Team TRU
Direct Links for Team TRU
- Team TRU Website: www.teamtru.ca
- Team TRU Twitter: twitter.com/TRUMillionaire
- Team TRU Facebook: www.facebook.com/…click-the-link
- Team TRU YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/THETEAMTRU
- Team TRU Charity: www.tru.ca/foundation.html
Team TRU is in support of …
Team Thompson Rivers University is proud to choose The Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Foundation as their “charity of choice” for the Race To A Million.
The TRU Foundation is a registered society under the statutes of the Province of British Columbia and can issue charitable donation receipts to all of its donors. A gift to the TRU Foundation is an investment in the future of higher education. The Foundation provides funds for the financial support of TRU students and TRU’s programs and projects. The Foundation serves as the manager and trustee of funds invested in the Foundation’s Endowment Fund.
Why does our support matter? Education is a bridge to a better life and builds stronger communities. Every year hundreds of TRU students rely on a financial award from the TRU Foundation. These awards can be the difference between continuing with their studies or dropping out of classes. By providing our financial support we have the opportunity to have a profound impact in the lives of students and in our community.
The TRU Foundation raises and manages funds to provide scholarships, bursaries and special needs funding to support students in post secondary education and training. Raising and managing funds is accomplished by a volunteer Board of Directors, a society of community leaders, staff members and significant support from a large complement of volunteers.
Team TRU Video
Fast Tube by Casper
Who’s On The Team?
Jordan Hirschmiller
(22 years old)
Full time TRU Student and part time sales and construction
About Jordan
Jordan loves mountain biking and everything outdoors. Jordan describes himself as outgoing, ambitious, inventive and focused. Jordan is especially adept at problem solving and personal relations. He aspires to eventually open his own talent representation firm.
Why did you choose to join Team TRU?
I believe it’s a great opportunity to hone my professional skills and make valuable contacts.
What advantages does you team offer you?
Great work experience and a chance to make a difference in my local community.
Do you think your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011?
Absolutely, with the right idea and correct implementation anything is possible.
What gives your group an advantage over others?
Our group is composed of TRU students. Since we are asked to innovate and come up with fresh ideas daily; I believe our group will have a head start on others.
What is most exciting about being a part of the first ever Race to a Million? What are you most looking forward to?
Turning $500 into $1,000,000
Brendan Shaw
TRU Student and Real Estate Investor
Royal LePage Kamloops Realty – Brendan Shaw
Real Esate Marketing and Acquisition
Specializing in Residential and Multi-Family
www.brendanshaw.com
About Brendan
Brendan enjoys golfing and snowboarding. His long range business goal is to build a 250 Million dollar asset portfolio. He describes himself asan aspiring entrepreneur in real estate.
Why did you choose to join this team?
I chose to join this group because of the challenge to create something out of nothing. This allows us to explore the basics behind business. By working in a team environment, I hope to learn from my peers and take the knowledge i’ve gained to better my own career. To me, it is more than just the payout at the end: it’s something bigger.
What advantages does being a part of this team offer?
Refined skillset – time management, teamwork, managerial, accounting and networking
What gives your group an advantage over others?
There is no question our group is the underdog. Being a group comprised of mostly university students means less experience, less of a sphere of influence, and less funding sources available. Additionally, with school being a priority and most of our team volunteering and working part time jobs on the side, time is definitely not on our side. Our advantage in this competition is our ambition to succeed, it is our drive to enact the entrepreneurial spirit in order to win this competition.
Usman Vahidy
- Senior Finance BBA co-op student – Thompson Rivers University
- Student representative on the TRU Chancellor Nomination Committee
- Student representative on the TRU Alumni Board of Directors
About Usman
Usman enjoys playing and listening to music, the apparently unknown sport of cricket and just the usual night out with friends. He describes himself as focused, determined and easy to get along with. Currently exploring the world of finance and hopes to understand and work in the field of commercial financing.
Why did you choose to join the team?
I look at it as an excellent networking opportunity where I get to work with some of the finest TRU students and alumni. Plus it sounds like a lot of fun!
What advantages does being part of this team offer you?
Minds working together to make a million bucks from $500, it’s hard to pin down all the advantages you get from something like that!
Do you think your time your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011?
We’re in it to win it! I believe everyone in our team brings something unique to the table. It’s just a matter of trusting each other and working as a team. The better we are at that, the better chance of getting to the million dollar mark.
What gives your group an advantage over the others?
We’ve got the perfect mix of leaders, entrepreneurs and fundraisers. It’s just what you need to win this.
What is the most exciting about being part of the first ever Race to a Million?
Just the whole concept!
TRU Alumni & Sales and Marketing Coordinator,
Kamloops Chamber of Commerce
www.kamloopschamber.ca
Why did you choose to join a Mastermind (Control) group?
