BCBusiness

14 BCBusiness APRIL 2016 PoRtRAIt: AdAm bLAsbeRg If this year's 30 Under 30 crop proves one thing, it's that no two paths to success are the same. Some inherit a famous last name—like our cover subjects Sunny Lenarduzzi (daughter of local soccer legend Bob Lenarduzzi) and JJ Wilson (son of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson)—yet use their own ingenuity and passion to nd a way forward. Some inherit a family busi- ness, like Anthony and Johnny Liu did, and reinvent it so that it survives changing market conditions. Yet others start with the germ of a business idea, a drive to succeed— and little else. While society tends to celebrate the "started with nothing" entrepreneurs, we're not as generous with the "born with a sil- ver spoon" kind. Of course Lenarduzzi and Wilson and Kasondra Cohen are successful: it was in the cards from the beginning! All they had to do was roll out of bed and the world would be theirs. Except, of course, it wasn't— and countless are the examples of privileged young 'uns who frittered away an inheritance through sloth, stupidity or greed. In the case of our 30 Under 30, each honoree has had to prove agency in their career so far—not just being guided down a path but carving it. Kasondra Cohen grew up in the media spotlight—often in the same society pages as her famous mother, Army and Navy CEO Jacqui Cohen. If she had wanted to follow in the family busi- ness, or leverage her mother's connec- tions, she undoubtedly could have. Instead, she launched her own foun- dation—Face of Today—to fund youth- focused charities, from music therapy to mental health. "People told me to start a business over a charity and that I was doing things backwards," Cohen tells writer Jacob Parry. "Fortunately I didn't listen and I am happier than ever with my decision." Same thing with Lenarduzzi and Wilson: she gave up a promising career in broadcast- ing to strike out on her own as a social media consultant, while he proved his worth at com- peting retailers (and the Clinton Foundation) before returning to Lululemon to reset the menswear vision. Now he and his stepmom are leading one of the most daring startups to ever come out of Vancouver, Kit and Ace. Read their stories—and many more—in this year's 30 Under 30 feature (p.39). As for Lululemon, there's a new guy in charge—and he's got no connection whatsoever to the Wilson family. Laurent Potdevin arrived at the iconic retailer two years ago and has largely lived outside the media spotlight. Until now. My pro›ile of the unassuming CEO ("Lululemon's New Zen- master") starts on page 32. C O N T R I B U T O R S Matt O'Grady, Editor-in-Chief mogrady@canadawide.com / @bCbusiness Freelance lifestyle writer Amanda Ross writes for the Globe & Mail, Travel + Leisure,Vancouver and, this month, BCBusiness ("Watch List, " p.73), where she covers a few of spring's most stellar launches. "Distilling the season's newest watches down to five is like trying to find the five best grains of sand on the beach, " she says. "These five include options ranging from weekends to the office to after-work gala." After studying graphic design at Emily Carr, Albert Law decided he wanted to get outside and travel and meet people rather than sit in an office. So he took up photography. When he photographed rare diseases researcher Dr. Millan Patel ("Thinking Small, " p.19), "I thought the lab would be a better setting than the office because he's typically working in front of the computer." He also shoots (photos, that is) for the Canadian Army. Generation Next editor's desk IN MAY We review B.C.'s climate change policies and prole one entrepreneurial carbon-capture solution

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