Читать книгу Ageless Entrepreneur - Fred Dawkins - Страница 5

Writing this series has given me the opportunity to validate my career by sharing a lifetime of experiences as a serial entrepreneur at a time when entrepreneurship has moved into the economic forefront. I am grateful for the opportunity to have observed and interacted with the past two MBA classes at The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in the Creative Destruction Lab program, as well the chance to observe the progress of the ventures that participate in the Lab. Both of these groups inspire confidence as to what can be accomplished in Canada in the near future. With almost 400,000 Canadians living and working in Silicon Valley it’s time to focus on retaining our best and most brilliant talent. Too much of our intellectual capital has left looking for opportunity lacking at home. The Lab, under the direction of Professor Ajay Agrawal, is an important initiative in this regard and it’s working.

I would like to thank David Axon for sharing his experience with me regarding Juniors for Seniors, the business he started as a summer job. Resilient teens like David give me confidence that entrepreneurship is alive and well in the next generation, as it needs to be.

I am also grateful for the opportunity to interact with the developing entrepreneurship program at the University of Guelph and would like to thank Maryam Latifpoor-Keparoutis, the development manager of the engineering faculty, for her support and for introducing me to a wealth of excellent contacts at the university. As much as the recognition from the academic community means to me, these books are written for the average person engaged in the traditional economy. They are intended to prepare anyone from a high school dropout to a Ph.D. for the demands and requirements of living the life of an entrepreneur — an ambitious goal. The narrative style has been well received but only the reader can make a final determination of the result.

Whatever that opinion may be the most important acknowledgement I can make is to my wife, Karin, and all of my family for their ongoing and unconditional support of my career in general and for the books in this series in particular. This book, like every one I have written or will write, is dedicated to Karin.