Goldberg‑Schulich Scholarship winner walks the talk

When it comes to entrepreneurship, Goran Radisic walks the talk.

“Having lived all over the world and established small business ventures, I have realized over my young career that there is far more to entrepreneurship than simply registering a company and calling yourself an entrepreneur,” says the 27-year-old from Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia. “It is a passion and commitment to establishing a culture and condition where innovation can occur.”

A survivor of one of the largest genocides in history (his family managed to escape just before the city came under siege), Mr. Radisic’s outlook on life and business has been shaped by this experience.

“Because my family was forced to evacuate our country, the exposure to entrepreneurship came very early in my life. To survive, my father started numerous businesses as we moved and adapted to various countries and cultures. I observed, as my father would take a local product or idea from the country we had just left and use that knowledge to his advantage in the new country, whether by importing something new and exotic, or establishing a new business from a foreign idea.”

Mentoring with determination

That exposure greatly influenced his own approach to business as he honed his analytical and problem-solving skills, mentoring other student-entrepreneurs in Halifax and dreaming up his own ventures. These range from a next-generation marketing agency to his current venture, SustainMe, a digital media hub that aims to bring together the suppliers, manufacturers and service providers of green, environmentally friendly and socially responsible products and services and their customers.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Radisic credits his parents for his can-do attitude and determination to succeed. “My mom and dad have gone through far more than most people do in their entire lifetime and they have taken it in stride and continuously adapted and flourished,” he says. “I’m not sure I could learn more about perseverance, dedication and hard work than I have from them.”

For Mr. Radisic, winning the Goldberg-Schulich Scholarship in Canadian Entrepreneurship, valued at $20,000, is a concrete sign that hard work does pay.

“I was very surprised and delighted to hear that I had won the award,” he says. “I have been involved with entrepreneurship in one way or another my entire life and have never won anything like this before, so it is very special to me. I want to thank Mr. Schulich for offering such a generous scholarship to entrepreneurs and aspiring future business leaders.”

This article is part of the Dalhousie Difference series, exploring what the power of philantrophy means to the university and introducing and showcasing some of the 50 innovative projects in development. Learn more at boldambitions.dal.ca.