Young Entrepreneurs bring back Memories at the HELIX Spotlight Event - Seneca College, Toronto

Being at the HELIX Spotlight event at Seneca in North Toronto on 20^th August 2018 — honouring four of the already hundreds of young entrepreneurs the Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ARIE) Department of Seneca is supporting — brought me fond memories of the past.

I went back in time to 1985 when my cousin Viren Perera, a friend Pradip Jayewardene and I embarked on a journey to establish a pioneering solar energy business in Sri Lanka – to manufacture and market solar home systems to rural homes who had no access to the power grid.

A short story of that is here - https://canadiansrilankanpartnerships.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/solar-energy-canada-helps-sri-lanka-make-history/

I had graduated from Seneca's, Mechanical Engineering Technology – Nuclear Option program in 1983 and a part-time Business Administration Certificate in 1984 and Viren with a degree in Commerce from University of Toronto - we  were intrigued and inspired by a novel by James Michener called The Drifters.

The Drifters - Viren and Lalith in Paris - 1984

We wanted to see the world before we started our ‘real’ life, so we embarked on this adventure to buy a Volkswagen Camper in London, England and followed the path of the book through Europe filled with our own adventures.

The journey ended where we were born – in Sri Lanka - to an idea of a solar powered water pump by a cousin Micheal Mustachi, which eventually led us to establish a business to manufacture and market solar home systems for lighting and TV for rural farmers. 

Having had a good foundation from Seneca and U of T, this venture ended up being our real education.  Apart from building a business idea from scratch, convincing the skeptics - and there were many – was a big challenge.

The other tasks of doing market studies, raise financing for investment and working capital, purchase the appropriate technology, establish the manufacturing plant, nurturing a team and the organization to make solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and balance of system, and the most difficult – to develop, market and sell the systems gave us an experience of a lifetime, that has turned us into serial entrepreneurs and educators. 

Dr. Sudh Varma of TPK Solar manufacturing the
first SUNTEC solar module in Sri Lanka - 1987

A chance meeting and an introduction to Ontario Hydro's New Business Ventures Division ensured that we kept our Canadian connections.  We purchased a solar PV module manufacturing plant from an Ottawa based company - TPK Solar established by a Canadian scientist and innovator, Dr. Raye Thomas supported by Dr. Sudh Varma, Jay Jayaraman and team.  They were well ahead of their time to develop solar PV cells and modules in the mid 1970s and also sold and installed the first solar cell and module manufacturing facility to China's Yunan Province in late 1980s.

Perils of Entrepreneurship

We encountered many challenges and barriers along the way, including irate politicians who opposed us taking their power away by offering their constituency a choice, where they became independent of the electricity grid.  Add to that, international coal and oil industry lobbies, surprisingly, felt threatened by a new technology where the sun was the fuel. 

We were demonized in the media and public platforms denigrating our pioneering efforts. They asserted that we were fooling rural people into paying money for an insignificant technology that will not serve their needs.  A newspaper article titled “Solar Power is for Lotus Eaters” cast aspersions that we were following a pipe dream and the smear campaign continued until we got to the root cause. 

We diffused the detractors by making personal connections with them to share our vision, values and understand their needs.

These lessons were most invaluable as we had not realized the power of vested interests.  No matter how effective an idea is when a new technology or a product is introduced, the status quo, the existing people invested in it always gets impacted and may resist. 

Therefore, we have to be aware of the big picture - understand the whole system and it's impacts or get blindsided by them, no matter how irrational it may seem.

Taking these powers head on is like swimming against the current - one has to swim with it and patiently find ways out to connect with the detractors at a human level and appeal to their conscience.   All this requires thoughtfulness, time and effort.

The Inspiring Young HELIXers

This is why I was inspired by the four young entrepreneurs who were under the spotlight, as they seem to be aware of all this.  I applaud their courage to throw themselves in the deep end for a life of uncertainty – the excitement, enthusiasm and the passion was palpable.

They are also fortunate to have the safety-net of a home at Seneca's Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ARIE) Department and more remarkable as Director of Entrepreneurship, Chris Dudley explained that their services were free to these young leaders.

The most difficult part of being an entrepreneur with a new idea, as mentioned earlier, are those naysayers – ‘it will never work’ brigade, who were playfully referred to by the young HELIXers as ‘shooting the puppy’.  

This is especially a challenge when those who hold the purse strings, the investors and bankers, are skeptical. 

Support for Our Idea

We were fortunate to have some mentors and well-wishers to balance the naysayers.  Among them were family, friends and few corporate leaders who gave us insights into business, organizations, leadership and especially, emotional intelligence - the need to know and manage self that is essential for an entrepreneur.

Sir Arthur C Clarke visits the SUNTEC factory - 1988

One prominent supporter was science fiction writer and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke residing in Sri Lanka - who’s endorsement counted for our reputation and to be taken seriously.   Our youth – being in our late 20s worked against us.

It was fortuitous that we were accepted by a USAID sponsored Private Enterprise Promotions Project, where Coopers & Lybrand firm of accountants from Washington DC, USA and Colombo, Sri Lanka to conduct a market and pre-feasibility study.  This would have normally cost US $ 40,000 in 1985, which we got for a mere application fee of US $ 200.

At the end of their elaborate study in which we played an active role in, the Coopers & Lybrand team’s Roger Manring, Michael Trevor and Thilan Wijesinghe invited us to their Colombo office to inform that the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was only 4% and suggested we go back to Canada and get jobs. 