I joined team TRU because I feel like this is an unbelievable opportunity to learn, grow, and experience something pretty darn cool.
Do you think your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011?
I think we are going to try our very hardest! Go big or go home!
What gives your group an advantage over others?
We are young and not stuck in old ways… we won’t be afraid to try something innovative and maybe will have less reservations than others.
What charity is your group supporting? What significance does that charity have for you?
TRU Foundation! Getting your education can get quite expensive and the foundation offers opportunities for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to, to maybe build a future for themselves!
What is most exciting about being a part of the first ever Race to a Million? What are you most looking forward to?
Building great relationships with my team members, and taking risks that I would not maybe have taken on my own. I also love social media and I am excited to see how the rest of the world will respond to this social reality competition.
Please tell us something we may not have thought to ask.
I am past executive member of SIFE TRU. I embraced my time at TRU as not just an opportunity to get an education but to have a experience beyond the books. To build relationships, to have real world experience, and to set myself up for time after TRU. I have lived in Kamloops for 8 Years and absolutely love it!
About Matthew
Matthew is a Kamloops local who grew up deeply connected to the local business community. His family has operated businesses in Kamloops for over 5 decades. Matthew has always been dedicated to continuing on with the family’s commitment of creating economic opportunity, while injecting goodwill into the local economy through his entrepreneurial ventures and his involvement with community service groups, namely Rotary and SIFE.
In March of 2006, with the support of Aurora Rotary Club of Kamloops, Matt spearheaded the Chartering of the first Rotaract Club of Kamloops. Rotaract is one of the youth arms of Rotary that helps young adults between the ages of 18-30 find their way into the Rotary family through community service projects while creating opportunities for those in society that are among the most marginalized. Since its inception, the vision and sustainability of his social entrepreneurship commitment has been reinforced year-over-year with his continued efforts to make a difference in the community and on the campus of Thompson Rivers University.
Following the 2 year start-up of the Rotaract Club, Matt shifted gears and began to focus on the campus and the organizations that give back in the student community. SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) was headed by Matt as President for the following 2 years. SIFE focuses its energy on creating economic opportunity in its community through teaching entrepreneurship, while helping to financially educate youth on the basics of money management to help prepare them for their futures.
These pillars of business excellence have proven to be paramount to the continued success of all of Matt’s ventures. Currently he is a returning student studying as a 4th yr BBA Finance student at TRU. He is involved in multiple businesses with a variety of different partners. He is the Managing Partner of Wholesale Furniture Brokers of Kamloops and the Founder and CEO of a new start-up that will be revealed on the show in the weeks to come. He believes that variety is the spice of life.
Matt’s enthusiasm, passion and vision will help to channel the energy of Team TRU in a profitable direction. As a member of Team Thompson Rivers University, Matt knows that their Team is grossly lacking in experience, but believes that the combined talent and focused vision of the whole Team along with his guidance, leadership and intimate knowledge of the institutional format and operations of TRU will help give their team an edge, with endless possibilities at their doorstep. He is certain that with the right strategy, Team TRU will be a force to reckon with! Join in the race to support TRU to the finish line!
Why did you choose to join Team TRU and form your own “student based” Mastermind group?
I have initiated the formation of other groups that are similar in structure to those of the Mastermind philosophy but have found that the “Code of Ethics” employed in the Mastermind Group format are more transparent, easier to enforce, clearer to understand and therefore more successful. This is one program I will definitely be a part of for many years to come.
What advantages does being a part of a Mastermind group offer you?
“The meeting of the ‘minds’ to create strategies that will bring profit to all involved” is a clearly defined goal. When people who are dynamic and multi-facetted get together with the focus of creating something from nothing, a new light is projected and what is revealed is only limited by the mind. I am really excited with what can come of this amazing opportunity.
Do you think your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011?
Some people have asked me, if you think you could do it, why would you do it in such a structured game format? I believe that the goal will only be reachable if everyone shoots for it. As we know, competition is good for business, as for competition with a little viral exposure to cheer us on- priceless! I think that the conditions are becoming ideal for such a seemingly lofty goal such as this to be not only achieved but exceeded. Should be interesting to see what happens.
What gives your group an advantage over others?
Experience, or lack thereof- I don’t know. While some say experience is their greatest asset, it is also a routine of patterned thought that is sometimes hard to break away from. With a fresh mix of the finest calibre student leaders, successful alumni input, and TRU Faculty and Administrative support, I believe that will our undying commitment to succeeding as Entrepreneurs will lead us down the path to success. However, our greatest asset can also be our greatest risk, you’ll have to watch to find out.
What is most exciting about being a part of the first ever Race to a Million?
