70 BCBusiness OctOber 2014
Steve Curtis
Founder and CEO, Zag Global
A
ninth-grade dropout, Steve Curtis
has never let a lack of formal educa-
tion hamper his entrepreneurial
zeal. Over the past two decades, the
33-year-old founder of Zag Group has built a
web of businesses that's included everything
from selling used vehicles to providing
SEO
marketing solutions. Today his product is
an ener�y drink called Zen-d, which is sold
in more than 50 countries online. But as his
company has grown (to projected revenues
of $50 million in 2014), Curtis remains
focused on the people he employs. "The day I
walked into the offi ce and realized the people
I work with are smarter, more driven, more
committed and more capable than I am, I
realized my business was successful," he
says. —Jacob Parry
Dan Eisenhardt + Hamid Abdollahi
CEO; CTO, Recon Instruments Inc.
A
competitive swimmer since child-
hood, Dan Eisenhardt knew well the
diffi culty of measuring performance
in the pool. "There's nothing you
can do," says Eisenhardt. "At the end of the
pool you can look up at the clock—but by that
time it's too late." A
UBC class project with
his co-founder Hamid Abdollahi laid the
groundwork—and eventually the patent—for
an Android-compatible digital display wired
into performance eyewear and ski goggles.
After building digital interfaces for eyewear
giants such as Oakley, Eisenhardt and Abdol-
lahi decided last year to build their own
brand of high-tech sunglasses: the Recon
Jet, which will be available to consumers for
$599 this fall. Think Google glass, but with a
purpose. —J.P.
f i n a l i s t s
i knew my business
was a success when…
FRY: It was either: (a) when
we had orders for 30 homes,
even before we could offi -
cially make laneway homes
in Vancouver; or (b) when my
dad was impressed.
i get my best
ideas when…
CuRTis: About 3.5 seconds
after waking up!
People tell me
the phrase i most
overuse is…
CuRTis: "LOVe It!!!"
The most underrated
trait of an
entrepreneur is…
FRY: Stubbornness.
if i weren't doing
this i'd be…
eisenHARDT: Involved in
another startup or travelling
the world.
The people i learned
the most from were…
FRY: the people who love
us a lot—or the people who
take umbrage.
f i n a l i s t
tOP LeFt: rObert KeNNeY; ILLUStrAtION: cArSON tING
6
QUES T IONS
M a n u f a c t u r i n g