Marketing SUNTEC in rural Sri Lanka

We were shocked at this outcome. We knew the fact that 84% of Sri Lanka’s homes in rural areas did not have access to the power grid - using kerosene lamps and car batteries for their lighting needs. There was a definite need and a demand. 

As an integral part of the market research process we spoke to countless number of people and knew there was a segment of households that could afford to pay for a solar home system, which would make this business viable. 

We passionately believed in this venture from making connections with our potential customers who were suffering with kerosene lamps – children breathing fumes as they studied under them to the the tragedy of occasional accidental fires – our hearts were with them and we intuitively knew that a potential business was there. 

We also had the vision that solar PV used mostly for extraterrestrial applications at the time to power satellites, had an important role on this earth to make our world greener, not only for rural areas but as an alternative for thermal power generation as a whole.

Therefore, our vision and mission was clear as we pushed Manring and Trevor back when they advised us to pack our bags.

  

The next day, they called us back and handed us a freshly minted feasibility study and pointed us the page where the revised IRR was now 16%.  

The Coopers & Lybrand study

That is when I realized that even finance is not an exact science.  It all depends on the assumptions - the enthusiasm, the passion, the reason and logic we brought to this venture also counted for a few percentage points.  In the revision, they also considered better, how a micro-finance program would expand the market with better affordability of the systems.   

We had to fight for all this and the C & L market and pre-feasibility study gave us a platform to raise $ 1 million through Sri Lankan development banks - true government owned development banks, which were established to foster innovation and new business.  Those banks have since been privatized, hence totally profit oriented and risk averse, which is now stifling new entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.

Transforming Canada’s Entrepreneurship DNA

Canada’s young entrepreneurs will also need such support and goodwill from venture capitalists, investors, banks and mentors.

This is important as Canada, being a traditional resource economy, does not have an inherent culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in its DNA.  According to the Conference Board of Canada, Canadians are ambitious when it comes to entrepreneurship, yet that ambition is not realized when it comes to actual enterprise creation.[i]

Karen Sievewright in a Globe and Mail article writes;

What this means is we have not developed a codified model to train, develop and nurture our entrepreneurial talent. We simply don't have the innovation 'farm system' which can systematically lead entrepreneurs to success.[ii]

That is what David Agnew, President of Seneca addressed in his opening remarks where he articulated Seneca’s commitment to systematically bridge this gap.  Mr. Agnew, being there at the event, signaled its commitment from the top.

Vanessa Williamson, Dean of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ARIE) and Chris Dudley, Director of Entrepreneurship went onto explain the HELIX process and philosophy designed to lead entrepreneurs to success and to change Canada’s DNA. 

They highlighted HELIX’s dedication to developing the entrepreneurial mindset through sharing knowledge, mentorship sessions, workspace access to like-minded peer community and experiential opportunities.

According to the website, HELIX focuses on two important outcomes:

1. The development and launch of successful, scalable and sustainable, young entrepreneur-led ventures.
2. Nurturing the entrepreneurial mind set to allow participants to become intrapreneurs and innovate from within companies.

The process begins with a series of four entrepreneurial workshops and sector specific support activities provided free to any interested person starting from; ideation, Business Model Canvas, customer validation, pitch development and it continues to provide support as required.

The follow up support includes; mentorship, introduction to seed funding, conducting experiential activities such as Startup Weekend, providing incubator space and facilitating links to the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Seneca is reaching out to the wider community and participates in international events such as the European Innovation Academy’s (EIA) summer program https://www.inacademy.eu/ for students bringing people together from 75 countries and leading schools around the world.

The HELIX Spotlight event featured four of those who attended the 3 week intensive program at EIA. 

Seneca's Chris Dudley mediating the four Helixer's dialogue

Each of them; Kim Ng, Stephen Bourne, Cliff Benson and Christian Navarro had great stories to narrate as they led 5 member interdisciplinary, multicultural teams at the EIA.  They spoke of how they worked together to come up with their innovative ideas to be presented to potential investors.

Inspiration, Investing and Sharing Risk

As a Seneca Alumni, I am inspired by this program, especially as the approach seems holistic and it is grounded on great values and principles, and mostly the process seems to have an open-hearted approach, as that is what is required to change the Canadian risk averse DNA, especially in the finance sector.

I was happy to see Scotiabank sponsoring HELIX and a contingent of TD Bank representatives at the HELIX Spotlight event.  I trust that they will not assess these new ventures on a set of tangible numbers alone, but be open to a much broader vision for the future of Canada.

They will have to also consider the entrepreneurs for their passion, enthusiasm, fearlessness, talent, capability and a commitment to hard work, apart from numbers.  That means investors and banks have to share in the risk and be willing to lose in the process too, as failure is an inherent component of the entrepreneurial process.  Learning through failure is the only way Canada will change its DNA.

I am confident from witnessing this event, the commitment of the Seneca team, and who they had gathered for this spotlight event from the community and within – a selection of alumni-entrepreneurs, the private sector, investors, banks, non-profits and the government - the HELIX program is on the right path to helping Canada foster its culture of entrepreneurship.  

 The multicultural participants in this program are also an opportunity for Canada to look well beyond North America, as especially Asia, Africa and South America offer vast markets as they grow and develop.      

I wish the HELIX program much success and look forward to playing a role to make Canada a leading nation for innovation and entrepreneurs for the future.

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[i]https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/innovation/ambition.aspx

[ii]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/how-canada-can-build-a-champion-entrepreneurial-culture/article30851167/