This Tuesday, three Sauder alumni visited our class: Paul Davidescu (Tangoo), Paul Gill (Naked Coconuts), and Jennifer Martin (SIP Soda). I was amazed by the ability of these people to see the world differently, to see opportunities where I never thought of seeing, and to build something that made the world a better place to live in. (How many would actually think of selling something like soy-free soy sauce? At least, I have never seen anything like it while I lived in Japan.) I enjoyed the whole time they were in our class.
Ms. Martin referred to her company as her “baby”. An idea for a business requires much effort and care before it becomes a running company.
One memorable advice for fresh entrepreneurs that all three of them agreed was to have passion. They explained convincingly that “money will only get you so far” and that “you need passion to get over bumps along the way, to break through walls that you face with a start-up company.” While listening to these three people talk with much enthusiasm, I realized that the values of the entrepreneurs were what inspired them to create their companies. Paul Davidescu created Tangoo because he valued getting together and developing real relationships. Paul Gill created Naked Coconuts because one of his core values was honesty, and saw opportunities in the food industry where his value could be highly regarded. Jennifer Martin created Sip Soda because she believed in healthier lifestyles that did not sacrifice the joy of consuming sweet carbonated drinks.
Of course, this should not have come as a surprise; the value proposition is the heart of any business, and the entrepreneur’s passion would directly influence it. Passion is the key to creating a company’s point of difference. Meeting the three entrepreneurs provided me a great opportunity to see a part of the business model canvas in action.
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