The picture shows a smiling Chad Wasilenkoff with some of the money
his company, Fortress Paper Ltd., makes. Legally. The company also makes
speciality paper for passports and anti-forgery banknotes.
Making money is not new to this 34-year-old Calgary-born
entrepreneur. He began making money when at the age of 10 he would hire
his buddies to collect golf balls from the ponds at the Silver Springs
Golf Club. He then sold the golf balls to members at an attractive
profit. Rather than wait for members to come to him, he would go to
their homes — his first lesson in direct marketing.
He also resold Atari video games which he saw advertised in the paper,
making as much as $50- $100 per sale. He expanded his reselling
enterprise to include bicycles and other much-in-demand items,
eventually including cars. Chad brought his Midas entrepreneurial
skills to buying and growing companies, then selling them at a huge
profit. His sense of timing and willingness to take risks has paid off.
When I asked his advice to share with my readers, he replied, “Dick,
people usually jump on the bandwagon at the top of a business cycle in
industries like the Internet and more recently uranium. Don’t follow the
herd ... blaze your own trail.” When we spoke, his company was
going public on the TSX the following day. He wants to raise capital to
expand their two mills in Germany and Switzerland as well as purchase
several other smaller mills. The company has developed a new electronic
passport with radio frequency identification [RFID] chip embedded in the
cover. Chad Wasilenkoff is no ordinary thinking entrepreneur. He
imagines things and then makes them happen. So don’t be surprised when
your passport comes loaded with a chip.
Another development his creative mind is working on is producing
money with a transparent window, which makes the money virtually
impossible to counterfeit. That is why 34-year-old Chad Wasilenkoff is a
Canadian Achiever. Read more about him at
www.canadianachievers.com
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