Feeling entrepreneurial?
“People used to take a traits-based approach to defining entrepreneurs: they are risk-takers, for instance,” says Greg Vit, BCom’80, director of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship in McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management. “But that characterization has been challenged by a more recent approach that suggests you can create the underlying conditions to help entrepreneurs emerge.”
... “We had the opportunity to talk to people with significant expertise, which was the most valuable gain for us,” says Grant Yim, BCom’03, who, with his teammates – all McGill graduates – presented Hypejar to the Dobson Cup judges, half of whom hailed from Silicon Valley.
... This year, four McGillians hope to receive the same kind of life-changing experience through their own Next 36 involvement. Stéphanie Brisson, BCom’14, Madeleine Channen, Elyse Lefebvre, BA’13, and Jaclyn Ling, BCom’14, were all picked to be participants.
... While start-ups often begin with a “Eureka!” moment, there’s far more to the story than that. “A lot of people have great ideas,” says Sophie Boulanger, BCom’03, whose own great idea resulted in BonLook, an online retailer that specializes in eyewear that’s both affordable and stylish.
... Pino Di Ioia, BA’91, MBA’93, and Anthony Di Ioia, BA’92, MBA’94, understand that. The twin brothers are CEO and CFO, respectively, of BeaverTails Pastry.
... “You don’t have to be a type-A personality with lots of charisma,” to succeed as an entrepreneur, says Corina Tudose, MBA’13. “You just can’t be shy.”
... In winning the prize, MBA students Mohammed Ashour, MSc’11, Shobhita Soor, BSc’10, Jesse Pearlstein, Zev Thompson, and Gabe Mott beat out 11,000 teams and accepted the award from former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
Read full article: McGill News Magazine