-02-07T17:01:24+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/ivey_alums_win_ernst_young_entrepreneur_of_the_year_award/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/ivey_alums_win_ernst_young_entrepreneur_of_the_year_award/#When:16:26:15Z Three Ivey alumni received the Ernst & Young Ontario Region Entrepreneur of the Year award: Anton Rabie and Ben Veradi (Spin Master Toys), and Robert Deluce (Porter Airlines).2009 ERNST&YOUNG ONTARIO REGION ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY AWARD WINNER Tom Jenkins, executive chairman and chief strategy officer for open text Corp. of Waterloo, can rightly claim a major role in changing the way business is done around the world. Since joining open text in 1994, he has helped turn it into one of the first true internet companies. its enterprise content management software is now used by 50 million people in 114 countries, and open text has grown into a global titan with $786-million in revenues and 3,500 employees. “Tom Jenkins’ exceptional vision distinguished him in the highly competitive digital sector. He radically changed the way we use the internet in business,” says Colleen Mc-Morrow, national and ontario Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. “Entrepreneurs like him drive economies and build communities. they make a difference by transforming ideas into reality.” OTHER WINNERS Category Business-to-business products and services Winners Oliver Bock, Gabrielle Chevalier, Mark Smith - Solutions 2 Go Inc., Mississauga Solutions 2 Go offers unique services to video game makers from its Mississauga headquarters. the five-year-old company is a master of distribution. no need to tackle the intricacies of identifying vendors, signing them up and then shipping product. Solutions 2 Go offers some of the biggest game makers in the world a choice of options—from the traditional through a master distribution agreement or exclusive rights. the goal is to give newcomers a head start on sales and to provide existing makers a cost-efficient alternative solution to the challenges of creating their own distribution network. —- Category Business-to-consumer products and services  Winners Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie, Ben Varadi - Spinmaster Ltd., Toronto  Spin Master has been designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer products for children around the world since 1994 and is recognized as a global growth leader within the toy industry. Spin Master is best known for such popular brands as boy’s action phenomena and 2009 toy of the Year Bakugan Battle Brawlers, the 2008 toy of the Year winner air Hogs, the aquadoodle, tech Deck and Moon sand. the company has entered children’s media with the launch of spin Master Entertainment, a division focusing on the design, development and production of television and other media properties. Spin Master employs more than 600 people with offices in toronto, los angeles, paris, london, Hong Kong and Mexico. —- Category Clean technology Winners: Timothy Haig, Kevin Norton - Biox Corp., Oakville Biox is a technology and manufacturing company whose global growth is being fuelled by proprietary technologies in biodiesel production. Biox has a fully operational world-class biodiesel plant located in Hamilton with a capacity of 67 million litres a year. The company’s innovative, proprietary and patented production process is significantly faster and achieves higher yields than any competing technology, and it has the ability to use the widest variety of feedstocks ranging from pure seed oils to animal fats to recovered vegetable oils with no change to the production process. —- Category Emerging entrepreneur  Winner Robert Deluce - Porter Airlines Inc., Toronto Porter Airlines Inc. is a regional passenger carrier based at toronto City Centre airport. Using propeller-driven aircraft, the airline currently serves toronto, ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, new York (newark) and Chicago (Midway) with seasonal flights to Mt. tremblant. Flights to Thunder Bay began on June 26, 2009. porter plans to fly to at least 17 short-haul Canadian and U.s. destinations in the future and has found a ready market among business travellers and ordinary consumers alike. —- Category Financial services Winner Wesley Hall - Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc., Toronto Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc. provides strategic shareholder communication and consulting services. through its multi-dimensional mechanism for communicating with shareholders, Kingsdale can help secure the success of any transaction driven by shareholder votes. For takeover bids, proxy fights, special and routine shareholder meetings, Kingsdale offers an array of specialized programs and services including proxy solicitation, information agent, depository, corporate governance advice and other shareholder-related services. Kingsdale’s core services are complemented by an expert team of senior-level professionals who work directly with corporate management, including chief executive officers, chief financial officers, general counsel, corporate secretaries, investor relations and professional corporate advisors such as lawyers and investment bankers. —- Category Manufacturing Winner Dr. Allan Carswell - Optech Inc., Concord Optech Inc. is global market leader in the development, manufacture and support of advanced laser-based surveying, mapping and imaging instruments. its three divisions specialize in terrestrial surveying, marine surveying and industrial and 3D imaging. With 200 employees and a U.s.-based subsidiary, optech pioneered technology such as airborne laser bathymetry and ground-based differential absorption lidar systems to monitor stratospheric ozone. Canadian-owned and operated since 1974, it has grown from a small company into a world leader in its field. —- Category Media and entertainment Winner Darren Throop - E1 Entertainment, Toronto Entertainment one is a leading diversified, independent creator and distributor of television, music and film in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United states, Holland and Belgium. With 1,500 staff and annual revenues of about $650-million, it is now the no. 1 proprietary independent television company in Canada and the no. 1 independent record label in the United states. its 2009 film releases include the megahits Twilight and Knowing. E1 has a vast content library with more than 4,000 feature films, 2,800 hours of television programming and 15,000 music tracks. —- Category Mining and metals Winner Peter Marrone - Yamana Gold Inc., Toronto Yamana is a gold producer engaged in both gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. the company has significant properties involved in gold and other precious metals production, development, and exploration of land positions in Brazil, Chile, argentina, Mexico and Central america. Yamana has nine operating gold mines, two of which are currently in the commissioning stage and four gold development stage projects. —- Category social entrepreneur Winner Diane Dupuy - Famous People Players, Etobicoke Diane Dupuy founded Famous people players, a theatrical black-light stage show company, in 1974 as a way of showcasing the considerable talents of people with intellectual disabilities. today, the company has an impressive track record of critical and commercial productions and its own dinner theatre. Ms. Dupuy’s company has toured with liberace, performed on Broadway and at Radio City Music Hall and been the subject of a CBs Emmy award-winning movie. in 2007, the company acquired 84 acres of land in ancaster, ont., for