MBA Business Colloquium: it all starts with a good idea…
Building a company from scratch is no easy endeavor. Invited to speak at Maastricht School of Management in the MBA Business Colloquium, Mr Jason Stoter, MBA, President of Vivere Ltd shared his experience in entrepreneurship with MBA students and told them the many challenges he had to overcome to turn an idea into a successful business.
“It all starts with a good idea and then you need to be flexible and persistent and stay focused and have a commitment for quality and think service, service, service and…, and...,” Mr Stoter explained.
Ten years of relentless efforts, hard work and sleepless nights paid off. Mr Stoter now runs a profitable company with a $ 10 million turnover.
It was an MBA study attachment to Mexico that gave him the idea to import hammocks to Canada, he said. After four years of hard work, literally starting the business out of his garage – just the way many big companies also started, he joked - and combining his business with a part time job in the finance sector, sales started to increase. That’s when he decided to quit his job and focus completely on his own business.
Sales growth also meant new challenges and the need for strategic decisions: product diversification or market development? Opting for the path of market development, Mr Stoter prepared a launch into the USA. When his initial strategy did not pay off in the way he expected, he decided to give it another try but with a different marketing mix focusing much more on e-commerce.
The new approach yielded the desired outcome. The last couple of years have been characterized by impressive growth figures (over 100%) and Europe is now the next step in the company’s market development strategy, Mr Stoter said.
After this inspiring presentation, Mr Stoter was happy to share two tips for new business starters. “Focus: do just a few things, but do them well!” and “Be optimistic: there will definitely be times when business does not go as planned, but you have to keep believing in yourself and in what you are doing,” he told the MBA students.
Mr. Stoter’s lecture took place in the framework of the MsM MBA Maastricht Business Colloquium, a monthly guest lecture series featuring a direct link with an ongoing course in the MBA program.
Coming up:
March: in the context of the course Innovation and New Business Ventures on 27 March, Prof. Wim A. Naude, Dean of MsM.
April: in the context of the Global Corporate Strategy course, on 17 April, Ms. Giselle Verwoort of Sabic
Vivere ltd.
While studying abroad in 2002, Jason Stoter discovered an entrepreneur selling hammocks on a beach on the West Coast of Mexico. A deal was struck for his first hammock. Inspiration was immediately kindled and a business concept was born. Upon completion of his studies, Stoter researched hammocks from villages in the Yucatan peninsula where they had been produced for generations. This was the inception of Hammock Village.
The next few years provided exponential growth for Stoter’s company. This and many other highlights heralded the business name change from Hammock Village to Vivere Ltd. With a primary focus on providing great quality hammocks and accessories with superior customer service, other product lines were developed to grow the outdoor living category. Fresh contemporary designs and vibrant exclusive colors continued to be a mainstay of the company. Creating a needed and necessary foil for hectic lives, Vivere Ltd desires to promote leisure as a balm to 21st century woes. Today, coast to coast, whether backyard, balcony or backpacking, Vivere Ltd. continues to have a passion for the outdoors and will aid in rest and relaxation.
(www.vivivereltd.com)
About Jason Stoter
Jason Stoter is the founder and President of Vivere Ltd. He is heavily involved in all facets of the business. As more employees are hired, he is able to delegate tasks and focus on growing the business. Stoter was born and raised on a dairy farm in Peterborough, ON and developed a passion for agriculture. He has been married for 10 years to Faye and they have three beautiful children: Annika 8, Jacob 6 and Ruby 3. They currently live on a 20 hectare farm just outside of Guelph, ON (one hour west of Toronto, Canada).
Stoter experienced a lot of success in athletics at an early age that slowly shaped his competitive character with a desire to win. Playing American football at university forced Stoter to develop effective time management skills as he balanced his studies with a 40 hour commitment to athletics each week. His competitive nature in athletics was replaced by a competitive nature in business when Vivere Ltd. (Formerly known as Hammock Village) was born.
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