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Wednesday, November 1, 2017
IS CANADA F#*KED ? How We Can Win And What Happens to Us and Our Country If We Don't...
How We Can Win
And What Happens to Us and Our Country If We Don't...
How We Can Win by Anthony Lacavera explains what all Canadians must do to ensure our future prosperity.
Publisher: Random House Canada
Our kids are smart, our banks are sound, our health care system is humane, our democracy is stable—but technological change is about to disrupt our economy and threaten our way of life. Canadians aren’t ready for the race to the future. Can we still catch up—or even win?
Yes, says Anthony Lacavera, one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. But we need to change the way we think and talk about our own abilities—dream bigger, aim higher and go for gold, not bronze. We also need to change the way we do business. Our dominant business culture, Lacavera believes, is fundamentally unCanadian: traditional, backward-looking, insular, timid, greedy, unoriginal—everything that Canadians themselves are not. And that unCanadian business culture, protected by outmoded regulations and government policies, is stifling our economic growth. It dumps roadblocks in the path of entrepreneurs who want to build the kind of powerhouse businesses that will create jobs and fuel our economy.
Anthony Lacavera faced those roadblocks himself, when he was building WIND—an epic battle against the big three telecommunications giants in Canada. But he’s certain we have the talent and the brains to tear those roadblocks down. He gives us vivid portraits of some of Canada’s most important natural resources: our talented, innovative entrepreneurs, who want to change the world for the better (and, yes, make money while they’re at it). But we are shipping far too many of them to the United States, gift-wrapped in our tax dollars. They don’t want to leave—they’re forced out because it’s just too difficult to build big, bold businesses in Canada.
How We Can Win explains what we need to do to keep them here, and what all Canadians must do to ensure our future prosperity. Our biggest problem is not that we are a small country, but that we think too small.
We can be a nation of big dreamers and bigger doers. Not by aping Silicon Valley, but by focusing on uniquely Canadian strengths and then doubling down on them. If we bet aggressively on ourselves, and our future, rather than clinging to the status quo, we will create a new, more solid economic foundation—one that allows us to win the race to the future without leaving home.
Yes, says Anthony Lacavera, one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. But we need to change the way we think and talk about our own abilities—dream bigger, aim higher and go for gold, not bronze. We also need to change the way we do business. Our dominant business culture, Lacavera believes, is fundamentally unCanadian: traditional, backward-looking, insular, timid, greedy, unoriginal—everything that Canadians themselves are not. And that unCanadian business culture, protected by outmoded regulations and government policies, is stifling our economic growth. It dumps roadblocks in the path of entrepreneurs who want to build the kind of powerhouse businesses that will create jobs and fuel our economy.
Anthony Lacavera faced those roadblocks himself, when he was building WIND—an epic battle against the big three telecommunications giants in Canada. But he’s certain we have the talent and the brains to tear those roadblocks down. He gives us vivid portraits of some of Canada’s most important natural resources: our talented, innovative entrepreneurs, who want to change the world for the better (and, yes, make money while they’re at it). But we are shipping far too many of them to the United States, gift-wrapped in our tax dollars. They don’t want to leave—they’re forced out because it’s just too difficult to build big, bold businesses in Canada.
How We Can Win explains what we need to do to keep them here, and what all Canadians must do to ensure our future prosperity. Our biggest problem is not that we are a small country, but that we think too small.
We can be a nation of big dreamers and bigger doers. Not by aping Silicon Valley, but by focusing on uniquely Canadian strengths and then doubling down on them. If we bet aggressively on ourselves, and our future, rather than clinging to the status quo, we will create a new, more solid economic foundation—one that allows us to win the race to the future without leaving home.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
The 30 Richest Canadians Ranked By Wealth
Who Are The Richest Canadians? (And How Did They Make Their Fortunes?)
Mitchell Goldhar – $2.38 billion
Ever heard of Smart REIT? We doubt it, but this real-estate company was recently sold to Colloway REIT investment trust for a sizeable $1.16 billion. The smartest part about it? Mitchell Goldhar made a fortune in the sale, but already had a 21% share in the investment trust he sold it to. Not content to make his billions through real-estate, Goldhar owns Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club and also helped bring retail giants Walmart to Canada.
Jack Cowin – $2.48 billion
The real Colonel Sanders, Jack Cowin is the face behind Kentucky Fried Chicken, better known as KFC, as well as other restaurant giants such as Hungry Jack’s. Not content with making his fortune on this side of the world, the tycoon is looking to make his mark in Asia in the next few years. A savvy investment into pizza chain Domino’s down under made him a lot of his fortune, as the brands franchise rights ended up doubling the value of the company.
Charles Bronfman – $2.52 billion
Some people make their millions through luck, and others through sheer hard work. Family Bronfman is definitely in the latter category. The Bronfman money comes partly from Charles’ father, who owned Seagram Spirits, the largest alcohol distillery in the world. The other part comes from the merger with Vivendi SA, worth $50-billion. Charles has a private equity business with his son Stephen, and a recent collaboration with Ivanhoe Cambridge was worth $100 million alone, and led to new developments in the Montreal area.
Jean Coutu – $2.7 billion
You don’t need to be a genius to work out where Coutu made his fortune, in the drugstore chain which was named for him. He started out managing the company Parmacie Leduc, but was not allowed to progress the way he wanted, to be an associate of the company. After this, he launched Farmaterias, which was a discount pharmacy. It’s a good job that the Jean Coutu discount pharmacies became such a sensational success, as Jean used every bit of his money to start it in 1969.
Peter Gilgan – $2.71 billion
Mattamy homes is the Gilgan business, and it seems to be going from strength to strength. They recently announced an increase of 1,650 lots in Orlando Florida, which will make over 70,000 homes throughout the US and Canada since they began 40 years ago. Recently, they are moving away from rural developments and more into the urban, establishing new offices in the center of Toronto’s financial district, on the 55th floor of the TD Center towers, as well as by buying Monarch Corp.
Thomson Family – $39.13 billion
The Thomson family own Thomson Reuters, the business which makes them top of Canada’s wealthiest list by more than $25 billion. Their media and publishing empire is run by David Thompson, who has been Chairman since 2008, when the Thomson Corporation merged with Reuters. The holding company the family own is called Woodbridge, and David and his brother Peter are at the very top of the hierarchy. As well as Thomson Reuters, the company has shares of HIS, and Strategic Hotels and Resorts.
Dennis ‘Chip’ Wilson – $2.92 billion
Wilson has made his fortune through Lululemon, the famous yoga company. Although he stepped down as CEO in 2012, and left the board in 2015, the company certainly wouldn’t have risen to such great heights without him. He was responsible for building their manifesto, including within it taglines such as “do one thing every day which scares you.” Dennis and his wife Shannon are very involved in charity, including Imagine1day, dedicated to improving education in Ethiopia.
Gerry Schwartz & Heather Reisman – $2.93 billion
The first married couple on our list of Canada’s richest, Gerry Schwarts is the CEO and founder of Onex Corporation, while his wife Heather Reisman is Chief Executive of Indigo Books and Music. The couple got married in 1982, and now live in what’s widely known to be the most expensive house in Toronto, worth $28 million. Some of Schwartz’s most savvy business decisions include buying the IP division of Thomson Reuters for $3.5 billion, as well as Save-a lot, for $1.37 billion.
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