a theatre, restaurant, camp and educational centre all targeted to those with special needs. —- Category technology and communications Winner Marzio Pozzuoli - RuggedCom Inc., Woodbridge RuggedComm is a leading provider of rugged communications networking solutions. they ensure dependability for mission-critical applications in harsh environments. The company’s products can now be found in electrical power substations, oil refineries, military operations, roadside traffic control cabinets and metals and minerals processing plants around the world. its next generation of ip-based solutions and products suitable for electric power smart grids are fast becoming market leaders. —- Category Young entrepreneur Winner Sam Zaid - Apption Software Corp., Ottawa Apption takes old software and makes it new again. apption uses its own artificial intelligence technology and a deep understanding of business needs and procedures to modernize older, inefficient and costly-to-use software. The company also has the ability to modularize core business functions into independent services that withstand the efects of time. this fosters code reuse and open data sharing, Mr. Zaid says. the focus is on creating reusable, service-oriented architecture.   Community News 2010-02-01T16:26:15+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/3_x_5_venture_capital_dinner/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/3_x_5_venture_capital_dinner/#When:18:06:25Z HBA 2010 Nick Yang recounts his 3x5 Venture Capital Dinner, organized by the Pierre Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship.Submission by: Nick Yang, HBA 2010 It was a warm and windy night in mid-November, as I stepped out of the Toronto Union Station, fully dressed in suit, a feeling of relief finally came to mind, realizing that I was on time for the 3×5 Venture Capital Dinner, organized by the Ivey Pierre L. Morrissette Institute of Entrepreneurship. The dinner took place at the renowned National Club of Toronto, Canada, where 5 students chosen from Ivey were given the opportunity to have dinner with 3 successful venture capitalists – Ron Patterson from MMV Financial Inc, Michael Goffin from Quorum Funding Corp, and Derek Smyth from Venture Fund at EdgeStone Capital.As I stepped into the private dining room of the National Club, I was greeted by the 3 hosts, along with fellow participants, who all arrived at an earlier time. Not feeling so good now about my just-on-time arrival, I sat down at the table, and got myself ready to participate in this rare learning experience.What did I learn?1. A background on Canada’s VC industry.Back in the 1990s, during the dot-com boom, Silicon Valley was the place to be for entrepreneurs who wished to make it big. There seemed to be a perception that Venture Capitalists in the valley always have deep insights into the next big idea or the next breakthrough technology. Startups elsewhere seem to be at a disadvantage over startups in the Valley. So many Canadian VCs and entrepreneurs packed up their belongings and headed down to south of the border. What they didn’t realize was the abundance of opportunities, resources and incentives existed here in Canada. Our government puts up billions of dollars annually into incentive programs for businesses, from interest free loans to grants and tax credits.Toronto, being one of the largest cities of Canada, has a strong network of VC/Angel investors, well-build technology infrastructures, plenty of startup focused events, and a highly talented labor force. All it lacks is a good technology incubator program such as the Ycombinator or TechStars. In the end, being in the Valley doesn’t give you that big of an advantage. Canadian entrepreneurs and VCs are just as smart as our counterparts in the Valley, don’t you think?2. How an entrepreneur should approach a Venture Capitalist.What do VCs generally look for? Put simply, top notch, smart/talented founders, with at least a B+ idea in an industry that they are interested in investing. Why a B+ idea? Don’t VCs scout for the best possible idea when reading through the stack of business plans on their desk? Not Really. During this dinner session, Ron, Michael and Derek shared the view point that having the best founders in a startup is more important than the actual idea itself.A startup is very much like a consulting firm, with little tangible assets before getting funded, the company as a whole will only be as smart as its people. When a VC firm decides to fund a startup, they are putting a huge bet on the visions and talents of its founders. This is even more so during early stage seed finding, when there are absolutely no proven revenue streams. So next time when you are pitching to a VC or angel investor, make sure to talk about all the talents within your company and prove to them that you and your co-founders have what it takes to take your startup to the next level.3. Next top industry?During our discussion, an interesting topic came up – what will be the next booming industry? Could it be alternative energy? BioTech? Ron bought up an interesting one: precious metals. If you think about it, it makes some sense. The basis of our economy was built upon currencies.Back to the time when the main form of transportation was a horse or a donkey, when the currencies of human civilization were gold and precious metals, inflation was nowhere near where it is today. As we switched toward paper currencies, the value of our bank account is at the mercy of the economy. Today, there are more wealthy people than ever, and they are increasingly looking for ways to hedge their assets against economical risks. So precious metals could very much play an important role in the foreseeable future.4. Right industry for an Entrepreneur?People often say getting into the right industry at the right time will significantly increase your chances of success, due to the potential opportunities within the industry. I would say that being at the right place at the right time is just as important. Where is the right place right now? China & India. Soon after our discussion about the next top industry, the conversation quickly turned into the rising stars out east. As long as you haven’t been living under a rock, I don’t think there is a need to convince you the potential power and opportunities these two countries offer.With tremendous amount of lower-income families in China & India increasingly turning into middle- and upper-class, the consumer spending potential is enormous. However, the challenges of doing business in Asia are just as great as the benefits. Google.cn, Google’s China operation is currently looking towards pulling out of China completely due to government censorship regulations. Ebay, with its Chinese operation eachnet.com failed to take into account the local consumer preferences, eventually lost out to its competitor – TaoBao.What does this all mean? If you are looking to start a business in a foreign country, pack your bags, and move to that country immediately. Immerse yourself within the culture, learn the language, and start making connections with the locals. That’s exactly what Ivey HBA Grad Ash Sign did back in 2004. He was recently awarded as Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneur and has been featured on the Ivey Alumni InTouch Magazine. Overall, it was a tremendous learning experience. —— Thanks for the submission Nick! Student Action 2010-01-21T18:06:25+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/hba_entrepreneurship_club_semester_one_wrap-up/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/hba_entrepreneurship_club_semester_one_wrap-up/#When:18:35:58Z