Medical book seller lands entrepreneur of the year
Jordan Gutierrez, 778.989.0897; alabing@sfu.ca
Brian Yan Muk, SIFE director of entrepreneurship, 778.859.8048
Vaune Kolber, manager, Venture Connection, 778.782.8728
Marinne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.3210; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
The young creator of Latin America’s biggest online medical bookstore – which, by year’s end, expects sales in excess of $1.2 million – has landed Simon Fraser University’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year (SEY) award.
Jordan Gutierrez is a fourth-year economics student and owner of Librerialeo.com, which he created in 2008. He received the award Nov. 17 during SFU’s Celebrating Entrepreneurship event at the Segal School of Business, attended by students, faculty and staff as well as university funders, partners and industry affiliates.
“I saw the market for this,” says Gutierrez, whose father is a dentist in Mexico while his mother ran a publishing company. “Our family has been involved in books for 100 years. We ship everywhere in Mexico.”
The company’s website went live exactly two years ago. Last year it produced $300,000 in sales and those are expected to exceed $1 million in 2010.
The idea, he says, was simple. “I used all the technologies available and while we’re not the first company selling medical books, we strive to keep everything up to date.” He attributes good customer service and providing 33 different newsletters targeting different medical specialties as keys to his success. The site has 10,000 Facebook fans.
The company has also found a niche market targeting doctors in rural areas of Mexico who have limited access to books available only in large centres.
Gutierrez receives a $1,500 prize package and entry to SFU’s VentureLabs Student Incubator, which offers business development assistance by experts and mentors.
Meanwhile Jack Qiao, sole proprietor of PartKart and an SFU systems engineering student, was the SEY runner-up. His company offers a collaborative prototyping platform that allows students, hobbyists and anyone else to create physical objects and devices.
Jack Gin, SFU’s Venture Connection Mentor-in-Residence, has worked with Qiao: "As an entrepreneur I used to hire people with CNC machines and it cost me tens of thousands of dollars to get one-off proto-types made. I can see the value in what Jack is doing. This is a service that can be used by inventors - by anybody who has a concept to make something."
Qiao also received the new BCIC Student Award for Technology Entrepreneurship. The $500 prize, presented by Dean Prelazzi, BCIC Director of ICT, Wireless & Digital Media, is new to the competition this year and recognizes innovation in businesses that is fueled by technology.
“Any time there's an opportunity to celebrate entrepreneurship and the efforts of students pushing the envelope it’s a great opportunity for the community,” he says.
Adds: Mario Pinto, SFU’s VP Research: "Innovation can occur spontaneously and is rarely planned. It can occur at any stage of one's career. It’s important to provide the necessary entrepreneurial ecosystem that will allow it to flourish.
“Our student entrepreneurs and winners in particular exemplify the seeding of the process."
About Librerialeo.com
Established in 2008, Librerialeo.com sells medical books and equipment to medical professionals in Mexico. In two years they have become the biggest online medical bookstore in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. They plan to expand their current offerings to include renting and buying-back books, medical equipment, custom uniforms, a medical library and online magazines.
About PartKart
Via PartKart, designers can upload their designs, collaborate on designs through a web-based version control system and extend others’ designs. Prototype development is made easy through web-based software that connects designers to local manufacturers in a pay-as-you-go system. They’ve developed a web-based software that converts vector CAD files into gcode for milling machines and routers.
About Venture Connection
Launched in 2008, Venture Connection offers training and support programs for SFU's entrepreneurs, linking student, faculty and local entrepreneurs with experienced advisors, funding opportunities, and other business connections. Venture Connection is a partner with SIFE in presenting the SEY competition.
About SIFE
Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a global student organization that encourages students to develop social entrepreneurial projects and gain entrepreneurial skills. SIFE Simon Fraser is open to students at SFU in all faculties and all three campuses.