Famous Canadian Entrepreneur
Profile of a Successful Canadian Entrepreneur
What describes a successful entrepreneur? To find the answer, look at the profile of Sir Terry Matthews, a famous British-Canadian telecommunications entrepreneur. How did he start? What is his secret in his love for work? What drives him to keep going despite his successes? What are his thoughts regarding technology?
Tech entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews, who created more than 60 companies, is Wales' first billionaire. He started young and continues to keep going. Are you curious to know what drives him?
Profile of an Entrepreneur
Passion, determination, drive, foresight are among the most common attributes that successful entrepreneurs have. And these, describe exactly Terry Matthews, a British-Canadian telecommunications entrepreneur, who is Wales’ first billionaire. The most famous story told of him when he started his first company in Canada, after coming there from Wales, more than 30 years ago, was about the loss of a crate of lawnmowers that he and his business partner ordered from the U.K. to be brought to Canada. According to write-ups, that incident taught him about the importance of timing because when the shipment arrived, it was already winter and no one has any use for lawnmowers.
Naturally, this did not deter Sir Matthews (he was knighted in June 2001) and his business partner Mike Cowpland from going ahead; they developed a telephony dual-tone multi-frequency receiver, which costs so much less than competing products, giving them huge profits. So he started the success of Mitel, a 51% of which cost British Telecom $320 million to acquire in 1985. One of the 60 companies he founded, Newbridge, was sold to France’s Alcatel for $7 billion.
An Entrepreneur’s Beginnings
Going to where he is now, Sir Terry started young. As a boy, he has shown inclination to fixing and assembling electronic gadgets. An article on 100 Welsh Heroes tells of him repairing a broken revolving door at Newport’s Celtic Manor Hotel, in which he invested millions to transform into Europe's largest hotel. At 15 years old, he got an apprenticeship at British Telecom’s research and development department (reportedly, he insists that his working career began at British Telecom). The success of Mitel and his other succeeding ventures earned him the title Wales’ first billionaire.
An Entrepreneur’s Passions
Sir Matthews is particularly supportive of research and development to keep the technology industry going and is urging the government to prioritize innovation on its agenda. He would like to see the Canadian government support companies commercializing research. He also sees the need for Canada’s research and development, taxation, and procurement policies support the technology sector.
On the lighter side, Sir Matthews has taken interest into hosting the biennial golf competition for the Welsh Ryder Cup, and has developed the crumbling manor near where he was born into a major golf resort. His new interest has sparked the question of why does he continue to work and not retire and indulge in a private passion. Because it's fun, he said, according to an article by Graeme Wearden of ZDNet.co.uk.
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