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Hamish Knox is a Futurpreneur Canada mentor, and 2016 BDC Mentorship Award finalist, he received funding through Futurpreneur back when it was known as the Canadian Youth Business Foundation and was matched with his own mentor in the early stages of his business. Hamish explained that his Futurpreneur mentor still remains a friend and mentor to him to this day and because of that, he wanted to give other young entrepreneurs the same opportunities that he was given.

Hamish’s business, Sandler Training, is the largest sales and sales leadership development company in the world with presence in 32 countries and success in over 180 different industries. His clients are typically chief executives, owners and presidents of organizations based in Calgary, Alberta, but they also work with branch offices of national and international businesses.

Hamish has been paired with three mentees through the Futurpreneur Canada mentorship program. The first mentees he had were John and Kristine Nicholby from YYC Junk who went on to win the Calgary Chamber Small Business Wek Award after only 54 weeks in business. He explained that his experience as a mentor to date has been incredible, “I learn something from the entrepreneurs I work with every time we interact.”

But part of having as rewarding of a mentoring experience as Hamish, both parties need to have an equal understanding of each other’s expectations. “Clarity from the beginning of the relationship about how each likes to communicate is important, and how they give and receive feedback” Knox describes. “You both also need to give permission to ask tough questions if you feel necessary.”

Hamish continues to mentor young entrepreneurs to date, and is actively involved in the entrepreneurial community through Enactus Canada and as a volunteer judge for regional and national student competitions. “He supports us without judgement, asks the questions that need be asked, even the tough one, with an amazingly elegant and nurturing approach,” Sabrina Thomas, one of Knox’s mentees shared.

Interested in becoming a Futurpreneur mentor too? Click here to learn more.

Written By: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Creation Coordinator, Futurpreneur Canada

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