Selected Quotes and Ideas from the Book

Starting the Business

• "If you'd told me after my first year of university—that 19-year-old, proud, virgin-runner-geek who wore hand-me-down clothing—that in three years I'd be running a company in the high-fashion underwear business, I'd have laughed at you."
• "It's easy to be excited by your big new idea, and that excitement will certainly fuel your drive to walk down the path. But approach your initial idea with a healthy sense of apprehension and curiosity; let your thoughts turn it over and look at it from all angels. While you contemplate its merits, take some time to investigate the challenges."
• "[Y]ou don't have to know everything to take the first step. Do the very best job you can until you've learned more. Once you've learned more, you can do more."
• "Understand that once you've chosen a bold path, there will be costs...To do anything great requires a sacrifice of your time, your energy, your other desires, and likely some of your mental health...There are no easy paths that are also worthwhile."
• "[W]e all don't know what we don't know, so when we set out to discover and try new things, we're sometimes going to be foolish. This foolishness isn't bad, though; it's a rite of passage...you have to be a fool before you can be a master."

Culture and Values

• "In order to navigate the challenges and make the best possible adjustments for each scenario, your Guiding Principles and Core Values should be established early and understood by your entire team."
• "[Y]our key principles will help you to establish the right habits and the right work patterns, which will become part of the company's DNA and will replicate as the company grows."
• "We had a policy that no decision that could be made today would be delayed until tomorrow."
• "It may seem harsh and almost irrational to immediately eject people who don't fit the company culture, but removing them quickly will prevent long-term damage to the company and morale, even if it causes some pain in the short term."
• "Company culture matters, because in the early days of a start-up there probably won't be much by way of money, benefits or lucrative stock options to motivate your team. Those early days bring with them a lot of surprises, a lot of setbacks, and no shortage of frustration. To overcome these challenges it's vital that you establish, right from the beginning, a positive company culture."

Getting Funding

• "Try to fund as much of your own idea as you can until you've proven your concept. The idea becomes more valuable the more you develop it. The more valuable it is, the less ownership of it you'll need to give up should it require future funding."
• "The reality as an entrepreneur is that, at least for a period of time, raising money may just end up being your primary job."
• "You can create a long-list of people who you know have money and a track record of investing, but from that create a short-list of the people who understand your industry. Start your pitches with them, because even if they say no they have the potential to help you immeasurably."
• "You, as the entrepreneur, are the alchemist that turns lead into gold and injects lifeblood into the idea. You are the person around whom the team and the culture are built. You matter, at least as much as your idea, when it comes to convincing an investor to give you their money."
• "Your investors will remember what you did, how you did it and who you were as a person while it was being done. The buck always stops with you."

Relentless Drive to Succeed

• Joel got into a car accident while driving to a series of pitch meetings in Calgary. Here's an example of his relentlessness and grit to make it to those meetings despite his accident: "I've spent the last year and a half dedicated to this dream. I've pitched hundreds of potential investors. I've been humiliated on public TV. I've had business partners come and go. I've maxed my credit cards to buy a trademark and consolidate my debts, just to stay alive after having invested thirty thousand dollars-plus into this company. There is no chance in hell that we're not going to make it to these meetings. I don't care what it costs. I don't care what it does to me. I am going to be there."
• "Your thoughts create your reality. They shape how you see the world, how you approach every challenge and every opportunity."

Finding a Balance

• "Balance, in any endeavor, is found through the trifecta of our Body, Spirit, and Mind:
  • Body - We maintain a healthy body by exercising regularly, eating reasonably healthy and getting enough sleep.
  • Spirit - We maintain a healthy spirit by having meaningful relationships with the people we love. Doing what we love nourishes our spirit. We can achieve a healthier spirit by staying true to our personal beliefs, having a sense of connection to higher powers and being in nature.
  • Mind - We maintain a healthy mind by both continuing to learn new things and taking a break from work thoughts. This can come from meditation, reading, hobbies, and taking time to unplug and be silent."
• "Ultimately, what gives you balance will be personal to you—we're all different and we each have to uncover our unique passions. Sometimes one activity, such as rock climbing or playing a competitive sport, might hit all three elements of the trifecta as it can be physical and mentally challenging, and also keep you connected to a community. If time is a scarce commodity, which it usually is for the entrepreneur, it's a great idea to find activities that blend these elements together."
• "If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won't have to hear it scream." -Chinese proverb
• "When you spend time with those you love you need to be conscious of how present you are with them during the time you do have. No matter how bad or good a day you had at work, you need to drop it all and be fully there with them."
• "We must keep the health of our body, mind, and spirit at the forefront of all we do. Rest and work. Rest and grow. Rest and thrive. This is how you're designed."