Reza Satchu is a man with many callings.
In the business world, he is known as a serial entrepreneur, having started companies such as StorageNow and KGS Alpha Capital, both of which ended with successful and lucrative exits. He maintains an active role in running Alignvest Management Corporation, as well as its subsidiary, Alignvest Student Housing.
In academia, he is a celebrated educator and mentor who lectures on the subjects of commerce and venture capitalism at Harvard Business School. In his adopted country of Canada, his name is synonymous with NEXT Canada, a nonprofit innovation hub and entrepreneurial incubator that he founded in 2010 to nurture young business minds with high-potential ideas. The central themes in Reza Satchu’s life are entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency, and a passion for giving business advice to young people.
He credits his family with setting him on this course.
“My father had great confidence in himself, even though he was a new immigrant to Canada,” says Satchu in an interview with Exeleon Magazine. “He was a real estate salesman when we moved to Ontario from Kenya when I was a kid. He sold small houses in Scarborough. I was a Toronto Star paperboy, I would deliver papers and slip in business cards for my dad. We worked really hard.”
The example his father set of being strong and resilient despite challenging circumstances has shaped Satchu’s mindset on entrepreneurship. “Along with our family circumstance came what I’ve come to call the ‘benefit of obstacles not of my own choosing’. There were obstacles, but they gave me something special. I knew early in life I could overcome them.”
When Satchu arrived in Canada as a boy, his parents chose to fully immerse both him and the family into Canadian culture. They did so because they had the necessary confidence that they could handle the difficult adjustment and thrive through the challenges – and, in the end, that they would benefit from them.
“My mother, when I was 11, she sat me down and she told me I was going to Harvard. She believed in me – and you just need one or two.” These convictions, difficult as they may have been to maintain, were essential to pushing past whatever problems arose in the family’s transition to an entirely new country and culture. They were formative for Satchu, leading him to build an entire philosophy of entrepreneurship – the “Founder Mindset” – around the vital importance of belief in, and commitment to, both yourself and your idea.
Satchu is not shy when it comes to laying credit where credit is due for his business success. “I often remind my students at Harvard Business School that their choice of a life partner is maybe the most important decision they will ever make,” says Satchu. “The guidance and motivation that my wife provides for me and our family has been invaluable. Partnerships like ours provide incalculable benefits for successful business leaders.”
Satchu stresses that the combination of persistence, belief, and balance provides the necessary foundation for the most crucial element of success for entrepreneurs – and that is total commitment to an idea, regardless of resources currently controlled. “Many people get stuck waiting for the perfect moment,” says Satchu. “The real tragedy is not failing but never trying at all. Embrace the unknown, commit to your vision, and be prepared to learn from the journey.”
