Philippe Noelting: Representing Canada at the G20 YES

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation has selected 30 dynamic young Canadian entrepreneurs to form the official Canadian delegation at the G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit (G20 YES) in Nice, France on October 31-November 2, 2011. The G20 YES is an annual international summit that brings together dedicated and influential entrepreneurs of the G20 countries. Philippe Noelting is a Canadian delegate.

• My motto: “Life is really, really good… you can do absolutely anything you want, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.”   “Don’t take the gift of life for granted, experience as much as you can and smile through it all… remember, everything is relative!”
• Company name:  Qwalify
• Activity: web-based hiring platform
• Number of employees: 5
• Headquarters’ Address: 295 Hagey Blvd., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA, N2L 6R5
• Website: www.Qwalify.com

Why I became an entrepreneur:

I became an entrepreneur because I really enjoy building things and driving big projects. I learned early on in my academic career that I am a ‘hands on’ learner as I get very little satisfaction from the ‘learn and dump’ style of education. Throughout high school and college, I was always working on passion-projects on the side, which unknowingly taught me how to handle a very heavy workload without getting stressed… and actually to enjoy it! All I knew was that:

1)      I never work harder than when I work on my own projects

2)      I don’t do well with people ‘barking’ orders at me

3)      There is nothing more rewarding than building something of value, from scratch

With a goal of learning more about entrepreneurship and making it a life path, I attended Babson College in Boston. The four years I spent there exposed me to a world of opportunity that I could only have imagined beforehand, and I was hooked. I did a few independent studies at Babson, all focused on online analytics and the power of interconnected networks. Going after the biggest pain I saw at the time, the employment market and the pains of getting noticed as a young professional, Qwalify was born.

My best moment as an entrepreneur, my success:

The most rewarding moment of my career could not be summed up by one event, but instead as a turning point in the overall feelings I had. It happened when I began bringing on advisors, investors and hiring the in-house team at Qwalify. I realized for the first time in my life…

1)      I was working on something that could be truly disruptive

2)      Things were getting accomplished all  the time, whether or not I was leading the efforts

3)      I was part of a supportive and driven ‘professional family’, willing to go through thick and thin for the greater good of the company.

All these realizations filled me with pride and pushed me to work even harder. Every success became everyone’s success, and little celebrations became meaningful bonding experiences for all. I am honoured to work alongside the people I do, and hope that as we grow the culture becomes even stronger than it currently is.

My next challenge:

Qwalify operates in the Human Capital space, which is very hot and fragmented. There are a lot of things going on, and the industry as a whole is ripe for disruption. Qwalify has been built with a focus on being able to pivot very quickly, and thus our customers drive the next steps.

In terms of myself… timing is everything. I am certainly going to remain an entrepreneur as long as I continue to think the way I do. I am very interested in learning new industries and geographies, and working alongside great people, so hopefully I can continue to incorporate the three (as is the case at Qwalify).