Author: Kirubel Mehari

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Student Life

Recipes for success

Photo courtesy of Ca Lem.

The inside stories of young local entrepreneurs and their advice on how to build a business

Entrepreneurship means developing an idea from scratch and creating a business opportunity for yourself. It means taking everything you know and applying those skills in the real world.  For students and recent graduates, it might seem like a daunting challenge, but with the right plan and guidance, anything is possible. Whether this translates into opening a restaurant or managing an online store, it takes a lot of time and determination to develop a business plan that grows into a long-term venture.

Here are the stories of three young Montrealers who took the initiative to follow their dreams and build a business.

 

Stephanie Le, owner of Ca Lem

6926 Sherbrooke St. W.

Photo courtesy of Ca Lem.

Stephanie Le opened an ice cream shop called Ca Lem with the idea of creating a space for students and families who live in and around the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) area. Her goal is for people to experience different flavours of ice cream by blending Vietnamese and traditional Canadian flavours.

“Initially, the goal was to open a small ice cream shop and see if it was something I could manage,” Le said. The more she worked on Ca Lem, the more Le loved being an entrepreneur. ”I wanted people to experience all these different flavours of ice cream, because it’s a great way of bringing people together.”

Currently a marketing student at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), Le said she learned how to think as an entrepreneur in university. “It sculpted my brain to consider different aspects of business, such as marketing, budgets, event planning and, most importantly, a foundation to build on.”

Le previously worked at a restaurant, and that experience allowed her to understand why customer service is key to managing a business. According to Le, Ca Lem is an extension of her personality, which revolves around being sweet, kind and full of positive energy.

Le’s advice for future entrepreneurs: “Think outside the box. Be a leader in your own journey.”

 

Yusuf Habib, owner of Boulangerie Habib

6655 Victoria Ave.

Photo courtesy of Boulangerie Habib.

 

“Don’t buy into the idea of being an entrepreneur,” said Yusuf Habib, an independent student at Mcgill University and owner of Boulangerie Habib. “You need to accept the reality of the job and be prepared to work 12-hour shifts if necessary.”

On March 1, 2014, Yusuf and his father decided to open a bakery with the hope of building a successful family-owned business that would grow over time. Boulangerie Habib serves cakes, fresh bread, pizza and Mediterranean delicacies.

According to Habib, because of Montreal’s cultural diversity, it took him time to get to know his clients and adapt his work ethic to their needs. “I’ve always been someone that dives into situations,” said Habib, who has learned to be a problem solver during his time at the bakery.“You try your best to plan for either the best or the worst, but you must be able to adapt to any situation in business.” His father taught him that lesson at a young age, instilling in Habib the need to constantly learn.

Habib’s advice for future entrepreneurs: “If you advertise fresh bread daily, you need to stick to your word. Honesty should resonate throughout your business, because that’s how you are able to build trust into your brand.”

 

Sina Amiraslani, owner of Ashley’s

5942 Sherbrooke St. W.

Photo courtesy of Ashley’s.

“There is a risk to being an entrepreneur,” said Sina Amiraslani, who opened his own vegan-vegetarian restaurant in 2017. “Nothing is guaranteed.” After graduating from JMSB with a degree in finance, Amiraslani knew he wanted to be his own boss, and with that came the idea of opening his own restaurant. His goal was to combine his creativity and entrepreneurial skills, and Amiraslani felt owning a restaurant combined both perfectly.

Located in NDG, Ashley’s offers a wide variety of options for vegans and vegetarians. According to Amiraslani, the concept of Ashley’s is to provide tasty meals for people who are curious about vegan and vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant allows him to develop dishes any demographic would enjoy.

Amiraslani described his restaurant as a child still needing care and attention, as he draws close to opening up a terrace for the summer season.

Amiraslani’s advice to future entrepreneurs: “Be prepared to sacrifice. If you want to grow as a person and entrepreneur, be prepared to suffer through many hardships.”

Categories
Student Life

What does it mean to be successful?

Local streetwear label New Regime discusses their new art installation, Trapped

Atelier New Regime is a streetwear label and creative collective, founded in 2009 by Setiz Taheri and brothers Koku and Gildas Awuye. The trio’s vision was to share the groups creativity and lifestyle.

In the years since, they have developed their own streetwear culture by introducing a clothing line that has evolved through the use of design and photography, pushing the aesthetic boundaries of the brand even further. The brand is multidisciplinary and often fuses art, photography and street culture into their projects.

Their latest endeavor, Trapped, addresses our culture’s notion of success through a self-reflective installation about the idea of money and achievement. On March 13, two members of the collective, Koku and Gildas, sat down for a quick conversation about the installation and its meaning. The talk was moderated by Aye Magazine collaborator Josiane Ménard at the Phi Centre.

The installation consisted of a transparent box with a hole where people could reach in and hold the $5,000 worth of cash that was inside. They could only hold the money for a brief moment, and it was impossible to leave with the cash. The installation also included a poem featuring the words of local rapper Nate Husser on the topic of freedom, complemented by several photographs and audio pieces with vibrant imagery.

