If you’ve got what it takes to be a successful business leader, Momentum Ventures wants to hire you and has $500,000 to back your business idea.
“We’re constantly looking for great talent. This is the key to success in business,” said CEO Matt Keezer while describing the Momentum Ventures Challenge.
For the right candidate discovered through their challenge, Momentum Ventures is ready to invest a minimum of $500,000 to launch a business, the opportunity to work with and be mentored by the Momentum Ventures team and provide all of the necessary logistical and administrative support to make it succeed.
“Essentially, we are just trying to find a creative way to get people excited and reaching out to us,” said Keezer.
The Right Formula For Success
Building your own business from scratch is hard, but Montreal-based Momentum Ventures has developed a formula that has enabled it to build several successful online businesses since 2007, including FlightHub, the largest Canadian online travel agency. Their latest venture is Alio, an online travel agency aimed at the U.S. market that is built on the foundation pioneered by FlightHub and its proven business model.
“We’re a hungry group of people who like to hustle and build businesses,” added Keezer. “We don’t fall into the traditional mould. We don’t do venture capital. We don’t raise money. We’re not really part of that whole startup scene. We’ve never even been to a startup conference. We’re not downtown. We’re just doing our own thing. Is it good? Is it bad? I don’t know, but it’s what we do.”
Keezer says there is no deadline for the challenge. They will continue running it until they find the right person. If it works, they’re willing to do it again. “Ideally, we can do this continuously. As we get better and better at it, we can give even more money,” he said.
Momentum Ventures has had success with travel businesses, but they are open to ideas for any new venture, although it’s not as important as the qualities of the people that enter their challenge.
“We’re not asking people to give us their ideas. We’re not really interested in new ideas for businesses. We’re more interested in the person,”
said Keezer. “It’s really about people that can execute well and can be powerful growth agents. We’re looking for people that possess certain qualities and possess a certain amount of ambition, drive and talent that can work well on a team.”
Take the Challenge
Keezer stresses that he and his team are looking for people with the energy and drive to get things done, not unlike himself. He grew up with computers and used his expertise to get a summer job at his friend’s father’s travel agency. He was never interested in school and dropped out of university to start his first online business. Now he’s hoping to find someone with the same entrepreneurial spirit to join his company.
Got momentum? Enter the Momentum Ventures Challenge.