F.C. Dawkins

One of the premises in the introduction of my new book Everyday Entrepreneur is that I wrote it to encourage entrepreneurs of every stripe across the spectrum. Since the high tech entrepreneurs have been getting the lion’s share of the attention and encouragement from the public and investors alike, they were far from my target market. Tech innovation was the creator of venture capital, setting a precedent for high rates of return that can’t be sustained in other areas. Virtually all other types of entrepreneurs have to struggle for funding because they simply don’t meet the criteria for venture capital. Those that have attracted VC funds often flounder to the detriment of the entrepreneur because the VC gets an agreed upon return which can sap a moderately successful business.

The Creative Destructive Lab at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (my alma mater) is focused on extreme success with a strong emphasis on taking tech developments from gestation to dynamic success on the international stage. On the surface this seems to be exactly the area that I previously suggested didn’t need my help or encouragement as people are lined up to help in almost every area to develop these type of businesses. So why did I choose to support these high achievers by becoming a partner of the CD Lab? Well here are my reasons:

1. I strongly support that we need to keep our brightest and best talent here in Canada – we are in the midst of a world wide competition to attract talent – success starts with keeping our own
2. Success at this level sets a terrific example for anyone in this country that wants to become an entrepreneur and start a business at any level
3. Both of these factors are critical for us to build a culture of entrepreneurial success to maintain a strong economy and bring in the new talent that every country is striving to attract.
4. If in the process I can influence some of the brilliant MBAs we are graduating to circumvent the conventional and lucrative path to becoming a business executive in favour of applying their abilities to becoming entrepreneurs who solve problems, make things happen, create jobs and provide the drive that leads to success, then my time and effort will have been well spent.
5. The very talented people who apply to the Lab are brilliant in their innovation but still need nurturing on the personal issues involved in becoming an entrepreneur, the fundamental business issues they will encounter and the overall philosophy inherent in being an entrepreneur.

My book will out at the end of November. In the meantime I am enjoying my involvement with the Lab targeting success in a global economy which I firmly believe will centre upon a New Age of Entrepreneurship.

We are entering an increasing – no pun intended- age where size is dominant. Big Business, Big Government, Big Unions, Big Data and most damning of all “Too Big To Fail”. We have sacrificed the principles of micro economics such as the optimum size of the firm and the law of diminishing returns to build dominant global enterprises- behemoths more closely related to their bureaucratic enemy, government, than they will ever admit. These entities lumber around the world chasing low costs and cheap labour in the name of maximizing profits. If they fail they plead their case in a public forum that they are too significant to let die. They are pyramids paying outrageous rewards to those that scale to the top.

What are the implications for individualism. Job stability no longer exists. Big data is generating information far beyond are ability to comprehend. The rate of change is staggering. 24/7 hyper-connectivity has us all chasing our tails, Are we headed for Big Brother? Globalization is both an opportunity and a threat. Small business is vulnerable to competitors around the world but at a time when things are moving at lightening speed entrepreneurs are flexible and adaptable giving them the opportunity to find a niche and move into it before others. The most important skill to learn in this new era is the ability to create your own job. Without it the threat is the loss of upward mobility for many and perhaps economic independence for most. The divergence of wealth between the rich and the poor and the eroding middle class are forewarnings. Entrepreneurship is critical for the individual.

But it is also critical for these huge entities. Without the impact of disruption based on challenges to the status quo , sometimes referred to as ‘intrapreneurship’, governments and huge businesses will never come close to producing optimum results and solutions. The current conundrum in Washington shows a government that is not only dysfunctional but is mired in a malaise of mediocrity. There are no disruptors coming forward to challenge the party lines and find compromise. Optimum decisions are a pipedream in this environment.

Entrepreneurs make things happen. They are problem solvers. The greater the problem the greater the reward. Regardless we need them at all levels. It is a skill that some are born with but many can learn. We are headed for a tsunami of Big Data that can swamp us. Machines will literally know more than any individual. It’s a scenario that science fiction writers have been portraying for generations. Individual success will be tied to entrepreneurial skills and attitude. Entrepreneurship has never been more important. We live in interesting times.