The HBA Ivey Entrepreneurship Club (IEC) continued to expand its offerings and influence around Ivey this fall, in just its third semester of existence.The HBA Ivey Entrepreneurship Club (IEC) continued to expand its offerings and influence around Ivey this fall, in just its third semester of existence. Membership reached a total of 96, about 21% of the student body, up from approximately 60 last year. Highlights of the term included the Ivey New Venture Forum, the National Family Business Day, 3x5 Dinners on Starting a Business Soon After Graduation and Venture Capitalists, and Speaker Series visits by Larry Rosen, Pierre Morrisette, and other successful entrepreneurs. The IEC bar night at the Barking Frog, promoting KIVA – the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website – was a fantastic evening and a great success, as was the HBA1 student-run Creativity Discussion. This semester, members can look forward to a possible partnership with the University Students Council to start a Business Incubator Program, which would assist Western student entrepreneurs in developing and growing their business ideas from the start-up phase. Upcoming events also include 3x5 dinners on Real Estate as well as other member-chosen topics, business plan competitions, and many more chapters of the Speaker Series. The HBA Entrepreneurship club is poised for further growth and will soon be regarded by students to be as valuable and influential as the Finance, Consulting and Marketing clubs, an impressive feat considering that it officially started in only October of 2008. The club executives would like to thank its members for their enthusiasm and Sarah Buck, the Initiative Coordinator for the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, for her incredible support. The executive committee is looking forward to another great semester! Ivey New Venture Forum The Ivey New Venture Forum took place this year at the Sutton Place Hotel.  It was an incredible and memorable event for all of the students who were fortunate enough to attend. The air was filled with hope and opportunism, both on behalf of the entrepreneurs looking for between $500,000 and $10,000,000, as well as the potential sharks looking to invest. The speaker panel, comprised angel investors and venture capitalists, was moderated by Ron Close, Ivey’s Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence.  The panel advised entrepreneurs to “prepare to marry your investors,” because once you take their money you no longer own or control your company. They also stressed the importance of a powerful “elevator pitch,” a 30 second explanation of what your company does and why it will succeed.  You can see a full video of the Discussion Panel HERE. Keynote speaker Pierre Morrissette also shared some wisdom, stating that entrepreneurship is a mindset. He advised to have a ten-year forecast, and be ready to adapt it as necessary. Successful companies “align interests and create win-win relationships,” and need “we people, not me people.” He recommend hiring the best and retaining them by promoting within the organization, while at the same time always “weeding the weeds.” Pierre wrapped up his speech by saying “To those considering or aspiring to be entrepreneurs: Build something – there’s nothing that feels better.”The event was a great success and a terrific experience for the students who attended, and is highly recommended to those students who have the opportunity attend next year. 3x5 Dinner, Starting a Business Soon After Graduation For entrepreneurial-minded students who feel pressured into one of the corners of the Finance-Consulting-Accounting trifecter, this event was a breath of fresh air and ushered in a sigh of relief. Bill Hennessey, Founder of HennesseyEvents.ca, Faheem Moosa, Founder of Springboarders and Aaron Buckstein HBA graduate and Certificate in Entrepreneurship holder shared stories of their lives after Ivey.   Hennessey was already a serial entrepreneur by the time he graduated, and knew he was destined to continue down that path. The other entrepreneurs shared similar stories, working for multi-national companies out of school before realizing their hearts weren’t in it. Hennessey advised that now is a great time to become an entrepreneur, because as the baby boomers retire they are looking to sell their companies. He stressed the value of “non-sexy businesses,” claiming that “there are people flying under the radar selling nuts and bolts who make millions every year.” This dinner was an eye opening experience. The Entrepreneurship Club would like to thank Bill Hennessey, Faheem Moosa and Aaron Buckstein for coming out, sharing their stories and providing inspiration to the young students approaching crossroads in their futures. National Family Business Day Breakfast The annual National Family Business Day Breakfast is run by Dave Simpson, Ivey’s HBA Entrepreneurial Finance Professor, and Executive Director of the Business Families Centre at Ivey.  The keynote speaker this year at The London Hunt Club was David Bork, considered to be the leading mind in counseling family business. Also a very funny man, Mr. Bork stressed the importance of the delicate balance between family needs and business needs required to run a successful family business. Family business can put incredible pressure on certain family members, and the needs and wants of individuals must always be considered when making business decisions. Family and business must stand on their own, and it is necessary to remember that family businesses can’t survive broken families. A great event all-in-all, this breakfast was an enjoyable and educational experience for the students who were lucky enough to attend. 2010-01-18T18:35:58+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_session_four_-_cashflow_management/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_session_four_-_cashflow_management/#When:15:05:28Z Cash is the lifeblood of any business: without it, even a profitable company can go bankrupt.  In any business, there are only three sources of cash: your customers, lenders, or you (the owner).Chirag Shah, an MBA and CA, as well as a Partner in the Audit & Assurance Group at PriceWaterhouseCoopers hosted a session on cash flow management for entrepreneurs during Entrepreneur 1.0 session three. Cash is the lifeblood of any business: without it, even a profitable company can go bankrupt.  In any business, there are only three sources of cash: your customers, lenders, or you (the owner).  To prevent cash shortages, Shah emphasized a few key points: Be proactive, not reactive.  A new company (and any company for that matter) needs to know its real cash position, not just its bank balance.  To do this, entrepreneurs need to be able to project cash needs and requirements, and plan for unpredictable cash needs (shortages).  By being proactive with cash management, you’ll avoid critical shortages over essential elements such as payroll remittances; tax payments or lease payments  Although using a line of credit is a strategic element of proper business management, fighting fires with credit is not recommended. Exercise cash management with customers. When you’re dealing with customers, there are many things that can go wrong.  Customers might not pay in time (or at all), clients can back out of potential deals.  As an entrepreneur, there are a few things that you can do to safeguard against a potential cash-shortage due to some of these problems.  • Know your customer’s credit – do proper due diligence on larger deals• Build in milestone and progress payments at the outset of a contract – don’t deliver the final project and hope to get paid – make sure to agree on these terms from day one• Don’t hesitate to follow-up on collections – many business owners try calling a few times and give up, don’t!• Get to know your customers A/P department – maybe an employee can pull some strings to move your bill to the top of the pile! Exercise cash management with suppliers.  • If possible, engage in supplier payment agreements to try and smooth seasonal cash demands• Join purchasing groups where available to try and take advantage of volume discounts• Take part in partnership agreements to share some of the risk – dealing with a new supplier can be stressful, why not split the risk?• Tie incentives to cash, not sales – perhaps your supplier will offer discounts for paying in cash Know that there are many ‘unconventional’ sources of cash:• Government sources of cash (provincial cash tax credits, going green incentives, federal/provincial grant programs)• Consider selling redundant assets• Leasing vs. buying• Royalty/licensing agreements• Outsourcing arrangements Special thanks to Chirag Shah from PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the great presentation! Events, IVEY Entrepreneurship Blog 2009-12-08T15:05:28+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/guest_blog_post_inside_the_mind_of_bas_van_berkel_president_of_stormfisher_/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/guest_blog_post_inside_the_mind_of_bas_van_berkel_president_of_stormfisher_/#When:15:59:13Z Turning Waste Into Value: Inside the mind of Bas Van Berkel, President of StormFisher, one of the world’s richest biogas companies.This post originally appeared on the Springboarders blog.  Faheem Moosa is the Founder & Principal Owner of Springboarders, Canada’s only business planning service dedicated to building action-oriented business plans that guide entrepreneurial companies towards profitable growth.  In Part Four of Fireside Chats with Fiery Entrepreneurs™, our ongoing, six-part series of business planning-related interviews, we talk to Bas Van Berkel, Co-founder and President of StormFisher Biogas, a renewable energy company in Toronto that builds, owns and operates biogas plants across North America. Working with the food processing and agricultural industries, StormFisher processes organic by-products and turns them into natural gas and electricity. Bas co-founded StormFisher Biogas along with Christopher Guillon and Ryan Little, whom he met while pursuing his MBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business. Bas and his team recently negotiated a strategic partnership agreement with Denham Capital Management, a Boston-based private equity firm, to develop a $350 million portfolio of biogas projects. The relationship with Denham makes StormFisher one of the most well-funded biogas companies in the world. For more on StormFisher, click here. Faheem Moosa: Bas, thanks very much for your time – great to have you here. In your opinion, what are the best ways an entrepreneur can research and understand his or her market? Bas Van Berkel: Network and make sure you talk with people who are doing business in your market. Most people are willing to have a chat if you’re polite and will provide you with a ton of information which you can’t always take on face value, but which are the real data points that will truly tell you a lot about the market. To back up our business plan, we got a lot of information online – tons of information online. We did weeks and weeks and weeks of research online. There’s so much available, it’s amazing. FM: When there are several growth opportunities ahead of you, what criteria do you use to analyze those opportunities and place your bets? BVB: Depends a little bit on what stage you are in the business. In the beginning it’s about ‘quick wins’ to help create credibility in the market. These might not be your financial ‘big bang’ but you’ve got to first create credibility. But later on, when you’re an established player, you need to forgo the small opportunities and look for the big ones. At that time, it’s about allocation of resources. You have a limited amount of people, limited amount of time in the day and so you have to focus on the big opportunities. In the beginning, when we started, we looked at small biogas plants. Along the way we discarded a whole bunch of small opportunities, but that’s just because we were moving on to a new stage in the company. You should not be afraid of throwing something away that you’ve already spent a lot of time and money on – it’s a sunk cost. I noticed with myself that in the past, I really wanted to hold on to the smaller opportunities because we already spent a lot of time and effort on them and wanted to pursue them. But the logical choice, in the end, is not to. We have a rule at the company that every few months the management team deconstructs the entire business strategy and everything we have been doing is open to question. It can be surprisingly hard to objectively challenge conclusions you hold so dear but it’s the best way to make sure you’re not being complacent. All what I’ve spoken about till now relates to looking at opportunities in a general sense. Looking at this through the lens of StormFisher, we build projects – that’s our business. So, if we look at growth opportunities in terms of new projects, we look at a combination of size, profitability, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and simplicity of execution. Just to expand the ‘execution’ part, for example, in our business arguably the biggest opportunities are in California, but it’s so hard to execute that we have not yet made the choice to go to California. FM: Do you think it important for young companies to have a well-defined competitive position, target market and value proposition? Why? BVB: Absolutely. For one thing, it’s what the investment community demands. We’ve been very, very focused on these three things that you mentioned. We play in three segments – we take organic by-products and we sell both electricity and fertilizer. Those are our three revenue streams, and within those industries we have very specific target markets. Electricity – sold under long-term contracts to creditworthy parties, a very targeted position. Fertilizer – we sell it as an input to the fertilizer industry.  We do not do sales distribution, so again it’s a very targeted position. So yes, I think it’s very important. If anything, this is where you make the difference with investors. And regardless of that, this is how you win as a company, I believe. I can describe our competitive position, value proposition and target market in 60 seconds. What you should be careful about is not to write big reports on them. Have a few slides that help describe them, after which you can explain it to the entire room – that’s the key. If it needs a change, then it needs a change – so change it quickly. FM: What is your philosophy with regard to raising awareness about your company? How do you recommend entrepreneurs approach and plan this task? BVB: One of the strengths of our company is raising awareness. This has been very helpful to us because you become credible in the marketplace very quickly if the awareness is positive. By raising awareness, people start to call you instead of you having to call them. For the first year and a half, we had to push hard to get our name out there. Now people come to us for biogas-related opportunities. So, raising awareness is extremely important. To raise awareness, in our company’s case, we recognized that there were lots of angles about our business that are interesting to the public and the business community. We built a