Armin Tehrani, a local entrepreneur, finds it odd taking advice from his businessman father because of how differently the two generations handle business.
“I don’t think the way people do business now is the same as it was back in the day,” said Tehrani, co-owner of Board of Trade Co., a men’s and women’s clothing boutique with stores in Chinatown and Gastown.
“Half the way we grab people’s attention is definitely [through] social media if not more,” said Tehrani. “I don’t think [my dad has] ever used social media.”
Tehrani, 25, and other young business people may not have years of experience, but many have an edge in other areas.
“What’s interesting about young people is that because of all the technology that we’re used to and starting to use in so many ways, our expectations are really high in terms of customer service, experiences [and] quality of products,” said Ben Cappellacci, co-founder of New District, an online site where consumers can purchase wine from wineries around British Columbia and have it delivered to their door.
Cappellacci, 25, and his business partner Elin Tayyar, also 25, came up with the idea for New District six months ago, and the company’s website went live at the beginning of April.
“Our knowledge of technology allows us to really move quickly and allows us to catch on trends as fast as they can come out,” said Cappellacci.
However, being young also brings challenges in the business world.
“We’ve had a tough time convincing people who are older to jump on board because we’re younger and because we don’t have the same kind of experience,” Cappellacci said.
Neither Tehrani nor his two business partners went to business school, but Tehrani said they have learned a lot along the way.
“It’s hard to make business decisions when you can’t look at many past experiences to learn from.” However, he said, they have gotten a lot of support from friends, family and other business people.
“We’re fortunate enough that we’ve made a lot of friends who have more experience in the business world; they do give us advice, and they do give us support.”
Andrew Hung, vice-president of commercial banking at the Bank of Montreal, said having financial support from other sources could be helpful for young entrepreneurs who may not have sufficient funds.
“There has to be some visibility of repayment,” said Hung. “It does tend that younger individuals will not have the financial strength to back a business venture.”
However, he added, if someone is lacking in one area such as finances, the bank looks at strengths in other areas, such as a comprehensive business plan or other skills.
“The market is changing rapidly and a lot of the old conventional paradigms are not always the same,” Hung said. “One of the key drivers there is technology.”
This could potentially be an advantage to the younger generation, said Hung.
“Younger entrepreneurs are coming out with ideas that are not from a traditional manufacturing or operations-type business.” •
