On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of talking with Kevin Mako, President of Mako Design and Invent. When Kevin had an idea for a product, he needed an agency to help him take his concept to production, but no company existed that could fully fulfill his needs—so he created his own. Built completely from the ground up with no financing and no debt, Mako Design and Invent is now the largest physical product design company in Canada, turning great product ideas into booming businesses. Listen to Kevin’s journey from napkin investor to the President of Mako Group, Inc., which specializes in investing in startups and scaling businesses. But it wasn’t all business talk, Kevin gratefully shared his tips and thoughts on personal financial planning.
Listen to the Podcast – Download the Transcript
Highlights:
- In this interview, Kevin describes how he came up with the idea for his rather unique business, his journey from inventor to multinational business owner, and what his business looks like today.
- Years ago, Kevin was looking for a company to help him develop his invention from ‘sketch to product’ and realized such a company did not exist. So he created the business himself.
- He has invested in rental properties and businesses he believes in, maxes out his RRSP annually, and has been financial planning since he was 20 years old.
- Kevin’s definition of financial independence is to have the finances in place so that his “family is in good shape to perpetuity.”
Quotes:
“What I realized at the time, was there’s absolutely no reasonable way for an individual or a small startup that has a physical invention idea, to go from the rough sketch on a napkin, all the way through to production.”
“I would say that one of the biggest things in terms of succeeding in something like that, is to make sure that you have the tools and the infrastructure built in advance in order to scale your business, before you actually take that journey.”
“Quite regularly, we’re also helping startups with many of the other elements of getting a product to production and beyond―actually creating a business out of it.”
“If you’re not willing to invest your own money, even just to start, then you’re going to have a very hard time convincing others.”
“We always got to focus on the opportunity, relentlessly focused on the opportunity, and not worry about logistics in the backend. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get those processes in place now as opposed to later.”
“If I want to achieve certain things, such as: if I want to have a house by a certain date then h are the financial milestones I need to hit.”
“When it comes to financial independence, it’s about ensuring that at least a baseline is there for my family forever.”
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Listen to more podcasts by Richard Dri:
Clear the Air on Success as a Lifelong Entrepreneur with Stephen Worrall
Making your Passion Your Business with Marc Wilson
The Formidable Combination of CPA and Tax Law Expertise with Josh Kumar
source https://richarddri.ca/building-a-business-from-a-napkin-brief-and-a-personal-belief-with-kevin-mako/
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