Below is a section of an E-Mail that I wrote the day after Maëlle Ricker won her Gold Medal for the SBX on Feb 16th 2010. As one of her sponsors, we at Blenz Coffee were under very specific VANOC guidelines regarding any discussions and promotions regarding an Olympian, so we felt it was [...]
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George Moen proudly describes himself as a Serial Entrepreneur. With more than 30 years of experience in food and franchising, he specializes in transitioning small businesses into big business success stories.
George entered into his first business venture while still a student at UBC studying marketing and commerce. With a couple of classmates, George launched the Sandwich Tree chain of restaurants. While this venture has morphed significantly over the years, he still maintains interest in the chain.
As a technically inclined individual, his curiosity was piqued as the internet gained a foothold in the business realm. As a result of that curiosity, George managed to successfully experience both the Dot.Boom and the Dot.Bomb. He continues to maximize the potential of the internet today with a growing success in social media and its marketing opportunities.
As a sports aficionado, he also built a partnership with a computer programmer and a prominent professional hockey player/coach and developed a coaching program that is in use by minor hockey league coaches.
As a socially motivated and motivating individual, George learned that his successes could most often be attributed to support from his long time friends and business contacts. Recognizing that people do business with people they know and trust, he became a proponent of the philosophy that by sharing your rolodex, you have the potential to build deep trust-based relationships. Again, within a strong partnership, he built a business networking organization that grew to over 500 members in its first year, and has continued to prosper.
George was appointed President of Blenz The Canadian Coffee Company in February, 2007. His mandate is to support the original three founders of Blenz to transition towards strategic planning and directorship of the popular coffee retail chain.“The founders of Blenz had the courage to start, the commitment to keep going, and the discipline to constantly innovate,” George says. “It’s allowed us to be able to grow a successful business in the biggest coffee market in the world. It’s a pleasure to work in an environment that is properly capitalized and to participate in pioneering the next great stage of expansion for Blenz.”
The final word from this Serial Entrepreneur: “I’ve always had an unquenchable thirst for learning – new ways to think about the world we work in and better ways to respond to an ever-changing marketplace. When you act only out of necessity, you’ll only achieve what’s necessary. I encourage everyone to pay attention, read, network, and stay connected to local, national and international mediums. Then pick your passion and pursue it.”
On the personal side, George lives in Vancouver with his wife, Sarah Moen, who is one of the co-founders of Blenz The Canadian Coffee Company, and is very proud of his two successful adult children.