Everything eco-travel mogul Bruce Poon Tip needed to know about being an entrepreneur, he learned as a 14-year-old Junior Achiever.
"I'm their golden graduate," laughed the 38-year-old CEO of G Adventures, which reportedly grossed $100 million in sales last year.
From the Arctic to the Amazon, G Adventures specialized in organizing adventure travel vacations for individuals and small groups.
"(Junior Achievement was) where I learned the most."
Poon Tip, who spoke with Metro over the phone from his Toronto headquarters, will talk about his adventures in entrepreneurship in Vancouver, Feb. 20.
As a Junior Achiever he invented The Weather Worm, a bookmark hand knit with temperature-sensitive yarn. The sixth child in a family of seven, the young negotiator had every kid in his hometown Calgary neighbourhood madly knitting to keep up with demand.
He saved $8,000 and used the money to fund his travel company when he was 21.
But success didn't come easily. When Poon Tip was 16, he got fired just two weeks after landing his first job at Denny's Restaurant. He then got fired during training at McDonald's.
It seems Poon Tip had a character trait. not always valued by authority figures.
"I have always had a natural tendency to question a lot. I'd ask, 'what's the company message?' I questioned the hair net - I had short hair. (Getting fired) was so traumatic and horrible; coming on the heels of Junior Achievement, it was my recipe for greatness."
Poon Tip took two years of commerce at the University of Calgary, but an evening tourism course at SAIT Polytechnic turned him on to travel. He took the summer off and visited Thailand.
"I went on a $15-a-day budget, stayed with local families, trekked and soaked up local culture . .. I just knew there had to be other people out there who wanted this experience."
He quit university and moved to Toronto to launch his travel business, financed by Visa and savings after the banks turned him down.
"I always knew it could work, but I was so under-funded, on rent days I didn't know if I would make it."
Early trips had snags too.
"Little did we know canoes didn't exist in Belize (for a river tour); we had to drive them down."
Poon Tip refused to give up. He marketed to students, to people at outdoors stores, to anyone who would listen.
"It's really important to be passionate in what you do. You need commitment, focus and mental toughness."
For info on the Feb. 20, 7 p.m. talk at the Hyatt Regency, call 1-877-277-1240.