Dr. Larry Smith, a professor from Waterloo Engineering’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, is known by students and alumni alike for his legendary classes on economics, innovation and entrepreneurship.
In an exchange with BetaKit, a Canadian tech publication, Smith shared his views on thoughtful ambition, Canada’s potential for greatness and student fashion.
"I’ve been studying entrepreneurship for half a century," Smith said. "I’ve also been watching it evolve over all this time. The challenges, the things that don’t work, are largely the same: there’s a failure to be persistent, or a failure to understand when persistence is destroying you, and your goal is impossible.
"I try to help every student be more thoughtfully ambitious. Do the most useful thing you can do with your time and your talents. Don’t tell me you just want to be rich. Who doesn’t want to be rich?"
Go to What I learned for the full story.
Go to Waterloo represents within BetaKit Most Ambitious List of 2025 to read about the celebrated innovators linked to the University.