public relations campaign on that interest that has been in pretty high gear for about two years now. One of our co-founders takes leadership in this area and makes sure we are always out there with public speaking, earned media, press releases and so on. FM: What are the key success factors for running and growing a Renewable Energy company? BVB: Making sure that you know your stuff better than anybody else. Don’t bullshit people. This is as much about values as business. We are recognized as a group of young guys who really want to do this because sure, they want to make money but they also want to do something good for the environment. We’re tough negotiators, but we don’t lie. We’re open people – maybe a little bit too open once in a while. But that’s how we are and that’s how we want to do business. So, that’s a big factor for success. Working constructively with your stakeholders is another key success factor. We are in a business where we just cannot fool around. This is a serious manufacturing business and you’ve got to follow the rules – there are lots of regulations. Do not believe that just because you are a strong player or own a certain niche that you can bully people. Negotiate tough and professionally, but do it in a constructive way with everybody. There will be some stakeholders today that do not seem powerful in the whole equation, but tomorrow they might be. If you are a bully, you’re going to lose out in the future. Finally, it boils down to the team. We focus a lot on building our team here and have some high quality people in our company. I know that publicly it might sometimes come across that it’s just the three of us (Christopher Guillon, Ryan Little and myself). But, to give you a flavour of the rest of our management team, the leader of our VP of Development (Brandon Moffatt) used to be the leader of the biogas business unit of a major firm where he built farm-based biogas plants all over North America. Our VP of Construction (Mark Stanski) has over 25 years of construction experience, building $10-25 million projects throughout the world. Our Legal Counsel (Ann Hughes) used to be the EVP and Corporate Secretary of Canadian Hydro Developers, the biggest renewable energy developer in the country. And our Operations Manager (Ashwani Kumar) ran a biogas plant for 12 years. So we added some really, really experienced people to the team. And the younger people we hired were selected based on intelligence and attitude, because in the end, everybody has to learn about biogas since it’s fairly new in North America. FM: What do you feel is an entrepreneur’s biggest challenge when it comes to implementing a strategic plan / business plan? How can entrepreneurs be successful at implementation? BVB: Depends a little bit on whether you need a lot of investment. If you need a lot of money from the outside, it’s always important to balance the promises you make to an investor in an early stage versus what the reality is of the execution. Because, the one thing you know from the start is that your initial business plan is not going to work out as planned – that’s the only thing you know. So you need to balance or manage the expectations of investors versus what’s happening in the real world. And that’s a challenge. I would say you should focus on getting results, or qualified successes. Investors will then be forgiving and say ‘Okay, this is a qualified success. It’s not exactly what we expected, but it doesn’t matter, it’s a success nonetheless’. ————- Thanks for sharing a great interview Faheem.  For more information on Springboarders, visit their website at www.SpringBoarders.ca. 2009-11-19T15:59:13+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/the_right_help_is_hard_to_find/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/the_right_help_is_hard_to_find/#When:20:20:12Z Melanie Kau needs a senior executive.  Can her family business succeed with a new helmsman?Family-owned companies present special challenges to those who run them. The reason? They can be quirky, developing unique cultures and procedures as they grow and mature. That’s fine, as long as they continue to be managed by people who are steeped in the traditions, or at least able to adapt to them. But what happens when a firm grows to a point that it must hire outside professional help to remain competitive? That can be a difficult task for all involved. Just ask Melanie Kau. It was a spring morning early in May 2008 and Melanie Kau had just concluded a meeting with her buying team at Mobilia Interiors Inc., a family-owned retail chain specializing in imported designer furniture. Kau, the president of the Montreal-based company, usually enjoyed these meetings. Sourcing the products that filled Mobilia’s stores had been one of her favourite tasks ever since she joined the firm in the mid-1980s. Today, however, she was feeling some regrets. Not the that the meeting had gone poorly. Kau had called her buying team together to begin discussing their plans for Mobilia’s spring 2009 product line-up, and the talk had been quite rewarding. What bothered Kau came at the end. As she was gathering her papers, she glanced at her schedule. The next two weeks were packed solid—and not with the important sourcing strategy sessions that she so enjoyed. Kau sighed. As her company had grown, so had the complexity of the issues she was required to manage. Once, she could spend up to 50% of her time on buying activities, a key differentiator for Mobilia. In recent years, that figure had dwindled to 10%, crowded out by other commitments to operations, finance and human resources. Kau was determined to unclog her schedule so that she could concentrate on the parts of the business that mattered most to her. The question was, how? The most obvious answer would be to hire a dedicated operations executive, preferably one with experience at a large company. There would be a double benefit to such a move. Not only would Kau be able to delegate some of her duties—freeing up time to focus on purchasing and sourcing—she would also be giving herself the opportunity to hire someone who could bring problem-solving skills and best practices to Mobilia. The trick would be finding and training the right candidate, someone who would have the requisite combination of experience and a willingness to work in a family-owned enterprise steeped in its own culture. That was a tall order and getting it right would mean the difference between success and failure. Kau’s father, Hans, founded Mobilia in 1959, launching it from a single boutique above a grocery store. He soon developed a reputation for innovative business practices, something that became ingrained in the company culture. In the 1980s, for instance, Mobilia became the first Canadian retailer to import affordable furniture covered in Italian leather, a luxury that had traditionally been available only to well-heeled shoppers. A decade later, it became a Canadian pioneer of the big-box format for furniture stores. Mobilia’s growth continued under Melanie Kau’s leadership. In her first 10 years as president, starting in 1996, she quadrupled the company’s sales and opened nine new stores, adding close to 180,000 square feet of showroom space in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The accolades followed, with Kau earning a spot on Caldwell Partners’ prestigious “Top 40 Under 40” annual list. As Mobilia grew, Kau found herself frequently mulling over the idea of hiring an operations executive. But each time, she decided against it after an analysis of the situation. She had always found ways to manage her increasing workload, whether it be making meetings