鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could have picked a better school than Dal for what I wanted to do,鈥� says Bachelor of Commerce graduate Costa Zafiris. He describes the education he received at the Faculty of Management鈥檚 Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship as 鈥済roundbreaking stuff鈥� that opened his eyes to the possibility of being an entrepreneur and innovator.
Costa credits , which uses experiential learning, teamwork and real-world experience to get student entrepreneurs off to the right start. 鈥淚n class, we had to pitch to other students and mentors, and you鈥檙e facing criticism every week. A lot of people get protective of their ideas and take the criticism personally, but it鈥檚 there to make you better. It was the best course I ever took.鈥� He has high praise for Starting Lean professors Ed Leach and Mary Kilfoil, who he says are 鈥渄oing new things, amazing things. I鈥檒l do anything they ask once I graduate.鈥�
His education gave Costa the skill and confidence to start two companies while still in school. The first was Student Shine, a property services business. He and partner Callum Mayer started it during their entrepreneurial co-op work term. 鈥淎t the beginning of the summer, we were taking any job we could get, for almost any price. We had to learn the hard way what our time was worth and how to communicate that to the customer.鈥�
The second business, and Costa鈥檚 current passion, is PlayPeanut.com, a social gaming platform for sports nuts. It was one of five businesses accepted into AV俱乐部鈥檚 Starting Lean Summ'erUP business accelerator program. 鈥淚t was awesome,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t let us turn our idea into a summer job, and now we have a product we can sell and grow.鈥� The next step? Getting PlayPeanut into a more intensive accelerator, where he and his partners can capitalize on the interest it鈥檚 already generating.
On the ice, in the boardroom
Costa also found time to build his business savvy in other ways while a student. Startup Weekend, a 54-hour event where teams pitch ideas, create products and launch companies, was hosted by Dal in November 2013. His team won the People鈥檚 Choice Award. As well, he was an active member of the AV俱乐部 chapter of Enactus, a community of student, academic and business leaders promoting entrepreneurship. He was nominated for Student Entrepreneur of the Year, attained his Entrepreneurial Skills Program certificate and was semi-finalist in the Canadian Business Model Competition. 聽
All this and playing two seasons of varsity hockey didn鈥檛 compromise his academic performance. In 2013, he was named a CIS Academic All-Canadian, an award that recognizes exceptional student-athletes who achieve an academic standing of 80 per cent or better while playing varsity sports. In his final academic term, he also achieved Dean鈥檚 List status.
Born and raised in Halifax, Costa spent a year after high school playing junior hockey in New Jersey. At first, he wasn鈥檛 sure it was the right decision, but now reflects on how it helped him get to where he is today. 鈥淟ooking back, I wouldn鈥檛 change anything,鈥� he explains. 鈥淗ockey is a full-time commitment, and you learn to handle the ups and downs. It鈥檚 the same with entrepreneurship鈥攖here are going to be highs and lows, and you have to stay focused and not let your emotions take over.鈥�
It鈥檚 no wonder he has a passion for enterprise. Both his parents and older sister own businesses. His younger brother, Alex, is also studying commerce at AV俱乐部鈥檚 Rowe School of Business.
Costa is confident that the entrepreneur鈥檚 life is the life for him. 鈥淣othing鈥檚 more challenging than entrepreneurship. Hockey wasn鈥檛 as challenging; school work wasn鈥檛 as challenging. It鈥檚 the toughest thing I鈥檝e ever done, and I love it.鈥�
This article is part of a series on our newest graduates. These profiles are also published in the 2014 Fall Convocation Keepsake, which is distributed at Convocation ceremonies. For more on Convocation (including live webcasts), .