Something worth waiting for…
Reblogged from a recent article on Women 2.0.
Katherine is a 20-year-old aspiring entrepreneur currently living in Toronto and working as Marketing Manager for local startup ecobee. After spending the past 5 years learning the ins and outs of Toronto’s tech scene, Katherine is more excited then ever to be part of such a vibrant community.
I found what I love early on. It’s hard for me to believe it’s almost been 5 years since I attended my first entrepreneurship event through Impact. I had always been the kid setting up lemonade stands or trying to sell hand made greeting cards to unsuspecting teachers [looking back they were really terrible cards, my poor teachers!]. I knew that one day I wanted to start a company but I had no idea there were other people, even kids my age, out there trying to do the same thing. Attending my first Impact event changed the way I look at the world and introduced me to a network of like-minded people that I could never have imagined existed. I was hooked, and I haven’t looked back since.
I did anything I could to be involved. As a 16 year old trying to get involved in the world of startups, I took the approach that it didn’t matter what I was working on, so long as I could be involved. I volunteered on the planning committee for the event I attended and began actively promoting entrepreneurship to students. One thing led to another, and by 2008 I was co-chairing the event.
Less talk, more action. After a couple of years of standing on the sidelines of startups, planning events, I decided I needed to get some hands on experience. I started working with a number of startups that my friends had founded and ultimately found myself as an independent consultant on digital media and marketing projects.
I stumbled into tech. You can only spend so long in the startup world without realizing that it’s dominated by tech companies. I loved the fast pace of innovation, the people, and the idea of building something that could change the way people live their lives. I would stay up at night reading Jessica Livingston’s Founders at Work or any startup story I could get my hands on. One of my favorite founder stories is Tony Hsieh of Zappos. I even got to tour their office a couple years ago when I was in town for CES. Next time you’re in Las Vegas, skip the casinos and take the Zappos tour instead, you won’t be disappointed.