Here is a glimpse at the discussion between the Awuye brothers.

From left: Gildas Awuye, Koku Awuye and Josiane Ménard during the panel discussion at the Phi Centre. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

Josiane Ménard: In the year 2017, what objectives had you fixed for yourselves as creatives? And have you attained them?

Koku Awuye: Fundamentally, our entrepreneurial goal is to stay in business, to stay afloat as a company. In essence, it’s about building a brand that also stays true to itself.

Gildas Awuye: At our end-of-the-year meeting, we always set ourselves new goals to accomplish as a collective because there is always something to push forward as a team, whether it’s through a new clothing collection or art installations. There is a constant need to surpass ourselves as creatives.

JM: What does the installation Trapped tell us when we talk about today’s definition of success?

GA: The visual focal point of the installation is a glass box with a bundle of cash inside it. This social experiment tells us a lot about our culture today, because we focus a lot on money before anything else. At the exhibit, there were other parts to the event, such as an audio piece, videos and photographs, but primarily the attention was given to the money. With Trapped, the goal was for people to reflect on their own definition of success and not compare that with others.

KA: It was interesting because we were able to see how people would react to an object of value. It made them forget about their surroundings and turn all of their attention toward the money.

JM: What are your personal definitions of success?

KA: The ability to live and work without any constraints.

GA: For me personally, the perception of success is something that evolves over time. In the beginning, it was about acquiring that perception of success, such as getting a lot of money, buying that new car, etc. But the more work we put into this project, the more we realized that we achieved that goal that seemed so far away a while ago. Finally, as soon as you get there, it’s cool for like 30 minutes and then it’s on to the next one. Today, I think my definition of success is to find a peace of mind toward the little things that matter and to be satisfied going to bed at night, knowing that I’m happy with the work that I do.

Feature photo by Kirubel Mehari

Categories
Student Life

Cinema and the digital world

A portrait of Félix Lajeunesse, the co-founder of the world-renowned virtual reality company Felix & Paul Studios. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

Once a Concordia film production student, Félix Lajeunesse is now the co-founder of one of the largest virtual reality companies in the world, Felix & Paul Studios. At a panel discussion on Feb. 12, he shared insight on how he and his team built a virtual reality studio from scratch with nothing but a dream in mind.

“When I studied film production in 2003, the dream was to be a film director,” Lajeunesse said. “At that time, I would have not guessed that I would end up doing work in a different medium than cinema.”

Lajeunesse’s talk, led by professor Daniel Cross of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, was part of Concordia’s president speakers series on digital futures. The conversation discussed virtual reality (VR) technology and its application for users around the world.

VR technology and projects immerse viewers in different worlds. In the early years of Felix & Paul Studios, Lajeunesse and his partner, Paul Raphaël, focused on building a camera to create an immersive, 360-degree experience. Their goal was to experiment with 3D technology that would give viewers an immersive cinematic experience rather than just an interactive one. “You feel like you’re there. You feel present inside the story, completely immersed, emotionally and psychologically, but you can’t say hi to the people in [that] world,” Lajeunesse said.

Creating Felix & Paul Studios has given Lajeunesse and Raphaël the opportunity to collaborate with notable figures, such as Barack Obama, Reese Witherspoon and LeBron James. Their team is composed of filmmakers, as well as engineers, programmers, sound technicians and others who diverge from the traditional filmmaking crew.

Lajeunesse said he chose the medium of VR because it shares stories from the perspective of the viewer, not the director. For example, a simulation of reality created by Felix & Paul Studios gives viewers the opportunity to feel like they are sitting face-to-face with former U.S. President Barack Obama.

According to Lajeunesse, their business model was risky because it involved investing in a medium that wasn’t considered an industry yet. It payed off, however, as Lajeunesse and Raphaël got their first investment from Phoebe Greenberg, the founder of the Phi Centre, a multidisciplinary art centre in Montreal. Lajeunesse said Greenberg believed in their project and gave them the financial backing to get the company started.

Lajeunesse said believing in their vision for Felix & Paul Studios is what kept him and Raphaël going as creatives. “We had to find a way to sell our dreams,” he said. “We had to find a way to package our desires and our vision of whatever we were building and sell it, to convince people that there was a business case inside of it.”

For more information about Felix & Paul Studios’ upcoming projects, check out their website at felixandpaul.com.

Feature image taken by Kirubel Mehari

Categories
Music

GoldLink live at L’Astral

Photo by Kirubel Mehari

Washington MC’s laid-back attitude counterbalanced his fast-paced flow

For those who do not know him, Goldlink, also known as D’anthony Carlos, is a rapper out of DMV, a district located in Washington, D.C. He made waves with his debut mixtape God Complex and has since been one of the freshest voices in music right now. Ecstatic, funky and charismatic, Goldlink is part of futuristic bounce, a genre that intertwines soul fusion, R&B and hip hop viscerally through the infectious energy of its fans.