I think the best part of all of this is that we will all be a part of something bigger than our daily lives. We will be able to make an impact on people from all over the world as well as create relationships with like minds from all over. Entrepreneurship is not what success’s you have had but what obstacles you’ve faced and how you figure out the way to overcome them. I believe that true success is not proven by what you do on the good days, but by how you handle the bad ones. I should be a great race. Thanks for your ongoing support! Go For It!.
Yours in Entrepreneurship,
Matt Muzzillo
TRU Alumni, Business Advisory Board, SIFE TRU
Operations Manager, Wholesale Furniture Brokers
Online Furniture Retailer
www.GoWFB.com and www.GoWFB.ca
About Trent
A graduate of TRU in 2007, Trent actively participates as an alumni adviser to SIFE TRU. Most of his summer life revolves around softball and wake boarding. In the winter, he takes to the ice for his other true passion, curling. Little known fact: TRU had a varsity curling team for two seasons, which he helped instigate. Unfortunately, the team is no longer active.
Trent has had the honor to serve as a final round judge at the inaugural Tony Brower Innovation Exposition. SIFE TRU successfully hosted the multi-round business plan competition in memory of a former professor: http://www.tonybrowerexposition.com
Why did you choose to join the (Control) Mastermind group?
I’m always looking for something new and innovative to challenge me. The Mastermind challenge is really going to push the creative envelope and force us all to pull together something much bigger than ourselves. Its always fun to get together with like minded people and see what magic can happen.
What advantages does being part of a Mastermind group offer you?
The obvious answer would be the networking and exposure that this challenge will bring. I think I’ll stick to the obvious. There are some very impressive looking teams in this competition, none of which can be underestimated.
Do you think your time your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011?
Why not? I’m confident our team can do it as well as anyone else. A better question would be “how soon are we going to make our million?”
What gives your group an advantage over the others?
Most of the team consists of young, energetic university students that haven’t been trapped in ”the box” of the real world. Therefore, thinking outside of it is easy – they do it every day! We might be the underdogs, but that just means we have the advantage of being underestimated.
What is the most exciting about being part of the first ever Race to a Million?
The honor of being a part of this inaugural event is really exciting. It feels like we’re really pioneering something here. I’m intrigued to see how it all plays out, and ten years from now when its the biggest thing on the internet, I can say “I was on the very first season”!
Bernie Warren
Position: Chair, School of Business and Economics
Affiliation: Department of Management
Email: bwarren@tru.ca
Interests
Using Technology to improve business operations.
Research Interests
Consulting, Information and Internet Technology, E-Business, Business Process Re-engineering, Simulation, Spreadsheet Modeling and Marketing Research.
Education
- Post Graduate Diploma in Internet Marketing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
- Masters of Engineering: Management Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.
- Bachelor of Science Forestry and Wood Science: University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
- Candidate for Project Management Professional (PMP) .
Employment History
- Senior Training manager, CitiBank, New York City.
- Faculty, School of Business and Economics. Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia.
- Senior Consultant Ernst and Young, Toronto.
- Founding partner Amik Forest Consultants, Sudbury, Ontario
Courses Taught
- GBUS 513 Operations Management (MBA)
- GBUS 530 Strategic Management Information Systems (MBA)
- BBUS 428 Issues in Information Systems (BBA)
- MNGT 230 Marketing Research (Diploma)
- GBUS 453 International Trade law and Logistics (BBA)
- BBUS 331 Operations Management (BBA)
- BBUS 238 Management Information Systems II (BBA)
- BBUS 137 Management Information Systems I (BBA)
Current Professional Affiliations include:
- Board of Directors, Kamloops Eco-Logics. Objective is to develop advanced hydroponics, greenhouse and Led light technologies to treat wastewater for multimillion dollar Tranquille on the Lake Development project.
- Board of Directors, Adaptable Solution Inc. An Alberta based organization created to develop online health and safety educational programs for Worker’s Compensation Board and other select corporations.
- Board of Directors, Kamloops Child Development Society.
Full time student and part time worker for Urban Mealth Management
About Mitesh
Mitesh is a young individual who enjoys technology, sports, and music. He grew up in Vernon BC and describes himself as very easy to get along with.
Why did you choose to join a mastermind group?
I joined a mastermind group because it is a really great opportunity to network and work with some really greay business professionals.
Do you think your team can turn $500 into $1,000,000 by July 1st 2011? – Why or Why not?
I don’t see why not. You can do anything you put your mind too!
What gives your group an advantage over others?
Considering we have group of students, faculty and alumni, we are a able to use TRU and all the resources it provides.
What charity is your group supporting? What significance does that charity have for you?
TRU Foundation! Being a full time student it is quite expensive to go to school. This foundation crates great opportunities for students to create a future.
What is most exciting about being apart of the first ever race to a million? What are you most looking forward to?
Being a part of a social media reality experience.
