From Startup to MBA Startup: Student Profile

Before Oliver Proudlock enrolled onto an MBA, he had built up a successful tourism company in the French Alps. Proudlock’s startup, Elevated Leisure, treats holiday makers to rustic chalet accommodation situated in the glorious backdrop of the Chamonix Valley. Activities, tours, ski instructors and even chefs can be provided for holiday makers during a stay with Elevated Leisure.

The properties that Oliver manages range from affordable apartments to luxurious lodges complete with hot tubs and saunas. Whether holiday makers have visions of rambling their way across the mountainous regions of France, or prefer to think of themselves curled up beside a log fire with enough s’mores to see out the winter - Oliver has catered towards these needs.

Why Oliver Chose to Get his MBA at Desautels Faculty of Management

So, why would a man move away from his successful startup business in the Alps to take up a place at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal to study an MBA?

“I knew that Desautels Faculty of Management was going to help me grow as an entrepreneur in general,” says Oliver. “My first business kind of occurred randomly, you see. I didn’t go through a business plan or go and get financial aid – it just grew organically. I felt I needed some more grounding in business to help me develop Elevated Leisure into a more serious business by learning things relating to legal, tax, HR and all sorts of other disciplines that I didn’t feel like I had enough experience in.”

 Oliver is quite modest about the origins of his company and paints a very candid picture of how he founded his first startup business – which he didn’t exactly plan to do at all!

“It was very much an organically built business. I didn’t go to Chamonix with a structure or idea in mind. I had a friend in real estate who knew of a chalet in the French Alps that was sitting empty and wasn’t getting sold. I came up with the idea of renting it out temporarily so that they could invest in it and make it more appealing to buy – so I turned it into a guesthouse. I worked on that for about a year and began to help other people in the area with their properties.

“At that point I realized that this was something viable and long term. With this in mind, I set up Elevated Leisure as a guesthouse operation. I then went into providing holiday activities as well because a lot of guests come to the properties looking to do things like skiing or snowboarding lessons, rafting, paragliding and hiking trails.”

Oliver decided to look elsewhere to expand his business knowledge after six years spent focused on his first business venture. His gaze took him all the way across the Atlantic to the bustling city of Montreal and McGill University – a world away from the quiet valleys of the French Alps.

“I enrolled in McGill because I felt like it was the only school worth investing my time and money into,” says Oliver bluntly. “This was for a number of reasons. Firstly, McGill’s reputation is second-to-none and the school put me in contact with some of the top companies in the city. It’s been great for networking and making connections in Montreal. That was very important to me. As a foreigner, I wanted to know I’d be able to get exposure in Canada.

“The academic side of McGill is very exciting too. The school does more than most in the entrepreneurial side of things. For example, last semester I took a module in how to manage a small business, and the next semester I took an entrepreneurial ventures module, and the semester after that I signed up for entrepreneurial finance! That’s something that I think is very unique to McGill. They also have small cohorts so it felt a little more tightknit than the other schools I considered.”

Using an MBA to Prepare for New Startup Business Ventures

When asked if studying an MBA has assisted his existing business, Oliver prefers to focus on how the program is helping him with his new business ventures (Oliver handed over some responsibilities at Elevated Leisure to his managers upon starting his MBA) – after all, there’s only so much of a company you can oversee from 4000 miles away!

“Studying an MBA has actually got me thinking about starting a similar business in Canada. I’m looking into this as part of the practical component of my course. A lot of my colleagues are doing internships whereas I’m working on a business plan - so I’m using a lot of the resources from the course and my lecturers to propel that forward. I’m very much establishing this company from a theoretical standpoint right from the start. To do that I’ve had to include all the components that I’ve learnt from the MBA – including marketing, financial analysis, accounting, statistics and research.”

Oliver’s praise for McGill goes beyond the classroom. He applauds the way in which the course has propelled him into dealing with genuine business situations in his day-today life.

“The academic side to the MBA is a small component of the course. You can go and learn about accounting or statistics from a book or online, but the big value of an MBA is the exposure you get to real industry professionals. From this, you get to work on projects that have industry value. To give you an example, I worked on a creative startup business in Montreal that needed help with the logistics of taking a venture off the ground. We gave them the business plan to present to various government funding projects and investors. It was great to be a part of a procedure that helps businesses grow and be successful. That tangible aspect of the course makes it very interesting.

“Another example of this hands-on experience is through my Applied Investments course. I am with a group that is managing a US$300,000 endowment fund – “Its real-life trading and investment. We deal directly with the custodian and the brokers, and face the same issues that professional traders do. That simply does not exist at other universities, it’s totally unique.”

The Desautels Study Abroad Trip: Learning How to Work with People from Other Cultures

Desautels Faculty of Management is known for its global business outlook. Its MBA is ranked among the top in the world for the international mobility of graduates and it is ranked first in Canada for international course experience. The international element of the program is grounded in the week-long trip abroad that is designed to encourage students to adopt a worldly outlook in business.

As a British national who upped sticks to launch a startup business in France before moving to Canada, Oliver is no stranger to international travel. So it’s no surprise that when he took part in McGill’s study abroad trip to Singapore, it wasn’t his first time in the city. He believes that internationalism is a key component to business relations.

“We have around 28 languages and 30 nationalities in our cohort out of 78 people – a real mix! The objective of the trip abroad was to expose us to different business cultures and traditions. I’d already been to Singapore but most other people hadn’t been there; it was interesting to see everyone interacting.

“The enthusiasm, the optimism and the new ideas that are happening in Asia is very exciting. As part of our trip, we analyzed individual businesses and industries and made comparisons between Canada and Asia. My group looked at urban agriculture, which was actually quite interesting. In Canada there’s massive amounts of real estate, lots of farmland and plenty of transportation to transfer food direct from farm into the cities. Whereas Singapore, which is a very small island city, is forced to work with the urban landscape when developing their farms. They have really advanced technology for growing on rooftops and sub-vertical farming – it’s really interesting to see those differences.

“The trip made students more aware of how to conduct business with people who grew up in different countries with different values and ideals. It was a great trip but was very intense – we must have visited around 30 different businesses in 10 days!”

It’s apparent that Oliver had a natural flair for business before enrolling at McGill, but the added experience that an MBA has brought him, and is continuing to bring him, has honed his skills and interests and set his mind firmly on his business prospects for the future. 

“I think, moving forward, I’m curious to be part of an organization that funds companies and projects. So I’m still involved in the excitement of entrepreneurialism, but I get to work on multiple projects rather than just working with one business. I believe it would suit my character to be a consultant and a financer – this would allow me to explore different ideas and I’d get to help entrepreneurs go through the same process that I went through.

“I know it sounds strange but I find it exciting not knowing how much I’m going to earn at the end of the month. It makes a change from knowing exactly what I’ve got in the bank account...though I’m not sure how many people would agree with me about that!”