Content Type, Events, Contests & Activities | November 16, 2016

GEW: On the Road – Colin’s Highlights from Winnipeg

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For Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) this week, we have teamed up with Amway Canada to send three ambassadors across the country to report live from the road as they visit Canadian entrepreneurs, small businesses, community partners in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and attend GEW events. Yesterday Colin was on the road in Winnipeg, Manitoba for the day. Here is a recap of his day and some of the ‘ah-ha’ moments he had along the way.

The morning started off with heading to CTV Winnipeg with Futurpreneur Regional Director, Joelle, who was showing off some great Futurpreneur foodie businesses to give people inspiration for their holiday shopping.


Insight from Colin:
“The CTV interview with Joelle Foster – the start-up mom. This is a person who legitimately takes ownership for the businesses under her care, in a very matriarchy but positive way. We need champions like Joelle and Jenn (Futurpreneur Business Development Manager) who put others above themselves in order to advance entrepreneurship in the city.”


After an early morning on set, off Colin went to get a breakfast for champions at Bronuts, a local donut shop and Futurpreneur-supported business. Here he had a chance to chat with the “bros” behind the shop.

Insight from Colin:
“Visiting entrepreneurs like Bronuts and the Amsterdam Tea Room. These are businesses that exemplify what it means to work in and on the business.”

Next Colin was off to the Futurpreneur Winnipeg office and co-working space where he met with some entrepreneurs working within the space.

After a visit to the Futurpreneur office, Colin headed to North Forge, a co-working and maker space where he met with Robert to chat about the magic that happens there.

 

Insight from Colin:

“North Forge is a co-working and maker space that was built to meet the needs of entrepreneurs in the area. The place feels and looks like the volunteers put a lot of time and energy in creating a space for potential entrepreneurs who should not have to leave Winnipeg to get access to the resources they need.”

Now it was time to refuel at a local Futurpreneur-supported business, Shawarma Khan before dropping by Lennard by Design and being a bit of a tourist in the city of Winnipeg.

Before heading to the Entrepeer event, a networking event hosted by The Keg and Futurpreneur, Colin dropped by Brandish, a local marketing agency to meet the team and learn more about what they do.


Insight from Colin:
“At the Entrepeer event I met four separate businesses who identified red tape as a hindrance to their business development. In order for Winnipeg and Manitoba to create an environment ripe for entrepreneurship, they need to bring the public service on side. This represents a huge opportunity for the city and the province to participate in something amazing.”


Colin’s day came to a close and he has now headed off to Edmonton, Alberta for the next stop in his adventure, but his biggest lesson about entrepreneurship from his day in Winnipeg was as follows:

“We are all trying to figure it out, how to start and maintain a sustainable business. But in order to thrive as a business you need to put yourself out there and connect with the community around you. Learning of the supports around you, like Futurpreneur, is critical to accelerating your business idea. Put yourself out there and you might just find that first customer, first partner or first lead to something greater.”

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