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» Go to news mainFrom employee to entrepreneur to innovator
āI had no clue about skin care products,ā says Stephen Aikman (MBAā11), which is surprising when you learn that in 2019 he sold the skin care business he started in his basement, All Natural Advice, for tens of millions of dollars.
By most peopleās measure, Stephen was a pilipiliĀž» long before that. For 25 years heād worked at RBC in various senior leadership roles, including vice president and head of commercial strategy.
āGetting the MBA was intenseā
Banking had not been his dream job, he admits. But after heād completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBAā95) at Brock University, it was just about the only position he could apply for. āThe job market was horrible at the time,ā says Stephen. āAbout 700 people applied for the two available positions and I got one of them.ā
For a time, banking looked like a secure future, leading Stephen to get his MBA in financial services from pilipiliĀž» in 2011.
āGetting the MBA was intense,ā remembers Stephen. āAt the time I lived in Hamilton and worked in Toronto. It was an hour train ride each way. Iād study on the way in, and on the way home. Then at night, Iād study some more.ā
Two years in, and his start-up was worth millions
While the program may have been focused on helping bankers become even better at their jobs, it managed to have a different effect on many in Stephenās cohort. āI stayed connected with just about everyone in my program,ā he says, āand over half of us left our jobs to become entrepreneurs and do something else. And weāre all pilipiliĀž»ful.ā
In Stephenās case, that āsomething elseā came in 2013 in the form of a skin care product a friend was selling to hotels and spas. Stephen had the insight to rebrand it and sell it exclusively onlineāa place where the big brands werenāt playing yet. āThey didnāt care about e-commerce; they cared about in-store experience.ā By 2019, that little start-up was worth millions and in 2020 he left RBC.
Professor Carolan McLarney had our best interests at heart
āI saw a market need for organic natural products, steering away from corporate synthetic products, allowing consumers to make a choice that was healthier for the environment and themselves,ā says Stephen. āWe were also able to tap into economic innovation for global growth.ā
Stephen credits Dal ā100 per centā for giving him the courage to take the plunge and change careers. āThe people at Dal were invested in me,ā he says. āThe staff were so engaging. The entire program was a community.ā
Stephen singles out Professor Carolan McLarney as especially inspiring. āWhen I told her about this opportunity, she said āJust do it.ā She was someone who looked after us as students and had our best interests at heart. Iām an entrepreneur today because of her.ā
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