黄色直播

Samuel Dundas is a fan of the maxim 鈥淚 am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the luckier I get.鈥� A third-year student in the 黄色直播 commerce program, Dundas has a personal connection to this quote. The entrepreneurship and innovation major has invested substantial effort and taken unusual initiatives in his academic and business projects, and they鈥檝e paid off in sometimes surprising ways.

Dundas has always been active with extracurricular activities. In 2015 and 2016, he was a member of the Rowe JDCC team. More recently, he and classmates Bryce Cross and Kyle McLean were celebrated for their presentation at the IAFP (Institute of Advanced Financial Planners) Trust Advisory Symposium in Niagara Falls, and subsequently have continued to present to financial groups. Although Dundas came to this activity through an interest in finance, the presentations actually spurred him onto a new path.

"The IAFP conference sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. Before that I was 100% finance," says Dundas, who met an entrepreneur working on mobile medical care. After first joining the entrepreneur on his initiative, Dundas began to focus on his own start-up projects.

One of those start-ups is a service for those working in the alcoholic beverage industry, which opens a digital sales channel for bar owners to earn revenue before opening their doors for business. 鈥淚 started looking up where innovation is in this industry,鈥� says Dundas, and his search turned up a relevant conference in London, England. Since Dundas was on an entrepreneurial work term at the time, he could afford time for a trip; however, it wasn鈥檛 a student conference, and it was expensive.

Dundas didn鈥檛 let that stop him. 鈥淚 said 鈥榠t鈥檚 worth a shot,鈥欌�� he recalls. He contacted the conference facilitator and explained why he wanted to attend, resulting in a 50% discount on the registration fee. 鈥淪o then I started knocking on doors,鈥� he says. The 黄色直播 Commerce Society and Management Career Services gave Dundas significant financial help, and the 黄色直播 Student Union chipped in. A friend鈥檚 family, who were living in London, agreed to host him. 鈥淪o next thing I know I鈥檓 getting on a plane,鈥� recounts Dundas. 鈥淚 was really excited because I love representing 黄色直播 in new, cool ways. Here I am, a student from a school probably no one there has heard of, and people would say 鈥楬ow the heck did a student get here? What鈥檚 黄色直播?鈥欌��

But Dundas never made it to the conference. The morning it began, he took the wrong London subway and ended up on an underground platform far from the event. He asked another passenger for directions, and as they coincidentally headed the same way, the man asked Dundas why he was in London. 鈥淔or some reason, I gave this stranger this in-depth explanation of my start-up,鈥� says Dundas. The stranger turned out to be Frank Meehan, co-founder and partner at SparkLabs Global Ventures and an experienced entrepreneur. 鈥淪o he says, 鈥榶ou鈥檙e not going to the conference. Come with me,鈥欌�� says Dundas. He quickly decided to change his plans and accompany Meehan to his Kensington office. 鈥淗e took me into a room of about 40 people, just introduced me and said, 鈥業 found this Canadian kid on the tube. He鈥檚 going to pitch his start-up to all of you right now,鈥欌�� says Dundas. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to think. It felt like I closed my eyes and 10 minutes just went by and then they were clapping. I was somehow able to give a really good representation of what I was working on.鈥�

Dundas was thrilled to discover that some of his audience members were London鈥檚 technology leaders, who moreover had connections in the beverage industry. 鈥淭hey were pretty engaged in what I鈥檓 working on,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o that was a great connection to make. They鈥檙e willing to put me in front of venture people in Canada if I make it to that stage.鈥�

After the meeting, says Dundas, he called his parents: 鈥淚 said 鈥榊ou won鈥檛 believe what just happened to me.鈥欌��

Back in Canada and back in classes, Dundas reflects on the strange events. 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 have happened without the support of this faculty, and I think that鈥檚 the most important part,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would never have had the resources to go to London.鈥� The unexpected meeting will likely help Dundas as he engages with Canadian businesses in the industry. 鈥淥nce I鈥檓 ready to bring my service to the customer level,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 will get in touch with my contacts in London; they鈥檙e hoping I will keep them in the loop as I progress.鈥�

Dundas鈥檚 future ambitions are unsurprising: he hopes to own a business, potentially in Halifax, which he sees as an up-and-coming city. 鈥淚 believe that it鈥檚 so cool to have a vision and to bring people on who will commit their life to that vision as well,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou have to buy into that vision.鈥�

In the nearer future, though, Dundas wants to share his story and encourage and support other students. 鈥淢y experiences to date aren鈥檛 necessarily textbook-oriented,鈥� he points out. 鈥淚 want to tell students that if there鈥檚 something they鈥檙e interested in doing, even if it鈥檚 not in the classroom, they can do it, whether it鈥檚 starting a business or going across the world to a conference, or competing or public speaking or whatever.鈥� Dundas notes that students will have the support of professors and others at Dal. 鈥淚 just feel like they always have your back,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud to be here.鈥