A Comprehensive Report on Mike Lazaridis: His Entrepreneurial Journey

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Mike Lazaridis' entrepreneurial journey, tracing his path from a young innovator to the co-founder of Research in Motion (RIM) and the creator of Blackberry. It examines his background, highlighting the influences that shaped his entrepreneurial passion and ...Read More

Entrepreneur Mike Lizaridis 1
Entrepreneur Mike Lizaridis
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Introduction
Entrepreneurship is creation of a business or more than one business with the chief aim of
making profits (Andkeoa, 2017). Problem solving with an aim of creating a global solution to the
challenges facing the people can be another excellent definition of entrepreneurship. An
entrepreneur is therefore an individual who either start businesses with an aim of making profit
or one who initiates a global solution to a common problem thus making a dynamic impact in his
life both economic wise and status wise (Frank and Landström 2016, p. 55). This essay narrows
down to the analysis of an entrepreneur’s pathway and journey to success.
Background information about Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1960 to Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis who left to
West Germany and later to Canada in 1966. His father worked first as a clothes salesman in
Turkey while his mother worked as a seamstress. He was intelligent and loved school with a
special interest in reading and science (Encyclopedia of world biographies 2019, p. 22). His
passion begun early since at a young age he built rockets and radios, he did chemistry
experiments and by the time he enrolled to high school he had exclusive interest in shop and
academic classes. His invention mindset led him with his childhood friend to make a solar-
powered water heater and won the Windsor science fair. He landed himself a job early enough in
his high school where he worked in the electronics laboratory. He was constantly inspired by his
teacher John Micsinszki who always told his students whoever will integrate wireless network
and computer technology will be important. He created an improved buzzer system for his
school and got paid.

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He enrolled to the University of Waterloo in Ontario where he studied electrical engineering. In
1984 when it was a month to graduation he got a contract with a company known as General
motors’. Since he had an entrepreneur’s mindset and opportunistic he decided to secure the
contract which was worth $600,000. This aspect then made him leave school since he couldn’t
work for the company and finish his projects in the university at the same time (Quantum valley
investment 2019 P. 9). His parents were supportive and passionate about his ambition and they
gave him money to start a company so as to fulfill the contract. He invited his childhood friend
Fregin and the founded Research in Motion (RIM) where then they completed the project for
GM. They created a led signs display system which was used by the company to scroll messages
(Datamonitor 2009, p. 7). In 1987 RIM seized another great opportunity which would later
change its course for the better with Rogers Cantel Mobile Communication where it designed a
wireless network for the locality. By 1990 Mike could not handle RIMs business side as well as
his ambitions in the engineering field therefore he hired Jim Balsillie to manage it.
He continued to work tirelessly in the invention field and by 1990 he was curious in making on a
way to bring technology to a way of exchanging mails through a wireless network (Shmyrov,
Shmyrov, and Shymanchuk 2017 P.1-6). He developed interactive pagers which were used by
his employees within their work periphery. He worked on his personal idea in the year 1990 to
ensure he has achieved his objective of ensuring network exchange using computers. He also
created wireless modems for laptops which are used to supply the required network. Wireless
terminals for credit cards and debit cards are also part of his inventions (Marketline Case Study:
BlackBerry Limited 2014, p. 13). He created a predecessor to the blackberry a larger interactive
pager in mid 90s which led to his company becoming public. Later on he put down the idea of
the blackberry itself since he discovered that thumps can be used to type in a smaller keyboard.

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This lead to the creation of the device with all the features of a keyboard and was used to
exchange messages where he implanted the features of a cell phone (Company Spotlight 2009, p.
24). Celebrities became the earliest fans of the black berry phone and it was sold all over the
world. Becoming a rich man he has founded Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the
Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo with the aim of getting the best
researchers and professors.
Entrepreneur characteristics of Mike Lazaridis
Mike did not arrive at his success by chance. He has built himself up to the status of a successful
entrepreneur (Elijae, 2017). He is creative and curious, a trait that is expected to be seen in
entrepreneurs. This is evident from his childhood days where he made an improved buzzer
system for his school and winning the science fair by making the solar-water heater. He is a good
team player as evident by how he shared the duties with Balsillie who was running the business
side of RIM while he worked on inventions. He is aggressive and hardworking because he could
not stop attempting a thing no matter the failures he encountered (Frank and Landström 2016, p.
67). Mike is an opportunist an aspect that made him to seize the $600,000 contract leaving
schooling behind. He is ambitious and optimistic thus he did not concentrate on his current
failure and conditions but continued aiming at the end results of his work. He is good and
budgeting since he ensured there is an income side and expenditure side of RIM an aspect that to
the realization of his dreams. He is determined as illustrated by his later investments on
institutions to promote research in a bid to get the best researchers and professors.

