From time-saving services like Instacart, which was created for San Francisco professionals without cars, to the life-saving discovery of penicillin – surprisingly revealed in a discarded mold-covered petri dish from a failed research experiment – many great innovations arise from initial problems.
Ivey’s HBA1 students were challenged to turn a real-life organization’s problem into an opportunity for the first-ever Opportunity Week, which ran January 7-10. Led by a group of Ivey entrepreneurship faculty members, the purpose of the event was to help students understand value and how it is created as well as what it is to be an entrepreneur. As a first step, the students took The Founder’s Journey course to gain insights on the entrepreneurial experience. They then had to connect with an organization with a problem, develop and implement a plan to fix the problem, and present the outcomes on the final day.
They also heard from two panels of entrepreneurs who shared details from their journeys and advice. One panel consisting of Richie Bloomfield HBA ’14, MBA ’20 (Urban Roots); Matt Cohen, HBA ’20 (Ripple Ventures); Ankit Kamboj, HBA ’16 (KCM Holdings); and Sarah Landstreet, MBA ’13 (Georgette Packaging) shared lessons learned from the Founders Journey.
Seize non-original ideas and do them differently
The other panel discussed how they built on an existing idea to make it better or different. David Ward EMBA ’19, and Kyla Woodcock, MBA ’08, co-founders of The Beach Hangar, Canada’s first built-to-purpose indoor beach volleyball facility, told how they sought to solve a problem – the lack of indoor volleyball facilities in London, Ont. – and improve upon existing models. In addition to researching what similar facilities had done, they interviewed local community members – potential coaches and potential customers and their families – to determine and meet the community’s needs. They identified four key factors – building a great team, market positioning, striving to be world-class, and securing ancillary funding – that were critical for seizing the opportunity.
Kristen Wise, Director of Administration and Finance with the London Waldorf School, an independent school focused on developing artistic and practical skills, discussed how the organization focuses on understanding its target market, building relationships, and “breaking through the noise” to get its name out there.
Entrepreneurship lecturer Eric Janssen, HBA ’09, MBA ’21, who moderated the session, said it’s all proof that business ideas don’t have to be original, but can instead improve upon an existing concept.
“Often the first thing people will do when they come up with a new idea is they’ll search for it on Google or ChatGPT and figure out that it has already been done in a bunch of iterations. That shouldn’t deter you,” he said. “Finding a unique take on it or a way to do it better is actually a great way to start a business. So don’t be deterred if your first business idea is already taken. That’s actually a good sign.”
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