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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - DECEMBER 2011
W hen consider ing the
impl icat ions of Ca-
nadian businesses
on the nat iona l economy f rom
an innovat ion per spec t ive, who
be t ter to t a lk to than the guy
that regula rly shel l s out the big
bucks to see r i sky, innovat ive
businesses come to l i fe?
Whether it’s introducing a new product to
an old market, trying to sell an old idea in a
new market, or just knowing the next “big
thing”, W. Brett Wilson has a knack for pick-
ing winners.
We spoke to Wilson about Risky Business
(his new Slice show), his new website (yes,
that’s his head split open online so you can
see its delightful contents), new ventures,
and the coolest product he’s invested in in
the last year. Entrepreneurs, take a seat.
IM: So the new website really freaked us
out—in a good way. How did you come up
with that concept?
W. Brett Wilson: My PR firm sat me down
and asked me: “What is your brand?” The
old site was just a picture of me in an old
factory like the Dragon’s Den, that’s it. We
could have run with that, but we decided to
go with something totally different, and
that’s what they came up with.
IM: Well, you are a man of many shirts.
BW: And on the website, each one of those
is one of my real shirts.
IM: Speaking of brand, and websites:
how important is web presence for an
entrepreneur?
BW: To be frank, it really depends on what
type of company you are. It will vary
depending on the client base that you’re
chasing. For some, social media is a complete
waste of time. Some people think “if you
build a website they will come.” That’s not
true. Take for instance Groupon. Groupon
spent over $375 million on marketing, to get
people to a website that most of us have
already heard of.
Imagine how few people come to a website
that nobody has ever heard of.
“Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words.” - W. Brett Wilson
W. Brett Wilson:
Enlightening entrepreneurs