Indisputable: We live in a global work space – an economy where timing is everything and competition comes from every which direction, blindsiding us, especially where Tech is concerned. There is tremendous pressure to be first out to fill a market niche and tremendous pressure on innovators around the world to become instant entrepreneurs OR to give up the lion’s share of the economic benefit of their innovation to others who can get them to market in a hurry.

If there is a lesson from the Blackberry debacle it’s that being first gives you a head start but the pack quickly turns to finding ways to do it different and better. There is no time to rest on your laurels. Your advantage is short lived- even much less than ten years ago when Blackberry was first riding high.

Are the expectations of the market achievable or are we simply seeing a new reality where companies come and go with a greatly reduced life expectancy. Apple did fail once. How much longer will it stay at the top this time?

When you visit an incubator/accelerator you will often see tired young people committed to a 24/7 work ethic, working in small space shared with other start-ups focused on perfecting their innovation with little understanding of the fundamentals required to operate a business or build a foundation for a company that can last. Did Blackberry ever establish that foundation? After all it was always in a dynamic state of rapid change initially positive but for the past three years negative.

Can humans really continue to cope with the rate of change that technology allows? Are we being forced to abandon stability in favour of short term success? Overall we find ourselves in an integrated global economy, still wrestling with the ongoing effects of the Great Recession, managed by leaders who are challenged at best, incompetent at worst, where the only sure thing is uncertainty.

For all of these reasons becoming an entrepreneur is an important option. The economic world will place increasing value on resilience and adaptability. In the face of instability and uncertainty the most important skill we may develop will be the ability to create our own job. Big will not be better. Small and flexible will become the key to individual success.

Thursday I attended the Demo Camp at the Creative Destructive Lab at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. The Lab is focused on converting innovation to entrepreneurship selecting concepts with merit and guiding the founders through the process of getting to market. In the process the goal is to encourage the brightest and best to stay in Canada. The first program was completed in June. It is a competitive environment as it should be. Last September when the Lab was in it`s gestation period there were 76 project submitted. Of these the G7 founding partners selected the 18 that they felt had the most merit. The groups were assigned specific targets to carry out over a six week period at which time they met with the partners again. The one with the weakest performance was dropped. By June on completion of the program there were ten projects left. In less than a year the survivors have created over $ 65 million in equity with more to come. Great performance for a program in its infancy. Great things are destined to come out of this program. It`s already started.

I am very proud to have been invited to become a partner of the CD Lab. Not as one of the G7 partners who will continue to run the program in conjunction with the founders Professor Ajay Agrawal and Jesse Rogers but as one who is passionate about entrepreneurship and willing to help these people with phenomenal potential in whatever way I can. There are many levels and forms of entrepreneurship. The common bonds are the personal issues and fundamental business issues that every entrepreneur has to address from team building to funding. The transition from innovator to entrepreneur is difficult at the best of times but the pace at the Lab as for any accelerator is fast and furious. Understanding what to expect on these basic challenges can facilitate the transition and keep things in perspective.

Which brings me back to the title of this post. The adrenalin of the Demo Camp was contagious. Ajay and Jesse along with the G7 partners are building a culture of success. The combination of seeing the progress that was made last year as reported by the charter participants along with over twenty new pitches to show what is on the horizon was compelling and just plain exciting. There is a developing worldwide race to attract talent. Keeping our own is critical. Attracting sources from other countries nearly as important. Canada has introduced a new visa program to attract innovators who can confirm capital to support their programs BUT the key to attracting others is to keep our own, build a world class ecosystem and foster the culture of success. The Creative Destruction Lab will be an important factor in the process. Very exciting !!!!

Quite a number of my friends are professionals. Often they let me know how lucky I’ve been to own and operate companies with employees who keep churning out results even when I am at the cottage or on the golf course. For them time is money-they generate the revenue. They have to be there or nothing happens. I don’t even have to show up.

The traditional idea is that once you get to be the boss, you coast while others do your bidding. Maybe that idea’s grounded in the reality that most people get promoted to their level of incompetence where performance falls off. Of course it’s delusional to think that you start your own business and find a gravy train of financial success, freedom and success, all with little effort. This rarely happens but we do revere examples when it does like some the instant successes that have materialized in the tech world. Frankly that type of success is equivalent to winning the lottery which isn’t going to happen for many. Unfortunately this is the romantic side of entrepreneurship- rare but appealing.

