{"id":2602,"date":"2017-03-30T13:49:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T17:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2024-02-13T11:51:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:51:14","slug":"mathieu-arsenault-of-think-forward-solutions-helping-to-create-responsible-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/blog\/mathieu-arsenault-of-think-forward-solutions-helping-to-create-responsible-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathieu Arsenault of Think Forward Solutions: Helping to Create Responsible Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by:\u00a0La Libert\u00e9 Communication on behalf of\u00a0RD\u00c9E Canada<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Originally from Prince Edward Island, Mathieu Arsenault travelled through Europe before returning to his native land to start his business, Think Forward Solutions<\/em><\/a>. Founded in 2012, this consulting firm helps companies review their strategy and improve their performance.<\/p>\n

The young entrepreneur drew on his European experiences to help various Prince Edward Island organizations give the best of themselves: \u201cThe philosophical foundation of the company is to bring home avant-garde ideas from abroad.\u201d This concept is also the source of the company\u2019s name, Think Forward Solutions<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Mathieu Arsenault discovered the old continent after completing his education. After following a history and political science program in New Brunswick and Quebec, he began his masters in business administration. This curriculum gave him the opportunity to go on a trade mission to Russia as the representative of a company. \u201cIt was really great. That\u2019s where I began to see entrepreneurship as a tool for getting things moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fascinated by international diplomacy, Mathieu\u00a0did not stop there. In 2002, he went to Ukraine with World Canada Youth, a Canadian exchange program. Since then, he has travelled, either as a tourist or on trade missions, to Italy and Austria, and has also returned to Russia several times. Whether sightseeing or working, Mathieu Arsenault discovered new ways of life and new ways of viewing the world.<\/p>\n

One of the pioneering ideas that the founder of Think Forward Solutions<\/em> hopes to bring to Prince Edward Island comes from the Austrian city of G\u00fcssing, the first city in Europe to go 100% green: \u201cG\u00fcssing is a self-sufficient community with respect to its energy consumption. In other words, the city produces more renewable energy than it uses.\u201d It became an inspirational model for the young entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Mathieu decided to return to and settle on Prince Edward Island. He cites a strong attachment that only those called Islanders can understand. \u201cMy family has been there for several generations. The people who come from an island are often very attached to it. I wanted to come back and I don\u2019t regret doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He entered into business in 2012 to gain the freedom to choose his own projects. There are two individuals behind Think Forward Solutions<\/em>, and their mission is to \u201cmove things forward in the Atlantic province\u201d in three areas: economic, social and environmental. The services offered to businesses include both strategic planning and coaching. \u201cMany entrepreneurs have trouble focusing on a goal. They sometimes don\u2019t know where to put their energy when they have twenty tasks to handle.\u201d In this way, the Prince Edward Islander plans not only to help businesses build a more well-defined business plan but also to \u201cuse modern technologies to achieve the results desired \u2013 for the organization and for society in general.\u201d\u00a0Think Forward<\/em> also incorporates actions for the environment. Mathieu would like to see \u201cless waste and proper use of our resources\u2026 because there are ecological imperatives.\u201d Sensitive to climate change issues, he hopes to improve the relationship of businesses and, more broadly, of Prince Edward Island residents to nature.<\/p>\n

He is currently conducting a survey on green economics, as requested by RD\u00c9E<\/a>, the province\u2019s economic development and employability group. One of the approach\u2019s objectives is to increase Islanders\u2019 awareness of environmental issues. He also works with the city of Charlottetown on sustainable development so that the city will keep this factor in mind when it implements new services and opens new markets.<\/p>\n

At the outset, Mathieu called upon Futurpreneur for help creating capital, but the program enabled him to go much further. \u201cWhen you start a business, you are little or completely unknown, so you have to build your name and reputation.\u201d For Mathieu, the mentoring offered by Futurpreneur made a big difference. \u201cThis component had a major impact on my work. Before becoming an entrepreneur, you have to learn how to be one, and the mentor participated in this development.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the best advice he received from his mentor? \u201cTo have ambitious but attainable objectives, ones that are connected to the reality of the business world,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut also to have self-confidence and to move forward. Never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

We asked Mathieu to give three pieces of advice to new entrepreneurs,\u00a0and this is what he had to say:<\/p>\n

1) Don\u2019t fall in love with a product; fall in love with the problem<\/strong>. Always make sure that you have a good understanding of the problem. Then you can solve it and find the right solution.<\/p>\n

2) Don\u2019t overthink<\/strong>\u2026 This means that you have to keep the 80-20 rule in mind. You have to set the right price without overpricing. Don\u2019t get too comfortable, basically.<\/p>\n

3) Don\u2019t forget to have fun and see the company as a challenge<\/strong>. Sometimes things don\u2019t go the way we\u2019ve planned. It\u2019s important to see business as a game or a challenge to be overcome.<\/p>\n

About\u00a0RD\u00c9E Canada:\u00a0<\/strong>
\nRD\u00c9E Canada promotes the economic development of Francophone and Acadian communities by supporting the collective actions of its members and ensuring national leadership that is based on collaboration and partnerships.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by:\u00a0La Libert\u00e9 Communication on behalf of\u00a0RD\u00c9E Canada Originally from Prince Edward Island, Mathieu Arsenault travelled through Europe before returning to his native land to start his business, Think Forward Solutions. Founded in 2012, this consulting firm helps companies review their strategy and improve their performance. The young entrepreneur drew on his European experiences to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-futurpreneurs-and-partners"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}