shorter, increasing the time between follow-up meetings or dividing work up amongst her team. By early 2008, however, the demands placed on Kau had simply become too much. Her workload had essentially doubled in the past eight years, and there was little left she could do to lighten the load. It was becoming increasingly apparent that she would have to bring in executive help, probably sooner rather than later. The were several issues with this decision, however. For starters, a hire would be expensive, as a successful candidate would expect a six-figure salary—money that would come straight off Mobilia’s bottom line. Training a new executive would also take time. It would be weeks, even months, before Kau knew whether her investment was paying off. More significantly, Kau was reluctant to bring in a person who hadn’t risen through Mobilia’s ranks. Even though the firm was almost 50 years old, it was still a family business, and most of the senior employees had been promoted into their current positions. All were familiar with the company’s history and unique culture. Any new executive that Kau might hire would need to be sensitive to that environment. Complicating matters, Kau would not be looking for someone who would merely act as a “caretaker” executive overseeing existing procedures. Kau wanted someone who could take an active role in remodelling Mobilia’s systems and processes to make the company more efficient. All told, Kau knew that bringing in a new person—especially someone with new ideas about best practices—would be difficult. Mobilia employees and managers would be asked to change the way they had been doing things. Making successful transitions would require much patience from everyone involved. Productivity would likely fall during the initial stages of the transition as employees shook off old habits and adapted to new procedures. There was also a risk that best practices introduced by a new executive wouldn’t work at Mobilia, due to subtle differences between the company itself and the firms where the new best practices had been developed. Kau would have to trust the operations executive to make judgment calls about what was right for her firm. Lastly, Kau was concerned that an outside executive coming into Mobilia, a fast-growing firm, would likely exhibit strong, entrepreneurial traits—just the kind of person who might one day strike out their own and become a competitor. Kau wanted someone who would be loyal to Mobilia. Would she be able to find someone who was just “entrepreneurial enough?” For all the challenges, the thought of hiring a veteran executive still appealed to Kau: She simply had too much work on here plate. Even if there were risks, Kau knew that the status quo was not acceptable. Something had to change. What she needed most was confidence in knowing that she would make the right decision. THE EXPERT VIEW Jacoline Loewen, Partner Loewen & Partners Kau should be concerned about hiring an outside executive. Yet, if I were on her board, I’d be concerned that her time is skewed away from the sourcing of product—Mobilia’s competitive advantage—which she does very well. Her effectiveness is weakened because of an operations bottleneck, which may cost Mobilia its hard-earned market position. First, Kau ought to make it a practice to ask for advice from mentors, other business owners or even a regular advisory group. CEOs need networks of peers that they can access to discuss business challenges and explore solutions. Second, Kau is concerned about paying a high salary to attract a top professional. She need not worry. The recession has put talent on the market. By offering a moderate salary to a mature professional, someone experienced in family business, along with the opportunity to buy a stake in the company, Kau can preserve cash flow. If the executive is good, Mobilia’s profit margin will improve, thus increasing the value of the executive’s equity. Finally, one of the characteristics I consider when assessing the strength of a company is the ownership structure. If all the shares rest with one “rugged individual,” it shows a family business is still in its infantile stage, even if the revenue is strong. That desire to hold on to equity is a common trait in entrepreneurs. Even Sam Walton initially resisted sharing equity in Wal-Mart. But Walton quickly saw the results when he shared profits, and then equity with his executives and team. I think Kau would enjoy a similar experience. Rick Howard, Owner/Director, Zodiac Swim & Specialty Camp, Camp Tamarack, Zodiac Swim School Kau’s dilemma is very familiar. Our business—which consists of childrens’ services, including a swim school, day camp and overnight camp—has faced the same decision at various times regarding whether and how to bring in a senior management person, along with the pros and cons associated with such a decision. Zodiac Swim School, for example, was started by my wife, Ellen, as an after-school business 31 years ago. When the business was small, she could have her hands in everything. At a certain point, however, you need to let go for the good of the business and for your own well-being. About two years ago, I convinced Ellen that, just as we had put senior management in place at our two camp operations, we needed a similarly strong person for the swim school. We had done this half-heartedly before, with outside and inside junior candidates, mostly unsuccessfully. So we hired an assistant swim director (ASD). The positives have far outweighed the negatives. We pay the ASD a significant salary, but the increased productivity, fresh perspective and better lifestyle for Ellen prove the correctness of our decision. In hiring such a person, you can look for candidates internally and externally. There are risks in both options, but there are benefits, too. A smart junior employee who shows potential can be just as good as an experienced external professional, especially when it comes to understanding your business culture. Kau should evaluate her options and make an offer. By the sounds of the challenges she faces, it’s probably a move she cannot afford to avoid. THE OUTCOME Ultimately, Kau determined that she could no long afford to run Mobilia completely from her own desk. The number of tasks she had to oversee and manage was simple too much for one person, especially with her own focus on the important issue of product selection and sourcing. “So we made the decision to hire a senior operations executive,” Kau says. “Looking back, we were at an important inflection point in terms of where we were on the company’s growth path. If we did not bring someone else onboard, we could have experienced flat growth prospects as the organization scrambled to cope.” With a senior operations executive in place, Kau has been able to devote more time overseeing Mobilia’s purchasing activities. “It’s been a balancing act for all involved, especially for myself,” she says. “Entrepreneurs are used to fixing everything by themselves. Growing the company past a certain stage requires entrusting key players to do their part. Success comes from our collective effort.” This case study was prepared by Financial Post Magazine and the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario). The case method is a key learning tool in the cross-enterprise leadership approach used at Ivey. The views represented here are solely those of the case authors. Some details may have been changed to protect privacy. Mini Case Series 2009-11-07T20:20:12+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_sesson_three_-_delivering_dynamic_presentations/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_sesson_three_-_delivering_dynamic_presentations/#When:19:10:37Z Entrepreneur 1.0: The Ultimate Business Boot Camp (E1.0) is presented by TechAlliance Venture Services in partnership with the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business.Michael Sider, Assistant Professor of Management Communications at the Richard Ivey School of Business led Entrepreneurship 1.0, session three on Delivering Dynamic Presentations.  