If your goal is to get to be the boss and then take it easy , perhaps you should look to the public sector where that is at least a possibility. Being a true entrepreneur means living in a revolving door with each turn bringing a new problem to solve. If this lifestyle is meant for you , it’s like getting the business equivalent of a runner’s high, every day, all day. If not welcome to chaos. The faster the problems come the more you must thrive on the process. The last thing entrepreneurs want to do is sit idle while others do the work and get all the fun of problem solving.

That’s why they succeed in startups but struggle in managing established businesses even though they may have built those same businesses. No matter how great your innovation, converting that project to a successful business requires entrepreneurship. Success takes determination, adaptability, resilience, commitment and the certainty that you will take the project to completion and make that project happen. It is not the project that makes an entrepreneur. It is definitely the process! Very few are content to level their business and enjoy the fruits of success. So if you are all about power, money or prestige maybe entrepreneurship isn’t for you. Being the boss is just a necessary evil.

Entrepreneurship rests firmly on opportunity. But in the face of a rapidly changing global economy there is an overwhelming increase in entrepreneurship of necessity. Seniors need to extend their careers. Youth are struggling to launch theirs. Women are looking for flexibility to meet a combination of career and family needs. Individuals around the world are seeking freedom of opportunity. At the same time Big Business is pursuing profits around the world undermining the stability of employment markets. There is widespread decline in loyalty between employers and employees. Structural unemployment is a demoralizing prospect. One need only look to Detroit to see the impact.

The result? The most valued skill in the 21st Century may well be the ability to create your own job. Job creation rests clearly on individuals -first for themselves and then for others. It reflects the difference between Localization versus Globalization – small scale entrepreneurs find their opportunities locally creating jobs in areas that Big Business has abandoned for offshore savings. To compound this the fast paced rate of change driven by technology favours small flexible and adaptable businesses that adjust to changing circumstances. Large companies find their growth through acquisition not startups.

Around the world governments are finally recognizing the importance of entrepreneurs. Fortunately there is a great deal of talent that is suppressed and can be unleashed, whether through culture, education, gender , race, funding or other limitations. It will be up to government to remove the shackles Entrepreneurship has been the driving force behind the economic dominance of the Western world. It is the economic resource that puts other resources to work. Our economic future is moving to the hands of those who are driven to make things happen.

Much as we would like to, we never really love our parents as much as we do our children. Your business is exactly like a child. In the early or startup years it will depend completely upon you, looking to you for all the answers. You will always supply them with confidence, belying the uncertainty that you may feel as a first time owner just as you do as a first time parent. The child will look to you 24/7 in sickness and in health and as the parent you will always be there regardless of the problem, dropping everything else in the process. Your business and its components from customers to your team will do the same and like the parent you will be ready and willing to oblige. You cannot easily walkout on your children. Oh some due but for the majority it’s a non-starter. Same thing with your business. You are your business but try to remember your business is not you.

The middle years are the best when you have become comfortable within your developing family and confident in the decisions that must be made. Neither your child or your business will question you during this peak period. Things do get into a groove on both fronts but then comes the maturing years, the transition from total dependence  to independence. Tough for the parent to admit it’s time to let go and let the child mature  developing all of it’s capabilities, finding new methods and learning new things that the parent doesn’t know or understand.  So difficult to do but you the parent do it willingly in the best interest of your child. And so you must with your business. At some point you will become the limitation in your business. The day will come when it has outgrown you. It will not mature and reach it’s potential unless you let go. Easier said than done but be ready.

Like your first born that first business must move on to a new future. But then remember you can do it again. Maybe you already are. The second child is easier. There are tried and true practices that you know and understand. You can take that second child from gestation through birth to adolescence from startup to a thriving healthy entity. You can do this as many times as you can handle. And so you can with business. That’s what makes you a parent and that’s what makes you an entrepreneur. There are many mentors that can steward your child and your business into full maturity who cannot deal with the early years. You are the one who launches them from nothing and starts them along the path to maturity.

So recognize the need for that end game- when it is time to move on and begin again. It’s what you do best. The child will ask for you opinion. The business may ask you to consult. You will learn to enjoy both, but you will find your happiness doing it all over again.