Birthplace: Burlington
Company: Supplies and installs furniture, appliances, window coverings and more for business clients
Education: Bachelor of commerce, Carleton University (2006)
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How the uOttawa faculty of engineering instills an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ in students
A decade ago, Terrafixing chief operating officer Vida Gabriel was a chemistry-loving student in high school with little to no interest in business or entrepreneurship. “I didn’t like the sales
Charitable involvement: Children’s Aid Society
Biggest biz achievements: Doubling company’s revenue three years in a row, opening our own warehouse in Ottawa and Toronto and purchasing five commercial condo units over a two-year period.
Biggest obstacle: Realizing that our business had started to drift in a direction that we did not intend it to by becoming too retail and residentially focused. Resetting our focus by moving from a large showroom facility into commercial office space and having to say no to certain sales and opportunities was a decision that we did not take lightly, but it was ultimately the best thing we could have done for our business.
Biggest influences: My parents. My dad owned an audio-video business my entire childhood. My mom did the books, HR and administrative tasks for the business. Seeing their relentless efforts and pride they took in the business led me to want to be an entrepreneur.
Biggest lesson learned: The most important lesson I have learned is to grow at the rate that your business tells you to and keep the business scalable. When we first started the business, we had very big ambitions, leading us to open the business with a large facility and staff right out of the gate. Though I do not regret that decision because of what it taught us, looking back on it, we could have started smaller. Ultimately we scaled back, refocused and then began growing as the business called for growth. We have now grown larger than at any other time in our company’s history, but this time it is as a result of the demand for our business requiring it.
First job: Delivering papers for the Burlington Post
Favourite pastime: Golfing
I’m currently reading: Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
Favourite movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Favourite local pro sports team: Ottawa Redblacks
Favourite local summer event: Canada Day
Preferred social media platforms: Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram
