BMO Celebrates Small Business Innovation
The keynote address from Mike Bonner, Head of Canadian Business Banking, BMO, for The CB Innovation Awards Luncheon
Hello everyone, I am Mike Bonner, Head of Canadian Business Banking at BMO.
Today, I stand before a room full of inspiring leaders who are exemplars of innovation - the game-changers and visionaries. We get to celebrate your achievements, and I’m honoured to share this moment with each of you. You are Canada’s trailblazers, the business leaders who make your communities and the nation a truly vibrant and thriving place to live and work. You are inspired, and you inspire those around you. You have the courage to be imperfect, and you’re ready to take on the gruelling tasks, to take risks where there are no guarantees, to challenge the status quo, and to push boundaries to make your own track through wild country. You are innovators, creators and disrupters that can turn the impossible into possible. You persevere past your fears, because in many ways you were born for this.
The countless hours of relentless focus, blood, sweat, and tears spent reviewing your business plans, staying on the cutting edge, managing your business, shifting gears to meet customer demands all with the hope and belief that it will pay off in the end. Your true gifts lay in your agility. This economy has been about as wild as it gets, but you’ve remained committed to your dream day in and day out. We recognize that the businesses we’re honouring today have been driven by the courage and heart to succeed.
Do I believe in overnight success? Sure, I’ve seen it, we’ve all seen it, we marvel at it but for the majority of us, even the GOATS like LaBron James and Serena Williams, and Canada’s most adored dragon and business icon, Arlene Dickinson, success is about longevity and commitment to excellence. In saying that, all it takes is one person to give you a chance. Whether you’re from a financial institution, a government organization, or an industry partner, we all play a significant role in removing barriers and creating opportunity for entrepreneurs from all communities because diversity gives birth to innovation.
Together, we must step up and lean in, by making collective investments in business programs, and digital-first technology to create an ecosystem that empowers these leaders to grow and evolve their businesses because when they grow, we all grow to be a stronger and more inclusive economy and society now and in the future.
It reminds me of a story about a BMO client, an Indigenous woman named Jenn Harper from Niagara, who started with nothing. It all began one night in 2015 when she dreamt about little girls covered in lip gloss. Jenn sprung up from her bed, reached for something to write with, and the ideas started to flow like a river and that would eventually become the start of her business plan. From research to funding, her journey was full of challenges and after a bunch of rejections, she was finally approved for a business loan from BMO.
Today, Jenn Harper is the founder and CEO of her own socially conscious beauty brand, Cheekbone Beauty - the very first Indigenousowned cosmetics company that would change the way Indigenous women are represented nationally and around the world. You can find her products in-store and online at any Sephora. Growing in popularity, she opened a manufacturing facility in Niagara which has contributed to employment and economic growth in the region. And since launching Cheekbone Beauty, she has donated more than $200,000 to non-profit organizations to support a wide variety of causes across North America.
This incredible success story reminds me about the power of purpose to grow the good in business and in life. In the room today, we have business leaders, industry partners, and thought leaders in attendance and they have a passion for business, but more importantly, they each understand what it means to bring your purpose to life. I think it goes without saying that we all want to see you flourish, and your accomplishment today is simply a manifestation of that.
I leave you all with one last piece of advice: Perseverance is key. John Shedd once said, “Ships in harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” Keep pushing past your comfort zone, keep exploring, continue to take risks, because that is where ideas are born. Ideas spark innovation and innovation can lead to the transformation of old institutions, old ways, and old rulebooks, so please continue to strive for greatness!
Congratulations and thank you!