Know your strengths. Identify your limitations and how to work around them. And find your spark \u2014 the idea you feel compelled to bring to life.<\/p>\n
Those are some of the entrepreneurial words of wisdom imparted at the latest offering of the Share Your Spark<\/a> speaker series hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship at A&S.<\/p>\n The illuminating conversation, highlighting entrepreneurship in the arts and entertainment industry, featured A&S alumni Linda Schuyler, co-creator of the award-winning Degrassi television franchise, and Asha Daniere, a strategic and legal advisor to companies in the media and technology industries.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be a successful entrepreneur, you need something you can’t bear not to do \u2014 where it feels like you’ll cease to exist if you’re not doing it,\u201d says Daniere, who earned her bachelor of arts in 1990 as a member of Innis College<\/a>. \u201cYou can be struck with that ‘spark\u2019 when you’re 12 or when you\u2019re 57.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEntrepreneurism is a spirit of taking calculated risks,\u201d says Schuyler, who earned her bachelor of arts in 1974 as a member of Innis College and an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Toronto<\/a> in 2016. \u201cIt\u2019s a belief that you can make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n Schuyler is executive producer and co-creator of more than 500 Degrassi episodes<\/em>. Her entrepreneurial journey began with a big risk \u2014 leaving her job as a schoolteacher to chase her dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to give young people a voice,\u201d Schuyler says. \u201cI wanted to celebrate their differences and reassure them they were not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniere\u2019s plunge into entrepreneurship came after 25 years serving as general counsel to global media companies. She co-founded Serial Maven Studios in 2023 and, with her business partner, built the foundation for a successful production and distribution business.<\/p>\n The idea of being her own boss became Daniere\u2019s spark. She realized using her skill set as a lawyer for her own ventures was energizing in a way that working for others was not.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key is to stay open to opportunities and never feel like you’re stuck in a prison of your own making,\u201d Daniere says.<\/p>\n Schuyler and Daniere also discussed the importance of knowing your strengths and limitations, and how best to work around them. The common theme was trust and building a team that buys into the same principles.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstand your vision and make sure you can communicate it to your team,\u201d Schuyler says. \u201cThen take a leap of faith and give them space.”<\/p>\n \u201cEntrepreneurs have humility and understand they need partners \u2014 people who make up for their weaknesses and play to their strengths,\u201d Daniere says.<\/p>\n Share Your Spark was created at the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Centre for Entrepreneurship<\/a> as a way for participants to help unlock their potential, explore new ideas, build skills and discover how successful entrepreneurs ignited their passions.<\/p>\n The speaker series supports the centre\u2019s goal of promoting entrepreneurship education as well as commercialization activities within Arts & Science. Events are kept informal with questions from the audience and a networking session afterwards.<\/p>\n \u201cWe created this platform specifically so our community members, from students to alumni, could feel inspired by and connected to our network of established entrepreneurs,\u201d says Tara Etherington, the centre\u2019s executive director. \u201cThis event successfully brings the whole, wonderfully diverse Arts & Science community together in a welcoming environment, empowering every individual, no matter where they are on their entrepreneurial journey.\u201d<\/p>\n With the first Share Your Spark highlighting careers in finance, it was important for the second edition to represent the arts, says Etherington. The centre partnered with Innis College \u2014 home to the Cinema Studies Institute<\/a>, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary<\/a> \u2014 and brought back two esteemed college alumni in Daniere and Schuyler.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were thrilled that Asha Daniere and Linda Schuyler were willing to share their entrepreneurship story with our community,\u201d says Stephen Wright, interim dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. \u201cThey are two incredibly inspiring alumni with a passion for business, creative ambition and critical thinking, and we\u2019re proud to have played a role in their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLinda and Asha are two phenomenally gifted individuals and inspiring entrepreneurs,\u201d Etherington says. \u201cIt’s incredible to hear their stories and takeaways about the importance of networking, building resilience and thinking about what motivates some to find their spark.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.artsci.utoronto.ca \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Know your strengths. Identify your limitations and how to work around them. And find your spark \u2014 the idea you feel compelled to bring to life. Those are some of the entrepreneurial words of wisdom imparted at the latest offering of the Share Your Spark speaker series hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship at A&S. 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