April + Vista playing songs from their EP Note to self. Photo by Kirubel Mehari

The show started off with a performance by music duo, April and Vista, who delivered a soulful performance that resonated through the crowd. Defined as pioneers of the stresswave genre, they brought a sound that is both soothing and raw. April’s voice has a powerful and invigorating tone, and used this to her advantage. Before performing her last song, she asked the crowd an important question that sounded more like an affirmation:

“Do y’all know that you can do anything the fuck y’all want? If you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” she said.

April’s passionate persona shined through her performance that night, alongside Vista on the keyboards. Songs such as “Beasts” and “Daggers” were perfect for setting a chill and vibrant vibe for the night ahead.

Masego swaying the crowd with his smooth jazz house trap style. Photo by Kirubel Mehari

Masego made an appearance with his trusted saxophone named Sacha. Known for his unique blend of styles such as jazz, house and trap music, he performed his new singles, “Tadow” and “Navajo.” The crowd was pleased beyond measure, as he played songs from his own tracklist as well as classics such as “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. During his “Billie Jean” performance, as an hommage, Masego showed up with a similar red leather jacket from the late pop star. Spontaneous and versatile, Masego then created his own freestyle with a MIDI controller at the request of the crowd. The freestyle track garnered a positive reaction from the audience, as they sang along to Masego’s passionate refrain. Enthusiasm filled the room throughout his performance, leaving the crowd ready to welcome GoldLink.

GoldLink performing his hit track, “Crew” to his fans. Photo by Kirubel Mehari

The crowd’s energy peaked at it’s highest level as GoldLink took center stage. His laid-back and cool attitude provided a nice counterbalance to his rhythmic and fast-paced flow. The hip hop artist opened up his act with his track, “Some Girl,” which caught the undivided attention of all the ladies at the show. Fast-forwarding to GoldLink’s “Kakamoe Freestyle,” his performance made it obvious why the 24 year-old artist is becoming an imminent figure within the culture of hip hop. He had the audience in the palm of his hands, as they chanted his lyrics word by word. Afterwards, much to the crowd’s pleasure, Masego returned to the stage with GoldLink to perform a duet called “Late Night.”

Towards the end of the show, the experience became a thrilling one, with everyone in the room shouting for an encore and constantly making noise to show their love and support to the young rapper. GoldLink returned the appreciation by thanking his fans once again and performing his hit song, “Crew,” twice in a row.

Photos by Kirubel Mehari

Categories
Music

Photo Essay: The faces and voices of Osheaga

6lack closes the night with an outstanding performance. Photo by Kirubel Mehari

Photographer Kirubel Mehari takes us through the crowds and behind the scenes

This year, the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival showcased some amazing acts, including Sampha, Geoffrey and Lorde, to name just a few. Despite the bad weather — which shut down the festival for over an hour on the Friday — it was an interesting three days packed with an explosive level of musical diversity.

I had the chance to sit down and chat with some of the featured up-and-coming musicians about their performances and the creative process they go through as artists.

The crowd stirs up as Osheaga festivities kick off. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

There’s so much emotion that goes into performing every night. It was a challenge, and we had to come through that and decide if we wanted to keep doing it.
– Natalie Closner of Joseph on the tour experience

From left, sisters Meegan, Allison and Natalie Closner make up the band Joseph. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
“The last album, [I’m Alone, No You’re Not], was about contrast, tension, light and dark, being and despair. It’s all of those things. For the next one, we’re still discovering the songs as we write them. We have a handful of songs, and we can start to see a mapping of feelings out of it, but it’s still developing. You have to wait for the songs to come to you and wait to see what they are telling you.” -Natalie Closner of Joseph
Sampha playing from his album, Process, on Aug. 5, 2017. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
6lack heads off stage after his set at Osheaga. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

“I like the live aspect. It’s the best part for me right now. It’s like rendering what I worked on for the last two years and feeling the energy of the crowd. It’s nuts. That’s why you do it really. You do it for yourself at first, but then you realize that you’re not alone. It’s a high for 24 hours after the show.”  -Geoffrey

Geoffrey is a Montreal-based singer/songwriter. The 29-year-old has brought attention to the local indie scene with songs such as “Coastline” and “Sleeping On My Own. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
Enjoying the sunshine and music. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

I try to be honest and very transparent in my music. So in the end, it’s what I’m the most proud of — that overall transparency and honesty.” -Geoffrey

Daniel Caesar at Osheaga. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
River Tiber at Osheaga. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

“I’d like to do something meaningful with my music. It’s hard to say what because I don’t believe in major art and minor art. So it’s hard to say ‘meaningful’ in music, but I’d like to do something like that.” –Dragos Chiriac from Men I Trust

Men I Trust performing their hit song “Lauren.” Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

I think we’re still growing as an indie band. We’re at the point where we have to give it all of our time and energy. You really need to believe all the way because, if it was easy, anyone could do it. – Emma Proulx from Men I Trust

From left, Dragos Chiriac, Emma Proulx and Jessy Caron from the Montreal-based band Men I Trust. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
6lack closing the show on Friday. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.
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