Early Life and Heritage
Born in 1974 into an Eastern European Jewish family in Cape Town, South Africa, my life has been a blend of cultural richness and entrepreneurial spirit. My father, who owned successful clothing stores, and my mother, a dedicated teacher, provided a wonderful, nurturing environment for me and my two older brothers. Despite our comfortable life, the fears and injustice of Apartheid loomed over us, driving us to immigrate to Toronto, Canada, in 1977.
Building a New Life in Canada
Starting anew in Canada wasn’t easy. With no money or connections, my father started a clothing import business, while my mom reinvented herself as a commission-only travel agent.
I grew up learning from two hard-working and loving parents who sacrificed everything for their kids. Their resilience and unwavering dedication deeply influenced me and shaped my outlook on life and business.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
My teenage years were a period of exploration and self-discovery. While I dabbled in various jobs, I quickly learned I was more of an entrepreneur than an employee. Unlike the typical jobs my peers were doing, I found myself starting many summer businesses, including a window washing business, a student advertising business, and even making and reselling University gear on campus. These early experiences in entrepreneurship not only served to fuel my passion but helped fund my university education.
Turning Point: Education and Early Career
I graduated from the prestigious Ivey School of Business in 1996, a turning point in my career. Shortly after, I co-founded my first company, The Results Group (TRG), an outsourced lead generation firm for B2B businesses. This venture opened doors to the world of public speaking, where I found my passion for engaging audiences at conferences, trade shows, and association events on sales-related topics.
By 2003, I observed a gap in the market: many of TRG’s clients lacked essential sales leadership skills, structure, and tools to succeed in the long term, no matter how many leads we generated for them. Identifying this need led me to sell TRG and establish Focus Sales Management, initially renting myself, then others, as part-time Sales Managers for small B2B companies.
Identifying Market Gaps and Evolving Business Ventures The business evolved, and by 2010, Focus CRM came into existence, addressing the challenges companies faced with Salesforce.com by providing ongoing support and training contracts, in addition to customization services. Three decades later, I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 companies, leading 100+ employees and speaking at hundreds of conferences, associations and events throughout Canada and the US.
A New Chapter: Personal Growth and Giving Back
In 2018, I embraced another significant life change by selling Focus to my exceptional partners, Steven Wright and Lisa Rodrigues. This decision was not just a business move; it was a step towards a new life chapter focused more on personal growth, family, and giving back to the community.
Today, I balance my time between spending moments with my daughters, engaging in charity work, playing tennis, and leveraging my decades of experience to help B2B clients scale their sales organization through sales-related consulting, coaching, recruiting & workshop services.
If you’re looking to transform your sales operations for growth (or an exit), develop your high-performing sales team, or build your sales leadership skills, I invite you to connect with me. Let’s embark on a journey to scale your business success together. Contact me today to get started.
