I love the energy and enthusiasm of young entrepreneurs. I’ve been privileged to meet several dynamos recently that 
make me wish I’d delved into the world of entrepreneurship earlier.
Winnie Lai is one of these people. I met her over coffee last week and figured she was the last person in the world who needed caffeine.
High on life this energiser bunny was keen to discuss all the reasons why being an entrepreneur is the only way to live your life.
She made me forget the challenging times when you just wish you could head to a cushy job (let’s face it we’ve all had those moments). Instead I felt like running off to start more businesses.
Her enthusiasm is infectious and the following interview is the reason why we need to ensure that young entrepreneurs are supported and encouraged to shape the future of our world for the better.
WomanzWorld: Tell us about your journey to becoming a young Entrepreneur?
Winnie Lai: I’m currently a student at UBC, majoring in Engineering Physics and minoring in Commerce. Coming out of high school, my goal was to become an engineer, but things have changed drastically since then.
I got involved with the Technology Entrepreneurship Club of UBC (now known as the Vancouver Student Entrepreneurship Association, VSEA for short) when I was in my first year, and then I discovered all the amazing things about entrepreneurship.
I started my company, Clinicbook, with two other people who I met through VSEA last year. Clinicbook is a web application that allows the public to find information relating to health and medical facilities that is almost non-existent online since the majority of medical facilities have not made a good use of the internet and technology.
I find it so exciting to be starting and managing a business that I’ve created from scratch. I enjoy the challenges and the responsibilities.
Not to mention that I am learning a lot and acquiring a wide range of skills, from software development to marketing to accounting to HR…. basically everything.
I also really like being able to work around my own schedule, and still have the flexibility to do other things that I enjoy, such as going snowboarding during the week!
As an entrepreneur, the word “job” to me stands for “Just Over Broke”.
I don’t want to live a life being just over broke and being obliged to complete specific tasks given to me at specific times. I want my work and my life to be meaningful. I want to make my life to be an autobiography that is worthwhile reading.
Obviously my journey to becoming a young entrepreneur was not easy, and I certainly couldn’t have done it without the support from my family, friends, mentors, advisors, and co-founders.
What drove you to become President of VSEA and what impact have you made on fellow students?
I first got involved with entrepreneurship when I was in my first year at UBC, after one of the girls from my engineering sorority asked me to become the Webmaster of the club.
Back then, the club was still known as the Technology Entrepreneurship Club of UBC, which was only for engineering students at UBC. I took over as President in my third year with the vision to grow the group and to expand it into other areas.
I felt that too few students knew about entrepreneurship and I wanted to change that. I rebranded the group as VSEA and grew the organization to a Vancouver-wide association, with members from various post-secondary institutions and different academic backgrounds.
VSEA offers additional value to students by offering events such as gala dinners, workshops, social nights, and competitions. The mission of VSEA is to promote and advance entrepreneurship in student bodies, and it is also working with other local entrepreneurship groups to make that happen.
You’re part of the Leaders of Tomorrow Program, how has this shaped your thinking?
The Leaders of Tomorrow Program is a mentorship program offered by the Vancouver Board of Trade for graduating students.
This program has really helped me both with my career and personal development. Attending workshops, speaker series and board meetings really allowed me to discover more about myself – my values and my strengths.
Once I got to understand myself better, I was able to have a clear vision of the person I want to become and how I want to shape my future.
The Board of Trade also has a subgroup for women called Women in Leadership Circle. I attended their seminar “How Remarkable Women Lead”, and I learned a lot from the stories of successful women which serve as inspiration for me.
What’s the one action we could take today to get more students taking a path of entrepreneurship?
I believe there is a need for students to be exposed to entrepreneurship at some time in their education. Many students come to university not knowing exactly what entrepreneurship is so I wish there was an element of entrepreneurship incorporated into all post-secondary programs.
There are many great initiatives out there aiming to solve this problem, such as the new entrepreneurship program at UBC. e@UBC is there to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs, while providing students with the necessary funds and mentorship to start their own companies.
Then of course, there are also entrepreneurship groups like VSEA and VEF Momentum to promote entrepreneurship to young adults. In the end, I think all of us want to see Vancouver become a more innovative and entrepreneurial city.
What exciting new projects do you have on the go?
At the moment, I am still juggling with school, VSEA, VEF Momentum and Clinicbook. Even though my days are usually packed, I really enjoy what I’m doing and I wake up every morning looking forward to what’s in store.
This is a very exciting time in my life, and it seems like it’s just the beginning. I am in my final year of studies and I will be graduating at the beginning of June.
I will spend my summer in Vancouver building Clinicbook, passing VSEA to my successors, and continuing to promote entrepreneurship to young adults with VEF Momentum.
I caught the travel bug last year after travelling to Kenya, so I will be doing some more travelling in Asia this fall. This will be a good opportunity to see and experience other things out there in this world.
Being able to take a vacation whenever is also another reason to become an entrepreneur!
If you’re an entrepreneur, young or a little older then check out the upcoming VEF Momentum event on Friday April 16th.
This event will feature an exciting speaker, Jason Smith, who is the President of Product Innovation at Vision Critical. Jason will share the Vision Critical story and discuss successful strategies on how to go to market with a new product.
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