I took a little bit of a different path, says Geoff MacGregor, 25, an Ivey business grad from Western. After going to school, I knew I wanted to become an entrepreneur, but I wanted to spend some time in the corporate world first to build up my skills. ... But with all the programs like the Next 36 and some of the great advice we got from our advisors and our mentors, it really took away a lot of those barriers, making it easier to get started as an entrepreneur much earlier.This feeling of having entrepreneurship in your bones is shared by Geoff's coworkers (and company founders), Emilie Cushman, 22, and Konrad Listwan-Ciesielski, 20, Windsor (business) and Waterloo (math and computer science) grads, respectively. Both of these Next 36 graduates got their itch through experiences like running a non-profit social enterprise and grinding out a 100+ page business plan at 4 a.m. for a high school enrichment program.

It was from these experiences that Emilie and Konrad created a start-up called Kira Talent. I guess you could call it a social video, kind of interaction platform, says Emilie, one that allows employers to record video questions and send them out to their list of applicants. Essentially, as soon as applicants see the video questions they can reply back through video. The whole thing is timed. Applicants can't stop, start, or redo anything. And on the employers' side, they get back this short video that they can share with anyone on the team, comment, and give them a score. They can also combine the video with the candidate's social profile (Linkedin), as well as their r├®sum├® and application. So it gives you a 360 view of your applicants and keeps everyone on the same page.

So far, keeping everyone on the same page has paid off. MBA programs like Rotman School of Management and the Ivey HBA have begun to use Kira Talent, as well as accounting firms like Ernst and Young. We provide our customers with a noticeable ROI, says Emilie. We've talked to a lot of hiring managers before putting this together. It's really a platform we've developed to be incredibly intuitive. Konrad agrees, saying that, In the world of enterprise software, a lot of it is bulky, has too many features, is overly complicated and outdated. With Kira Talent, we do our best to keep our product simple and easy to use.

But being your own boss isn't always smooth sailing. The Kira team shared that when they first started out, they were initially afraid to fail. But through the help of their mentors, they learned that failure is okay, as long as it's as fast as possible'that's because failing fast lets you learn and rebuild faster. They also learned the value of being aggressive; when you're trying to make that sale, making one phone call or email won't cut it, you have to be persistent.

When asked what still kept them excited about running their own business, Geoff explained that the victories we get day in and day out are ours, and you can really see the direct correlation between all the work you put in and the outcomes you get out. For Emilie, I never really liked the concept that someone else could dictate how far I could go in life. And I think with entrepreneurship you can really wake up every morning and think ÔÇÿtoday I'm going to actually have an impact.'

With big success just around the corner, the Kira team were quick to share a bit of advice that was close to their hearts. Surround yourself with very smart people, says Emilie. There's a famous quotation that says you're the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. And when you're young and you have very little experience or knowledge of the industry you're working in, you really need all the help you can get. For us, we were very fortunate to be surrounded by outstanding mentors that we we're on the phone with everyday pointing us in the right direction.