Durham College students were given the opportunity to learn from one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs on Thursday, March 29 when W. Brett Wilson, host of Risky Business and the most popular ‘dragon’ of all time, visited the Oshawa campus.

The presentation was organized by students in the college’s Business – Entrepreneurship and Small Business program, which is housed under the School of Business, IT & Management. Held in a keynote format followed by a question and answer session, the event saw Wilson share his insight on business success, the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation and the importance of philanthropic leadership. “We had a great opportunity today to talk about the concept of planting seeds,” said Wilson. “I think students understand that marketing is far more important in their lives walking out of the room then they did walking in and that the whole world is studying entrepreneurship and philanthropy. I think they understand that both can be learned and taught and now it’s up to Durham College to make it happen.”

As host of Risky Business and a former panellist on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, Wilson is one of the most successful businessmen in the country. He is one of the founding partners of FirstEnergy Capital Corporation, helping to create the energy industry’s leading investment bank, and a respected philanthropist, giving and engaging others to give tens of millions of dollars to charity.

“The whole concept of entrepreneurship education, I think Durham College gets – experiential learning and understanding through case studies and the opportunity to make a difference in the world,” added Wilson. “I think Durham College is off to a great running start.”

	@durhamcollege: We are excited to have one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs @WBrettWilson on campus tomorrow. #BrettWilson@DC #successmatters
	Thank you to @WBrettWilson for the informative interview! Join #BrettWilson@DC in the Pit now @durhamcollege @the_RiotRadio
	Watching Brett Wilson of The Dragon’s Den at Durham college. Learning a ton! #brettwilson@DC @matkeselman
	#Brettwilson@dc interesting strategy: charitable initiatives being their only investment in marketing at one of his companies, and it worked @mselvarajah
	Great presentation this morning from @WBrettWilson #tooshort #BrettWilson@DC @JSEL905
	#brettwilson@dc Great job Entrepreneur students & Jay organizing @WBrettWilson event Thanks for including me! Marc @marcfordy