Over a month ago, my co-founder and I were honoured to be among the finalists for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EOY) – the largest celebration on the life and work of entrepreneurialism. With over 1200 people in the audience, including 29 finalists and 9 award-winners, it was an exhilarating night of inspiration and one that I will never forget.
So it got me thinking – what makes these entrepreneurs so great? In order to answer this question, I had some time to reflect about what entrepreneurship meant to me and how I believe it connects to all finalists and winners on that night.
In this blog, I will discuss why I think certain entrepreneurs stand out from the bunch. An entrepreneur is not just someone who is good at making a profit, it’s so much more than that.
Problem Solvers
All entrepreneurs have a vision. But how many of them are willing to do whatever it takes and endure the growing pains that come with implementing their vision? One must be extremely resilient and passionate to do so. Really, successful entrepreneurs are problem-solvers who have a track record for overcoming challenges. They can forecast all worst-case scenarios and are always ready with a plan in their back pocket. There are going to be ups and downs, you must be able to experience it all, and grow from it.
For me, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted financial freedom, a flexible and unorthodox schedule compared to the typical 9-5 regime, but most importantly, a business that would make a positive impact in this world. I started my company Prizm Media when I was a broke college student who didn’t know a thing about business. Operating my business in healthcare and helping the chronically-ill was inspired by my family’s history of battling diabetes and not getting adequate care. I wanted to create services to solve this. Years later at the peak of our success, we lost a big client, and made a creative decision to build an app to attract stakeholders that would not only allow us to recover but reach a new milestone. With every problem comes a solution.
Crazy Ones
As Steve Jobs once said, “…the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” This quote really resonated with me because as an entrepreneur, I believe your work should not only help people, but it should aim to transform an aspect of society. Look beyond helping a customer and assess a large societal problem that you can tackle. It takes incredible innovation and perseverance to face such a challenge.
Before starting Prizm Media, I assessed what was wrong with the healthcare system – long wait times, high costs, and slow delivery. Inefficiencies all around. It was a challenge for patients to acquire medically-necessary products, from prescriptions to glucose monitors. So I said okay, let’s see why this is occurring and what can we do about it. Now, Prizm is creating technology and services that centralize all processes between healthcare providers in order to deliver a medical product to a patient in a fast and cost-effective manner. Prizm’s latest work includes an on-demand prescription delivery app RxtoMe. So, we’re not just changing the quality of life of a person, we’re trying to change a system as well. We’re making an impression on North America and plan to expand internationally.
Exceptional Leaders
Successful entrepreneurs produce incredible work that a lot of people recognize them for. As entrepreneurs, you have a voice and have influence on many people out there. Do something with it. I believe that people who choose to be leaders within and outside of their business are the ones who separate themselves from ‘good’ to ‘great’ entrepreneurs. Whether it is getting involved with other organizations within your industry or doing something for your community, these are impressive feats on top of managing your own business.
Personally, I contribute a lot to my community and causes that are personal to me. As someone who was in the midst of starting a business during college, I like to mentor students who want to become entrepreneurs. As someone who has lived, raised a family and started a business in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., I support programs and started organizations that addresses the mental health and homeless crisis that is happening here. If my status and work as an entrepreneur can change a life, then why not do it?
Summary
In conclusion, I think extraordinary entrepreneurs achieve a level of greatness because they can solve every problem that is near and far. In addition, they aim to not only serve people but to change the world in their way. Finally, they use their success and influence to be leaders beyond their business. With that said, be a problem solver, be crazy, be a leader…be an entrepreneur.