Longtrepreneur continues to bring the best-in-class tech and business leaders to get their take on long-term thinking in the world of Commerce, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
This week’s “Take the L” series guest is a personality who needs no introduction: Sean Wise.
Here is the conversation in an interview format between Yawar Abbas(Longtrepreneur) and Sean Wise(Founder of 100 Steps 2 Startup and Prof. Entrepreneurship at Toronto Metropolitan University formerly Ryerson University)
What is Sean Wise’s elevator pitch in 140 characters?
Helping everyone to understand that: Entrepreneurship is for everyone.
What motivates you to leave your bed every day in the morning?
I have already succeeded. Now I spend my time helping others (etc. founders, students, newcomers) by creating a safe space to explore and try new entrepreneurial things.
According to you, what does family mean to you?
Family means Everything to me. Family is the safe place where love is abundant and you are loved wholly for the flawed human being we all are.
As a husband, what qualities does your spouse admire in you? Vice-versa
My wife is truly my better half. I admire: her kindness, her calmness, her heart and the way she deals with people. All things I learn from by watching. All things I benefit from by loving.
I think she admires: my tenacity, my resilience, my brain, my work ethic, my dedication to our sons.
How has being a father of two sons shaped your worldview?
Now everything I do, I view from the lens of my young sons. I ask myself: is this the example I should be setting? or if my boys did this, would I be proud? For me, that puts everything into context and makes me want to be the best role model I could be.
What do you most like about entrepreneurship?
1. Entrepreneurship empowers everyone. You don’t need permission to get started.
2. Entrepreneurship is not a science nor an art, it is practice like meditation or riding a bike. You learn by doing.
3. Entrepreneurship puts the power of solving problems into the hands of those experiencing those issues, making true the idiom “If it is to be; it is up to me” and I find that tremendously empowering.
What was your experience as an advisor to Dragons on Dragons’ Den?
I had a wonderful time working behind the scenes on Dragons’ Den for five seasons. What I liked most was auditions. Traveling our great nation, meeting entrepreneurs from coast to coast to coast. It was engaging, rewarding and memorable.
What do you enjoy most about being a professor of entrepreneurship at Toronto Metropolitan University?
Sparking in my students the inspiration of entrepreneurship. Watching my students stretch their entrepreneurial muscles in real world settings is extremely rewarding. Watching what students do after the class is even more so. At least three of my students have gone on to huge startup success and become financially independent as a result. I think that is really cool, to contribute in some small way to that.
What are your 3 most favourite traditional dishes?
1. Breakfast Shakshuka
2. Sabich Sandwiches
3. Moroccan Red Lentil Soup
What 2 qualities do you look for when investing in founders?
Coachability & Judgement
How do you define “Chutzpah?”
Chutzpah means extreme self-confidence or audacity, particularly in the face of adversity. Chutzpah is the willingness to take risks in a highly shameless and confident manner, that may often be seen as disrespectful or rude. To me Chutzpah is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Believing in yourself, have audacity to challenge the status quo and work so that tomorrow > today.
What learnings could Canada take from “Israel,” aka the startup Nation?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-mindsets-i-learned-from-israeli-entrepreneurs-changed-sean-wise/
There were lots but two come to mind:
Relationship to failure. Like good entrepreneurs, Israelis accept failure as more than a possibility, they see it as an opportunity for learning and don’t shy away from failure.
No jacket required. In Israel it is what you do, not what you wear, that matters. Shorts were common business attire even in the most important meetings. Israelis have little to no deference to formality. Instead they look at the outcomes of effort: the results. Everything else is a luxury the Israeli founders don’t seem to have time for.
What is your “50-year vision” for Canadian entrepreneurship education?
I’d like entrepreneurship to be ingrained in elementary school level education.
Which 3 Canadian business leaders do you want to nominate for the “Take the L” interview series?
1. Les Hansen: President of Benetech
2. Len Brody: President of Clarity Digital
3. Marie Chevrier Schwartz: CEO & Founder of Sampler
Photo courtesy by Sean Wise
