GRIT Ed. 9 | Family Matters - Flipbook - Page 4
GRIT Ed. 9 “Family Matters”
FAMILY
MAtters
A LETTER FROM THE
Kyle Winters, CEO, NEXT Canada
W
hen I took the helm of
NEXT Canada, it was
the midpoint of the
pandemic.
have achieved in that space,
despite being in the middle of
a pandemic for more than two
years.
A time of great uncertainty and
rapid change in how we lived,
worked and saw ourselves and
others around us. It suddenly
gave us a perspective on what
we hold valuable. And in most
instances, unsurprisingly, that
was our family and friends.
We found ourselves trying
to navigate the physical and
mental distance that had
sprung up between us and our
loved ones.
Amongst
other
things,
the pandemic has put into
perspective
the
fragile
nature of how we live and
communicate.
Of
course,
with technology and instant
connectivity, it is far easier to
keep in touch. Though that has
made life easier in a variety of
ways (including being able
to work remotely), I cannot
reconcile the fact that it has
also taken away our ability to
be more present. And being
present is perhaps the essence
of a healthy relationship,
personal or professional.
Of course, such a significant
change was bound to be
reflected in the way we
worked. Everything shifted to
an online platform: meetings,
events, even socials. And as
a team, we did everything
we could to bring the same
zeal and energy to our online
lives as we did when we used
to meet face-to-face. It is
truly remarkable what we
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When
I
joined
NEXT
Canada as the CEO, I had not
anticipated how important
this incredible group of people
would become to me. From
the founders and mentors to
the donors, the cohort and my
team, it is wonderful to see all
of them working towards the
common goal of seeing the
Canadian ventures prosper
and grow. It got me thinking
about how working towards
a common mission can bring
people together and garner
a spirit of creating something
bigger than ourselves.
“Family plays an
important role in
shaping who we
are as individuals
& what role they
play in the lives of
entrepreneurs.”
KYLE WINTERS
But a lot of our motivations
come not from the ‘external’,
but the ‘internal’. Yes, we want
to achieve something, but we
also want it to benefit those
closest to us - the people we
consider family. And that is
because those are the people