Exclusive Interview: Young Entrepreneur, Nathan Kaye of SetTours.ca

Nathan Kaye at YES (Youth Entrepreneurship) Conference in Calgary – Right

Nathan Kaye, of the Sakimay First Nation is a young man with a great business idea, and now an entrepreneur with the educational background, the savvy, the drive, and now the means to turn his idea into a successful business venture. As the third place winner of the STC Youth Business Plan Award, and the first place winner of the U of S Aboriginal Youth Idea Challenge (AYIC), both sponsored by Potash Corporation, it looks like Nathan is well on his way to success with SETTours.ca, which offers sports and entertainment travel packages for the sports aficionado. RezX Magazine asked him a few questions regarding the secret of his success.

RezX: What does this win mean for your company?

Nathan: Winning (in total) $8,500 helped alleviate the financial obstacle of the start-up process. I used the prize money to make a down payment on the website and branding aspect of the business which is the main focal point of the business.

RezX: What inspired you to start a business like this?

Nathan: First of all I’ve always been interested in sports and I’ve always wanted to travel the world to explore different cultures, customs, food, and landscapes. And I wanted to start my own business, so I applied and got accepted into a post-secondary program for business.  I came up with the idea (for my business) while in an Entrepreneurship class, did the research and tedious task of looking through the professional league schedules, presented it to the class where the instructor encouragingly asked if the idea was going to be brought to life. I told her I would like to, and it actually took a number of years to take the initiative to work towards getting it started.

RezX: Where do you see your business in five years?

Nathan: I would like my business to be an established and recognized brand throughout Western Canada. I hope to have available a wide range of packages to events other than sports such as music festivals, film festivals, and cultural festivals and eventually packages for worldly events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and Tomorrowland Music Festival to name a few.

RezX: What kind of advice would you give to other young entrepreneurs just starting out?

Nathan: You have to have some thick skin to be ready to experience (both the) highs and lows; where you may feel discouraged, like you want to give up, but also where you feel ecstatic for your accomplishments and where you see your business going. If you want your business to succeed you have to put the work in, don’t expect anybody to have the same passion for your business that you have. Sometimes when things don’t go as planned or expected you might need to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize your approach and make the necessary adjustments.

RezX: How do you measure YOUR success?

Nathan: I would measure my success by being able to use the business as a platform to inspire, motivate, and educate other young entrepreneurs on the ups and downs of starting and running a business, and also to have the ability to give back and contribute to causes and/or events I believe in; anything related to social responsibility, environmental causes, cultural education/awareness, even physical activity initiatives.

RezX: Who is your favorite sports team?

Nathan: Boo to the Bruins!! Haha but I am a Lucic fan lol.  My favorite team is the   Canucks. I would like to see OKC and the Raptors in the NBA finals with the Raptors winning.  And I am a Bears and Patriots fan. So not really a one team guy but when you live in the middle of nowhere with no real specific professional team to put a claim on you end up spreading the love to a number of different teams for different reasons is my guess haha.

Interview by Lani Elliot – RezX Copy Editor/ Contributing Editor

Below is the SetTours.ca Ad that appeared in the latest edition of RezX.  To take advantage of some of these amazing sports packages, check out his website; SETtours.ca