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Opportunity recognition
Lazaridis is one of the entrepreneurs who are so swift to act upon recognizing an opportunity to
make profit. When he was still a student at the University of Waterloo studying electrical
engineering, he got a contract with General Motors Company which was worth $600,000 (Boren,
2013). Being an opportunist and only a month to graduation, he left his studies and seized the
opportunity where he managed with a friend of his to make a Led signs display system for the
company. An entrepreneur is expected to be able to grab any opportunity that comes his way and
make profit out of it. Since opportunities aren’t permanent, they come once an entrepreneur
should always be ready to act when such arises. Mike could identify gaps in the existing
technology and would take them as an opportunity and his own role to fill the gap with
appropriate invention.
Competitive advantage
Black berry was among the first phones with exclusive features to be made since it came into the
market at the role out of the millennium. It enjoyed continued monopoly for quite a longer time
before introduction of Apple’s iphone in the year 2007. Though it posed a threat to Blackberry it
hasn’t been able to outdo it since there were continuous improvements on the Blackberry for
instance the network efficiency (Hempel, Thai, And Abkowitz 2019, p. 95). Contrary to his
competitors, network has been a crisis to many firms. This made young people to stick to it
compared to their older counterparts who rushed to buy Apple Iphone in a bid to show young
people that they are aware of technological advancements. The other advantage is that
Blackberry has a longer battery life in comparison to other smart phones which when one wants
to access the internet they have to be constantly plugged in power (Research In Motion Limited

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SWOT Analysis 2014, p. 9). The invention of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has also given
Blackberry an extra step ahead of its competitors. The multi-million projects that were
undertaken by Lizaridis in a bid to promote research will remain to make a lasting impact since
other significant researchers are emerging from his institutes. The company has also been
working tirelessly to ensure it is moving with the current technology as Mike states that all black
berry phones will be smart phones with exclusively excellent features and efficient network
(Oliveira 2017, p. 8).
Recommendations
The Research in Motion Company should undertake swift and quick steps to ensure it makes the
most efficient smart phones to be able to recapture the market which is now in the hands of
companies that make products that have short lifespan. The company should also consider
partnering with most successful companies to make phones that are less vulnerable to breakages
and water. Investments in other fields should also be made a priority so as to ensure good flow of
finances to support advancement in technology.

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List of references
Andkeoa, P. (2017)‘Company Spotlight: Research In Motion Limited’ (2019) MarketWatch:
Telecoms, 8(8), pp. 19–25. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=43674678&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 28 March 2019).
Boren, K. (2013) ‘Marketline Case Study: BlackBerry Limited’ (2014) BlackBerry Limited -
Does it Have a Future in the Consumer Market, pp. 1–26. Available at:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=95731818&site=ehost-live
(Accessed: 28 March 2019).
de Oliveira, J.(2017) ‘Productive performance of blackberry cultivars in altitude region’, Ciência
Rural, 47(12), pp. 1–8. doi: 10.1590/0103-8478cr20170021.
Encyclopia of world biographies (2019) ‘Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis Biography’ pp 1-25
Retrieved from https://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-A-Ec/Balsillie-Jim-
and-Mike-Lazaridis.html
Elijae, D. (2017) ‘The Research of Motion in a Neighborhood of Collinear Libration Point by
Conservative Methods’, AIP Conference Proceedings, 1895(1), pp. 1–6.
Frank, H. and Landström, H. (2016) ‘What makes entrepreneurship research interesting?
Reflections on strategies to overcome the rigour–relevance gap’, Entrepreneurship & Regional
Development, 28(1/2), pp. 51–75. doi: 10.1080/08985626.2015.1100687.

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Hempel, J., Thai, K. And Abkowitz, A. (2009) ‘How Blackberry Does It. (cover story)’, Fortune,
160(4), pp. 92–100. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=43793142&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 28 March 2019).
Quantam Valley Investment Report, (2019) “Mike Lazaridis” pp 1-18 Retrieved
fromhttps://quantumvalleyinvestments.com/management/mike-lazaridis/
Research In Motion Limited SWOT Analysis’ (2014) Research In Motion Limited SWOT
Analysis, pp. 1–9. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=95949722&site=ehost-live (Accessed: 28 March 2019).
Shmyrov, A., Shmyrov, V. and Shymanchuk, D. (2017) ‘The Research of Motion in a
Neighborhood of Collinear Libration Point by Conservative Methods’, AIP Conference
Proceedings, 1895(1), pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1063/1.5007388.