5 Questions with... David Coleman

As you sit down and enjoy your favourite late morning beverage I hope you will also enjoy the latest installment of 5 Questions.

David Coleman is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Spreed Inc. which is a Toronto-based technology company which specializes in developing mobile publishing and advertising technology for publishers and media companies. David is a young, creative and innovative entrepreneurial minded individual. Let's find out what makes him tick...

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

Well I have to answer that question in two parts. I have two main motivations. The first motivation affects my drive to be an entrepreneur. The second motivation affects my desire to work as hard as I can on Spreed.

Firstly, I have a fundamental love for innovation and commercialization; this was my focus in University and has been reflect in all most post-graduate work. The Canadian innovation eco-system is flawed. We need more entrepreneurs working harder than ever before to ensure that we can move our country towards a knowledge based economy. I do not believe that we will be sustainable in the future as purely a resource based economy. This is my main reason for being an entrepreneur. The more people grinding out new businesses, creating new jobs and bringing out country to global markets should be a primary goal for all Canadians.

Secondly, why do I work for Spreed? Well I love mobile, but more importantly I love the news. News organizations have always been seen as the four pillar of our society, keeping government in check. In the past few years we have seen these organizations dwindle and in some cases die. I truly believe that the new mobile ecosystem will be just one of the many answers to the newspaper problem. Spreed is focused on helping these newspapers tackle this problem and this is why I am so motivated to work here.

Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?

Work hard, get up early, believe in yourself even when others don't and spend more time grinding and hustling than sitting on Twitter and Facebook. I remember Rob Hyndman of Hyndman Law posted a tweet about 6 months back challenging anyone to name a successful entrepreneur who is currently running a start up and tweeting constantly on a daily basis. I couldn't think of any and it made me think about the value behind his statement. It came down to not worry so much about your name and networking as a way to get success. Instead focus on building something great and working really hard. Success can and will be shown by the result of your labour.

The last piece of advice I always impart comes from Mike McDerment of Freshbooks. He once told me that to make a truly successful product you had to find a problem in your daily routine and solve it. He built Freshbooks based on that concept and I have always believed him to be true. 

In your opinion why is Toronto a great place for cool tech start-ups?

The people...bottom line. We don't have access to capital like in the States, so it’s not great for that reason. We also don't have warm weather all year round to keep us motivated, so it isn’t great for that reason either. It all comes down to the great people that surround us. I can call on any one of my friends/colleagues to bounce ideas off of or get help and they will offer a hand without even asking a question. As Jon Crowley stated a few days ago, "If I could take my Toronto friends and move them to San Francisco, this place would be perfect" (I may have paraphrased that, but you get the gist) 

What's your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?

For business LinkedIn is by far the greatest invention ever. Most media organization reception desks won’t give you names or connect you with a "Head of Digital". The answer? LinkedIn!  Just search the company, position and bam you have the name. Then make the call and the rest is up to your on phone personality and passion about your company. Toys? iPhone and my self baked media server. My server pushes media content (including live TV) to every display in my house as well as all of my mobile devices. I really could not live without it. 

Who would you say is one of Toronto's up and coming stars in your space and why?

My space? Mobile? They are my competition and I wish no success on them ... just kidding!

I love everyone in the Toronto mobile space, but keep your eyes on the Seto brothers as well as @MHP and @EtotheZ; I have a love for these two man mobile teams. They are lean, mean and ready to add value wherever possible ... In terms of stars, my favorites are @SaulColt, @RHH, @MikeMcDerment and last but definitely not least @Mgarrity.

@Smichm, because honestly she makes my day brighter 365 days of the year and put out an unreal Virgin Provocateur submission video that shows off her personality as well as her willingness to step out of her comfort zone in the name brand awareness. If you haven't seen her video yet, check it out now http://www.virginamericaprovocateur.com/view/?id=378206 (no bias of course) and finally, @DanielPatricio who has a great amount of ambition for someone of his age.