Sider has taught literature, writing and public speaking at the University of Western Ontario, and developed a small consulting business in business writing seminars, and corporate writing services.  His clients have included supervisors, managers and employees from Ford, 3M, GM, Purina, and local London hospitals.  He has also worked as an intercultural communications consultant for the Asahi Fund Bangladesh, a Japanese non-profit organization.  He currently teaches in the HBA, MBA and EMBA programs at the Richard Ivey School of Business.  Sider led a dialogue with the entrepreneurs on the importance of presence: the ability to walk into a room and fill it up with personality even when you’re not talking.  Presence creates buy-in and influence; it’s an intangible confidence that makes people pay attention, and is invaluable for any entrepreneur. Sider offered a number of useful points to create presence: Eye ContactEye contact is more than just looking someone in the eye, its touch and personal contact, it says, “I’ve sought you out, I’m interested in you.”  Sider suggested to hold the eyes, but not past the point of discomfort.  He suggests not moving away until you’ve finished a specific thought.  Realizing that it is difficult to make eye contact with everyone in a room, you need representative members of the audience to make contact with – this way others around them feel touched as well.  You do not want to get to the end of a speech or session and feel that you haven’t connected with the audience. Hand GesturesDelivering a presentation is not about the material, it’s about engaging the people in the room.  To help engage an audience, good speakers use hand gestures which give visual impact to a speaker’s words.  Used well, the hands flow along the current of speech, helping shape the speaker’s meaning.  Some of the best CEOs in the world use a wide range of gestures to enhance their messages. The Three P’sA good speaker should be able to quiet an audience with her body language by properly utilizing the Three P’s: Plant, Pause, Project.  When walking to the front of a room to begin a presentation, plant your feet, hold your arms loosely at your sides and pause for moment.  Good speakers are comfortable with silence (pausing), and are able to pause as a means of conveying meaning, emotion and confidence.  Pausing for emphasis also allows you to filter out the “ums”, and “ahs”.  To project your voice, breathe from your abdomen like an opera singer.  You should be speak loud, soft, slow and fast – always with pauses for emphasis (“Bond…James Bond”).   Good speakers sound natural and their intonation is congruent with the message and mood they’re trying to convey.  Be NaturalSpeakers often feel that they need to deliver an ‘information dump’: a plethora of statistics, data, facts and studies.  In fact, the more data you provide, the less likely an individual is to act - people act because of an emotional appeal, not because of the data.  Great speakers are able to read a crowd and draw others into their own rhythm thereby dictating the terms of the interaction. PracticeAlthough many great speakers seem to be “naturally good”, many practice diligently.  Contrary to popular belief, even the most well-known communicators in recent history had to practice.  John F. Kennedy for example was not a “natural” communicator or public speaker.  Kennedy used to fumble for words, speak too fast, and project a tense, high-pitched voice.  His slow beginnings show that any leader can learn the skill of presenting.  Sider emphasized, “The key to effective presentations is making it all seem natural – even though your presentation skills are the result of a lot of practice.” Communications is not just about making formal presentations; it’s about presenting your ideas effectively whether it is in a formal or informal setting.  For more information on communications skills or creating presence, see Professor Sider’s article entitled, “Understanding How We Communicate Is Key.” Events 2009-11-02T19:10:37+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_session_two/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_session_two/#When:15:44:19Z Entrepreneur 1.0: The Ultimate Business Boot Camp (E1.0) is presented by TechAlliance Venture Services in partnership with the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business.E 1.0, a partnership between the Richard Ivey School of Business and TechAlliance, educates participants on key issues surrounding planning for the success of a start-up or early stage knowledge-based company. In the 10-week intensive course, participants will acquire the practical tools and knowledge to manage business challenges, and develop the support network that every entrepreneur needs (http://www.techalliance.ca/entrepreneur-10). The second session, called “Team Building and Management,” was hosted by Sharon Irwin-Foulon, Director of Career Management at Ivey and Karen Conway, Associate Director, Client Relations at Ivey. Irwin-Foulon and Conway ran a very interactive seminar involving group discussions, team interviews, and group breakout sessions.  The hosts challenged the group of entrepreneurs to think about what culture they would like to create in their businesses, and what competencies they look for when hiring employees in order to create that culture.  Building the team is perhaps the most important part of building a new company and should not be outsourced to a hiring or talent agency.  But, how can you personally find the people with the right competencies/traits? Ben Yoskovitz of Instigator Blog offered some key tips on attracting the right talent to your startup in a recent blog post.  The following points were taken from his blog post entitled: “The Key to Startup Hiring: Building a Magnet.” Attend events. This is obvious. Go to as many relevant events as you can. Even some that don’t seem totally relevant; go to those too. But you have to maximize your attendance…  Have your pitch ready. Pitches aren’t just for investors. They’re for candidates too. Actually, you want your pitch ready for pretty much everyone you speak to. You never know when you’re going to speak to someone that knows someone that knows someone that’s a superstar startup person looking for new opportunities. Know the talent. If you’re hiring Ruby on Rails developers, you should have a list of 20 top ones in your area. It’s not hard to find them. Get the list, memorize it and make sure you go out and meet those people. Meet their friends. Get yourself involved with the best talent; even if they’re not ready to jump ship, they might know someone else. Know the competition. I’m not referring to competition for your business, but competition for talent. Who else is hiring? What are they doing? How are they doing it? Sponsor events. Sometimes attendance isn’t enough. Think about sponsoring a local event. Or volunteer and meet the other volunteers. Speak at events. Don’t have the money to sponsor an event? Try and get a speaking gig then. Maybe it’s a pitch event (if it is, pitch at it.) Speaking, in general, is a great way of demonstrating a certain amount of expertise, and building your reputation. It’s not just about the company’s reputation. Companies do have