Evan Carmichael

WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?

by Burke Campbell 

Published in the Financial Post

 Oct 27, 2008

Evan Carmichael in Toronto provides motivation and strategies for entrepreneurs through his online firm www.evancarmichael.com .  He tells the Financial Post what motivated him to become an entrepreneur.  

Step one: “I’m from Toronto and seventh generation Canadian. At age 19, while a student at the University of Toronto , I worked with two friends, both scientists, running a biotechnology company. When we sold it, they moved to California and I stayed here.”  

Next step: “I joined a venture capital firm, travelling the globe, giving talks to entrepreneurs. Then, in 2002, I started a personal website, writing about ways to raise funding. Right away, people began asking how to contribute content.”  

It’s my name: “I run Canada ’s most popular website for entrepreneurs. People found us with search engines, and our online traffic soared. We profile famous entrepreneurs such as Donald Trump and Richard Branson of the Virgin Group. We publish authors and offer forums for idea exchange. This year, we’ll have five million visitors and five thousand contributing authors.”  

Helping hand: “The web and mobile technologies have triggered a rise in start-ups. I’m busy conducting workshops, and recently, talking about services such as Microsoft’s Office Live, which help small businesses develop an online presence.”  

Driven: “I really love being an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs.” 

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