Conversations With Leadership Volunteers | Som Seif - GRIT ED. 7 Your Next Move - Magazine - Page 30
Conversations With Leadership Volunteers | Som Seif
Q&A
SOM SEIF
CONVERSATIONS WITH
LEADERSHIP VOLUNTEERS:
SOM SEIF
As a recent Venture Day panellist, what do you
look for in an excellent 3-minute pitch?
You’ve been making headlines recently around cryptocurrency.
Do you see opportunities for entrepreneurs to capitalize on this
payment alternative, and are there specific sectors that might
have more potential than others?
I am a curious learner. My whole career has been based on applying
this curiosity to looking at problems and working backwards to
solve them. When I first started to really dive into understanding
crypto, it blew my mind, not because of bitcoin or price movements,
but rather how it helped fill a missing piece in a long-drawn thesis
I have had.
I have been focused on the reduction of agency my whole career;
that’s why I love Financial Services so much. The entire industry is
built on the agency between those who have money and those
who need money. Over the past decade, Fintech has been
focused on attacking this agency (or spread between
these two parties). However, I always saw
a limit to its ability to truly change the
model because it still relied heavily on
te core “pipes” built by the financial
industry.
The most important thing is the speakers. I
assume every early business idea is going to
iterate or pivot over time in some way, and it’s
all about the individuals who are going to lead
this journey. They would be whom I am backing,
not the idea. I also want to see that they have an
ability to tell a story, both an ability to show me
what they see and that they can inspire me to
want to come along with them.
You recently made another very generous
pledged donation to NEXT Canada. What keeps
you so passionately committed to NEXT after all
these years?
I have always been inspired by the mission of
NEXT, from the first iteration of the Next 36
program, to what it is today. I love supporting
entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial
journey that individuals need to go through.
The specific role that NEXT has played has
been powerful in developing and advancing
Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and
that has been fun to be a part of. It keeps me
dedicated to the organization. Whether it’s in
my business or the organizations I support,
I love being around passionate, intelligent,
curious and engaged people, and these are
the types of people that NEXT supports every
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Crypto and blockchain were
the first time I saw a path to
changing this, that full agency
could be overcome, and an
ability to almost if not fully
eliminate the need to rely on
the existing infrastructure
piping. I have been engaged
in the space ever since
and have been building
and
innovating
while
continuously learning.
SOM SEIF
Founder and CEO, Purpose Investments
NEXT Canada Board Member
So yes, I absolutely believe
that entrepreneurs today
have to be building their
ideas with crypto and
blockchain at the heart
of what they do. All the
best engineers want to
develop here because they
know they are working in
open-source protocols that
allow them to develop and
leverage all developed before
them freely. There is still a lot
to figure out in the space, but
I continue to be excited about
the journey.
You coached water polo back in the day at
UofT. Are there cross-over skills for leading
the team at Purpose Investments?
Being passionate outside of work is critical
to everyone’s development and well-being.
Playing a team-based competitive sport has
always been a great way to learn the keys
to being a great teammate: collaboration,
communication, accountability, discipline
and constant learning. I played competitive
water polo for 25 years, and it was critical to
my personal development. When I shifted
to coaching, it helped me develop and
refine my skills as a leader and manager. I
never had any formal management training
or mentorship in my career. My first job
was in investment banking, and it’s not a
segment focused on developing managers.
I then started my first business, Claymore
and had to learn management on the job
with my first employees. Having started
coaching right before I began Claymore, I
developed my coaching and management
skills in parallel. I am still, to this day,
learning how to be a great manager. I know
I am a great leader, but I still have a lot to
learn about being a great manager.
What would be on your schedule for an ideal
“recharge” day?
Today’s recharge days are charged up
chasing my four young kids, so still a work
in progress. I try to make some forms of
recharge every day in them. I wake up early
every day to work out (I am not naturally
a morning person, but I have developed
the habit). I work out for ~2 hours in the
morning, which allows me to listen to
podcasts and create some whitespace to
think. During the day, I try to create small
whitespaces for thinking and breathing
(walks, meditation, sitting and reading
something of interest). Finally, if I get time
in any day to pick up the personal book that
I am reading, I consider that a win.
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