their own brands, but the founders better be damn sure they’re building and promoting their own personal brands as well. A lot of startup employees will base a significant portion of their decision to work for you based on you (and the other founders). Get buzz outside the local area. Sometimes the best way of building buzz within your own city is to build buzz outside your city. Getting written up on relevant blogs, for example, can build up awareness at a local level. Another good idea: Get a guest writing gig on a popular, relevant blog. Promote that yourself, after the fact. Write your own blog. I believe that company founders should be blogging. Again, it comes down to building and promoting of your reputation in order to attract others to you. People naturally want to work with other smart, successful people. So get out there and build that up as quickly as you can. Attract local media. Meet and network with the local reporters. Pitch them stories. Offer to be a source for relevant stories where your expertise might be useful. Soon you’ll be quoted in the newspaper and may have your own feature piece about your startup as well. That’s great press. Once you attract the attention to your company, Irwin-Foulon and Conway outlined how you can conduct interviews with potential new hires.  “Your view on the interview depends on what you’re looking for in an employee and what they can add to the culture of the organization,” said Foulon, “What are the critical skills that you bring to the organization and how can you best fill in the gaps with your new hires?” Karen Conway went on to mock-interview Sharon Irwin-Foulon in front of the group and started by asking, “Tell me about a time that you’ve dealt with conflict in the workplace.”  Irwin-Foulon answered the question by telling a story of dealing with a client and outlining how the issue was resolved in detail.  The attendees then picked apart the response and each expressed their individual feedback on how well the question was answered.  Each member of the audience had a differing opinion on the response based on his or her own personal biases towards the type of person that they would want to hire in their own business.  The people in a team make up the culture of a growing company.  It was a fantastic learning experience for the attendees that emphasized how entrepreneurs need to continually develop the culture of their company and keep it in the forefront of their minds as they build their startup teams. Look for next session’s post on Delivering Dynamic Presentations with Ivey Professor Michael Sider. Events, IVEY Entrepreneurship Blog 2009-10-23T15:44:19+00:00 http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_the_ultimate_business_bootcamp_session_one/ http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/index.php/site/entrepreneur_1.0_-_the_ultimate_business_bootcamp_session_one/#When:21:16:10Z Entrepreneur 1.0: The Ultimate Business Boot Camp (E1.0) is presented by TechAlliance Venture Services in partnership with the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business. This past Tuesday, October 6th, The Richard Ivey School of Business hosted Entrepreneur 1.0:  The Ultimate Business Bootcamp.  Entrepreneur 1.0: The Ultimate Business Boot Camp (E1.0) is presented by TechAlliance Venture Services in partnership with the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business. E 1.0 educates participants on key issues surrounding planning for the success of a start-up or early stage knowledge-based company. In the 10-week intensive course, participants will acquire the practical tools and knowledge to manage business challenges, and develop the support network that every entrepreneur needs (http://www.techalliance.ca/entrepreneur-10). TechAlliance (www.TechAlliance.ca) is a London, Ontario-based company which empowers the London and Southwestern Ontario technology sector.  They prepare entrepreneurs to launch new ventures, and provide education and networking opportunities to accelerate business growth for small-to-medium enterprises.  The first session at Ivey, entitled “The Evolution of a Business and Your Plan,” was hosted by Stewart Thornhill, the Executive Director of the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship. Thornhill spoke to a diverse group of students, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and representatives of government agencies on Tuesday, emphasizing the value of a business plan.  “A business plan doesn’t have to be a written document,” said Thornhill, “It’s YOUR plan for how you’re going to make money.”  Thornhill emphasized that a plan starts with a very clear description of the business – if you lose a reader/listener at this point, nothing else matters. Thornhill touched on a number of key points regarding plans: 1. In the words of Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Ivey, Ron Close, “When looking for a business idea, look for a bleeding neck wound.”  The bigger the pain, the bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity for the entrepreneur. 2. A startup is always going to take twice as much money and three times as long to start than you originally anticipate. 3. In an income statement, you only get one chance to make money (revenue), after that, everything else takes away money from you (expenses) – make sure you know how you’re going to make that revenue.  4. Your operations plan (i.e. where to produce, make in house vs. outsource, etc.) is what will SAVE you in expenses; NOT what is going to MAKE YOU MONEY! 5. Make sure you address potential risks.  If you don’t, you’re telling a potential investor you’re either DUMB because you don’t know about them, or a LIAR because you do and didn’t tell them. Thornhill also offered some advice for the financial side of plans: use three different colors on your financial statements.  Blue = Facts (Write a note for what the fact is and where you got it), Green = Decisions (Pricing, How much you’re going to sell something for), Red = Assumptions (Guesses, Unsubstantiated facts, Gut feel).  Once you have these numbers, run a lot of scenarios: What happens if prices go up – can you survive a price war?  What if sales get cut in half?  What if sales double? The night was capped off by a chat with local entrepreneur Dr. Wayne Danter, President & CSO of Critical Outcome Technologies, Inc – a local company that helps the pharmaceutical industry get novel treatments to market faster.  Dr. Danter told the story of his startup and offered some great pointers to new entrepreneurs: 1. Build a strong support network with at least one non-family believer (preferably with money). 2. Always seek constructive criticism: identifying real potential problems leads to real solutions. 3. Endurance is key – most people give up just before their first success – success is often defined as moving from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. 4. You need the right people working with you, and they all need to be on the same page – they can all have the same vision for what you’re doing but may have a different vision for how to get there. 5. Don’t work with a group of people who only tell you what you want to hear. Dr. Danter and his team most recently took Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. public on the Toronto Venture Exchange and are now nearing their first major contract. Session two of Entrepreneur 1.0 focused on team building and management takes place this Tuesday, October 13th at Ivey.  Look for live Twitter updates and a new upcoming blog post on the event. Events, Entrepreneurial Thoughts/Ramblings, IVEY Entrepreneurship Blog 2009-10-12T21:16:10+00:00