By Mindy Crump| Writer
For this week's spotlight I had the pleasure of talking with a young gentleman for whom I call Startup Canada's Youth ambassador, Alex Brown. If you ever have the opportunity to get to know him, even if it is for a brief time like myself, I highly recommend it.
You can find him on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
The Entrepreneur
Growing up, Alex was raised by entrepreneurial parents for whom he graciously received the entrepreneurship bug from. At a young age he knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur eventually falling into the footsteps of his father, who owned a construction business at the time. For a few years the construction industry became Alex's life. Little did he know he would fall into another entrepreneurial opportunity quite the opposite from construction.
Alex recently became a consultant for pharmaceutical companies across Canada and beyond. He helps with marketing, contracts, licensing and business development on a daily basis. Even though he had an abundant amount of heft paying job offers from other construction companies, Alex chose to remain a consultant. It is something he is passionate and happy to do. The joy he receives from being an entrepreneur was absolutely worth turning down all of those job offers.
In short, he describes the easiest part of being an entrepreneur in two words; pay day. However the hardest part is knowing no one is accountable for any decisions within his business but himself. Success is only measured based solely on his own performance. Nevertheless he wouldn't have it any other way.
Advice
“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again”. ~ Richard Branson
With Richard Branson being one of Alex's idols, those exact words ring true. Alex's advice to those thinking of becoming an entrepreneur is similar. “Don't be afraid to fail” he says. He advises potential entrepreneurs to look for opportunities and go for it. If you fail, pick yourself up and keep going. You can only get better as you move forward.
Alex and Startup Canada
Alex’s journey to Startup Canada began with him thinking about starting up a non-profit organization in order to help other entrepreneurs succeed. Through his research he stumbled upon Startup Canada's website. After reading through all of the useful information Startup had to offer and what the non-profit organization was all about, Alex was quick to sign up as NextGen Initiatives Manager.
“Startup NextGen is fueling the next generation of Canadians with the tools, resources, connections and opportunities that they need to unlock a more prosperous future for themselves.”
What exactly does a NextGen Initiatives Manager do within that? Simply put, Alex manages all of the programs, resources and tools used to help the next generation succeed with entrepreneurship.
It is truly amazing how passionate he really is about raising awareness to our youth about entrepreneurship especially with some fantastic programs he helped create. Some of the programs include:
Startup Career LaunchPads: one-day conferences to connect students and recent grads with some of Canada's leading entrepreneurs, startups and companies.
Founders for Schools: connects inspiring and relatable startup founders with classrooms across Canada to inspire the next generation of Canadians to take action on their ideas and increase awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
Startup Campus Network: connects and supports campus-based student entrepreneurship champions, clubs, incubators, educators and centres across Canada to advance entrepreneurship and innovation on college and university campuses.
Special Projects & Consulting: We undertake special projects alongside governments, universities, colleges, organizations and communities to advance youth entrepreneurship and employability.
With all of that said, just to show how lucky we are at Startup Canada to have Alex as one of our volunteers he was asked what would he do if he won the lottery. (In this scenario we agreed he had won the $50 million jackpot). With his caring heart upon his sleeve he was more than willing to give it away. Whether it was for family, friends or become an angel investor for like minded startups, he chose to help others before himself.