If you were to stop any young person in the street and ask them what they want to be when they grow up, most of us would anticipate a generic, or maybe even pie-in-the-sky response. “Doctor,” “lawyer,” “actor.” Canned answers to brush off a question they’re not entirely ready to thoughtfully consider. That is of course with the exception of young, hopeful entrepreneurs like Connor Zapisocki.

Connor is in his third year at the University of Victoria pursuing a bachelors of commerce, specializing in international business and marketing. What’s the end goal? “A stable path to building wealth.” A far cry from any of his aimless peers reluctantly pursuing General Studies. With such a laser focus on his career aspirations,  and a clear path of how to achieve them, it goes without saying that Zapisocki is a man with a plan. And, part of achieving that plan involves wearing many hats.

Wearing Many Hats

In addition to working hard at school, he’s also been involved in extracurriculars like the Mission Possible society of MacEwan University–a student association that challenges members to develop a business idea with a positive impact on the community, with a start-up investment of only $5. And, because that’s clearly not enough to satiate Connors drive for success, he’s also managed to hold down a job at an Edmonton ski shop managing day-to-day operations, leading and organizing staff, and also finding time to spearhead their social media and email marketing campaigns. How does he find the energy to manage spinning all these plates? He also knows how to make time for his personal passions in addition to his professional ones,

“I took a year off from school to work more and save up to travel. I thought it was really important for me to experience another part of the world.” And he certainly did. Over just two months he was able to tour Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. But it also came at a cost. Towards the end of his travels, and more so upon his return, he was apprehensive that the time he took off school to pick up more shifts leading up to his trip, as well as the two months he spent abroad, cut him short of “real world” experience that could have been better applied to pursuing his goal of entrepreneurship.

Sacrifice or Experience?

Connor is certainly not alone in this dilemma. Now more than ever, younger generations are forced to make a choice early on. Do you sacrifice everything–travel, rent, concerts, take out, transportation–in order to inch up the number in your savings account? Or do you take time to dive headfirst into life experiences despite the inevitable financial anxiety that might incur?

Why should hard working students like Connor, on a practical and patient academic path to success, be forced to choose between fighting an uphill battle towards traditional wealth building, or bucking the current by choosing life experience outside the academic realm and feeling guilty about it? Neither sound entirely ideal. That’s probably why Connor is such a huge fan of addy.

Accessible Investing

Back from his trip abroad, Connor was keen to volunteer with any local business to gain experience, but feels like he struck gold working with addy. Not only is he greatly appreciative for the hands on experience he gets working with the company’s experts, but you can tell he genuinely believes addy is opening doors for keen but cash-poor investing hopefuls like himself,

“Typically anyone that wants to see an ROI on any investment needs a lot of money and a lot of experience. In Vancouver real estate for example, you need $100K alone just for a down payment, let alone industry knowledge and experience. But with addy anyone can get started for as low as they want. Then work their way up when they feel comfortable. There’s really no other way for young and eager but budget-conscious students to invest other than addy.”

 

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