ETEC 522 – Sept. 2011

Bluedrop Enterprises

Creating a thriving business on the East coast is no small accomplishment; Emad Rizkalla accomplished this by founding an e-learning business that strives to meet corporate needs while being learner centered and driven. The business that he co-founded in 1992 and continues to serve as CEO is Bluedrop Enterprises, whose current project Coursepark aims to take the place of larger, complicated LMS systems through being an easy-to-use, easy start-up, learner-centered training solution, founded on the principal that the training sought in the moment is part of a lifelong learning plan on the part of the worker.  (e-learning queen, 2011)

…Most learning technology ventures start as a concept that is researched, incubated and prototyped somewhere…
Rizkalla’s background is in engineering, and he got his start in the e-learning area through a project he was working on during his undergrad (Bluedrop, 2011).

…Great entrepreneurs are constantly enhancing their personal and professional networks…
He is active on many professional communities, has been featured on many of the media outlets, and has received kudos in the form of  Canada’s ‘top 40 under 40’ as well as being named one of TIME magazine’s ‘young entrepreneurs who will create the 21st century.’ (Bluedrop, 2011)

…the entrepreneur’s best strategy is to find the very best team members, partners and advisors…

Part of what makes a successful team is knowing your clients. Since the company serves the department of defense, one of their managers has a long history of work associated with this area. He is a former military officer with senior management experience in IT and defense areas. Another manager has both an extensive military background, and a strong education background…
Another has a strong background in IT and learning design…
Another has extensive business management experience, with an impressive list of top-rate clients…
Another has ample experience in streamlining multimedia processes…
Another with a strong business and communication background to help translate between the technical jargon and the functional results…
(Bluedrop, 2011)

…The single best way to mitigate such risks is to work with the right people…

What are my thoughts on my own entrepreneurial potential?

Being aware of ones strengths and weaknesses is a valuable skill, and is something that I am constantly revisiting in self-reflection. Ultimately, I am aware that I am someone who can generate unique and interesting ideas, I can see areas where opportunity for improvement exists, I can work my way through the development of an idea and evaluate whether or not it is productive and profitable, I can multitask and manage complex situations. What I can’t do is take major financial risks. Throughout my years of debating whether or not I could move into an entrepreneurial venture, this is what I come back to. I grew up in a single-parent household where money was tight and trips to the food bank were not unheard of. I completed two university degrees on student loans, and moved away upon graduation to somewhere I could make a lot more money and pay them off as quickly as possible. $900 a month and 5 years later, I was done. I am very conscientious about money management. Taking the risk to put it on the line is not in the cards for me. That being said, I would be a valuable team member who could help to mitigate the risks for someone else. Alas, I like to play it safe, keep up the RRSP and RESP contributions in my moderate growth accounts, put my tax refunds on my mortgage, eat out once a week, have time to spend with my family, and not feel jittery when the bills come in.  

All blue text are excerpts from the course site for ETEC 522.

E-learning Queen. (2011). Interview with Emad Rizkalla, Bluedrop Performance Learning: innovators in e-learning series. Accessed online 25-9-2011 at http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com/2011/04/interview-with-emad-rizkalla-bluedrop.html

Bluedrop. (2011). Our people. Accessed online 25-9-2011 at http://www.bluedrop.com/who-we-are/our-people