#35 The value of peer groups and coaches ft. Pascal St-Jean

Take a look at Ottawa’s business community, and it’s hard to find a more recognizable name than Pascal St-Jean. As a serial entrepreneur and proponent of strong peer relationships between the city’s business owners, Pascal has helped reshape what the Ottawa business landscape looks like. Currently, he wears the hat of President of 3iQ, Canada’s largest digital asset management company, managing over $2.5 billion in digital assets. He’s also on Knak’s board of advisors, a role he’s had for over four years, and we’re always grateful for his expert perspective.

In this latest episode of the Unsubscribed! Podcast, Pascal joins Pierce to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur. During this conversation, you’ll learn:

1) Why it’s so important to step out of your bubble to find new peers and mentors

2) About the vision that Pascal has for the mentorship journey entrepreneurs go through

3) How Pascal has used his ability to track macro trends to make key decisions

A journey of entrepreneurship

From his very first business building custom computers as a 15 year old, to launching Picsphere and Citadel Rock Communities, and now heading a digital asset management firm, Pascal has always identified macro trends and responded accordingly. The other secret of his success? Acknowledging that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

It’s that humility that left him open to asking for help and getting advice from other business leaders. As he tells Pierce during the episode, his first mentorship was with Chuck, who joined Picsphere as its fractional CFO once the product started gaining traction. Every Friday, he would come into the office to work, but would also spend time with Pascal, giving him insights on how to run the operational parts of the business and keep it moving.

It was Chuck that encouraged him to start seeking out other peer groups and coaching relationships — beyond his friends and colleagues. Eventually, this led Pascal to participate in networks like the Entrepreneurs Organization and TEC Canada, where he really started to get exposure from individuals across different industries and spaces. Today, Pascal has an executive role at TEC Canada, and he’s doing all he can to execute on his vision for the entrepreneur’s learning journey.

The way he sees it, there should be three levels of learning. One for the solopreneur, who should get access to other individuals that have gone (and are going) through the same experience. A second for small business leaders growing their teams. And a third for those entering the enterprise space and navigating a number of different changes, including letting go of ownership.

There’s a lot more to learn from Pascal in this episode, so we hope you give it a listen and adopt some of the learnings he’s had along the way.

Follow Pascal on LinkedIn.