Since 1995, The Caldwell Partners' annual Top 40 Under 40 awards celebrate the achievements of the sharpest young minds in Canada, and every one is profiled inside this special report. But how did they do it?
We asked this year's winners to name the personal qualities they believe helped drive them to success.
Passion, perseverance, integrity, family support and focus were considered to be the most important attributes that led to success for these young, successful entrepreneurs.
When discussing the universal traits of good leaders, Top 40 founder Douglas Caldwell says "One thing that distinguishes the group [of honorees] this year is the giving back these people have seen as a responsibility ... that is an important thing to be doing."
Christina Anthony, 32, is founder and president of Forum for Women Entrepreneurs Canada in Vancouver and director of Odlum Brown Limited.
After a stint at Goldman Sachs in Seattle in 2002, the Richmond, B.C. native moved back to Vancouver and saw that the city had a need for mentors and training programs to help female entrepreneurs.
When she wasn't busy with her day job as a portfolio manager and director at Odlum Brown Ltd., she launched the B.C. chapter of FWE.
Now, despite having two young children and a third on the way, she has managed to expand FWE into a resource for hundreds of women who are just starting out, or are already successful, to upgrade their skills and network.
"I've always been very inspired by people who take risks and start their own businesses"
Michael Hyatt, 33, is chief executive officer and co-founder, BlueCat Networks in Toronto. Since co-founding the company with his brother Richard in 2001, he has watched BlueCat become one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Canada. It has taken the lead in its field of Internet-address management after going toe-to-toe with the likes of Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems and even British Telecom. BlueCat recently was designated best in its field by NetworkWorld magazine.
The privately held company has 125 employees in offices across Canada, the United States and Europe.
"If you're going to be successful as an entrepreneur, what you're constantly doing is downloading responsibility and giving up authority. The challenge is always 'letting go' and allowing the best people to run your business."
Michael Hyatt and Christina Anthony were online earlier to answer questions about the life of an entrepreneur, what it takes to receive a coveted Top 40 award, and offer advice on what it takes to succeed.
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Danielle Boudreau, globeandmail.com writes: Thank you both for taking time out of your busy schedules to answer questions for our readers today. Did you always know that you would do something to satisfy your entrepreneurial spirit, or did you first have plans for a more traditional career?
Michael Hyatt: I certainly didn't think I would be running very successful high tech firms. I went to Western to be a doctor, but never made it to Med School. I got out in a pretty bad market in 1996 had little knowledge about businesses. My brother wrote some software and I just started cold calling and selling… and the rest is history. (And by the way, the Internet wasn't too hot so we mailed "diskettes" to prospects).
Christina Anthony: I was originally on the "science" and possibly "medical" track but soon realized that it was the marketing, analytical and creative side of those areas that I was really drawn to... Then it struck me that business was really the field that brought those skill sets together. I like to do things the way I feel they should be done, even if it is different than the norm- and I like to have the freedom to be very creative in whatever I am doing. So the entrepreneurial/business fields seemed the best fits for me.
