The Passionate Leader
Microsoft. Facebook. FedEx. These are just three of the many excellent organizations that have been started from the dorm room. With those outstanding examples, John Pollock launched into his story, and the lessons he learned along the way. Among them were a few observations about opportunity (how it is often not lost but taken, how they multiply when seized, and how they are disguised as hard work), how his previous company was formed, and how he found an idea and brought it to life.
John Pollock is the director of BizInc., a small business incubator located at the heart of UWO. The service is dedicated to helping Western students refine their business or nonprofit ideas, connecting students with helpful mentors, or empowering them with the resources they need to take the first step. If you’re a Western student and think you could be on to something, you need to drop into BizInc. I highly recommend their work and community.
Pollock also spoke to the audience of Western students about the importance of getting out of their comfort zones and stumbling upon opportunities in this previously unexplored territory. He gave some very practical advice, and handed the stage over to the second speaker for this Nspire Discovery Series, focused on The Passionate Leader, held at the Ivey Building at Western University (the university formerly known as the University of Western Ontario).
The second speaker was a rather new entrepreneur and enthusiastic leadership coach, by the name of Ryan Coelho. Ryan started his presentation off with a tale about himself, and his journey in dealing with passion and leadership. He had previously studied engineering, before volunteering for a year and helping farmers develop their products and operate farms as businesses. He then transitioned into how he came to find his love for leadership and coaching, and helping develop students and young people find their passions.
He posited his advice as a perspective, and emphasized the importance of personal development in achieving missions. His upcoming project is titled Game On Leadership Coaching, which I’m sure we’ll hear more about as he unveils it shortly.
It was great to watch a seasoned, insightful entrepreneur and a fresh, energetic leader hold discussions and conversations with the students. The event was put together by the Nspire Innovation Network, an organization dedicated to connecting, empowering, and inspiring youth leaders. This was the latest of their monthly Discovery Series (DS) events. These DS events are smaller seminar-like workshops that allow students to learn more about different themes revolving around entrepreneurship and innovation.
DS events are one of Nspire’s growing repertoire of initiatives. Among these are what made Nspire famous, the annual National Business and Technology Conference, which happens this year on March 23rd and 24th in Toronto.
As Coelho ended off his speech and started answering questions, I thought about the values and information I’d picked up from him and Pollock. Their deep involvement with the youth and student leaders, coupled with the track records of some giant organizations, holds a lot of potential. If you’re interested in keeping your finger on the pulse of the startup community in Canada, keep an eye on John Pollock’s BizInc. and Ryan Coelho.
