Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Yee Wei Foong, co-founder of goLEAD Leadership Center - McGill University, located in Montreal, QC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

goLEAD aims to nurture future leaders through engaging learning experiences. We offer programming to mentor students in their startup projects and assist them in securing resources to succeed in launching their entrepreneurship. Currently, our primary clients are students in high schools and universities. We are expanding to professional leadership/entrepreneurship training for incubators, accelerators, and companies.

Tell us about yourself

I was first inspired to embark on my leadership journey by Prof. Doug Reeve at the University of Toronto. Together with my mentor Albert Lee, they instilled in me the passion and dedication toward life-long learning, which led me to success in various parts of my career. Thus, I co-founded goLEAD at McGill with Prof. Nate Quitoriano to inspire and transform future leaders. I am motivated by witnessing the growth in our students and the tremendous impacts of their startup projects on the community.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We have established a partnership with IBM, Accelerator Centre, and Venture Lab, as well as expanded our operations to various universities in Canada. We also offer services to customers in other countries, including China and UAE.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

It is undeniable that Montreal is the hub for entrepreneurship, especially at McGill where we have some existing entrepreneurship programs such as Engine and Dobson. Thus, the most challenging part is to differentiate our organization to fit in the market and be creative at transforming a competitive landscape into a collaborative environment.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Reframe perspectives and attitude - a realistically positive mindset that is adaptable to the context can help you to persevere through tough times while being rational at taking risks.
  2. Invest in both people and product - building a strong team, partnership, and client relations is the backbone of your business.
  3. Pay attention to pacing - good pacing can help you to time the product release, manage cash flow, work balance, employees' mental health, etc., to strategically and consistently grow your business.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to share my story and experience. I would love to connect with peers who are interested to chat and learn more together.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/golead/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yeeweifoong/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.