Mike Lazaridis and the BlackBerry
How entrepreneurs have changed the world we live in.
Entrepreneurs are people who organize and operate a business and take enormous initiative, and financial risk in order to do so. Entrepreneurs are the people who have put their personal lives on the line in order to make unique and innovative products and services available to the general population. These people have shaped every single one of our lives and have defined our society with their incredible inventions. One such entrepreneur is Canadian Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of Research in Motion Limited (along with his childhood friend Douglas Fregin) and inventor of the well-known BlackBerry which revolutionized the way people communicate. Lazaridis can definitely be considered one of the most influential entrepreneurs of all time not only because of his ground-breaking invention, but also because of the way he continues to contribute to society even today.
WHAT IS THE BLACKBERRY?
The very first BlackBerry was invented by Mike Lazaridis in 1999 in Waterloo, Ontario and it was a two-way pager with a QWERTY keyboard that enabled the person receiving the message to reply to the sender. The BlackBerry was also the first wireless device that could synchronize with company mail systems, allowing employees to utilize the same email address while travelling. Furthermore, it had user-friendly features such as an instant messaging application, internet faxing, a thumb-friendly keyboard, a monochrome display, and web browsing. The BlackBerry was given its name because of its originally black colour and its small, seed-resembling keys. Due to all of its advanced features, the BlackBerry became extremely popular among businesspeople since it gave them access to their email at all times regardless of their location. This was especially significant at the time since email was just starting to gain widespread popularity and the BlackBerry took advantage of this by making email more easily accessible. Thus, RIM grew into an international corporation, and the BlackBerry became even more influential, impacting people’s lives worldwide by revolutionizing methods of communication.
Later on, the original BlackBerry was innovated to include mobile telephone capabilities, a larger variety of applications, a colour display, and a sleeker design. This led to the birth of the first modern smartphone in 2003. Since then, RIM (now formally known as BlackBerry Ltd.) has continued to expand its products and services, releasing technology such as the BlackBerry Playbook tablet, various series of the BlackBerry smartphone, and software for business and accessories. However, none of this would have been possible without Mark Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin taking the risk of founding RIM and developing the BlackBerry in the first place.
BIOGRAPHY OF MIKE LAZARIDIS
Entrepreneurs require numerous skills and characteristics in order to be successful and Mike Lazaridis is truly a “textbook” entrepreneur and a role model for others. Lazaridis was born on March 14, 1961 in Istanbul, Turkey to Greek parents and they moved to Windsor, Canada in 1966. Lazaridis loved science since he was a child and he was always eager to discover how things worked. When he was four, he built a phonograph out of Lego and throughout his childhood he spent hours building rockets, radios, and various other objects, consolidating his scientific foundation. Furthermore, he won an award at age twelve for having read all of the science books in Windsor Public Library. In high school, Lazaridis took science courses as well as shop courses, enabling him to experiment through hands-on projects and gain an understanding of how to work within physical and scientific limitations. He and Douglas Fregin also constructed a solar-powered water heater that they won the Windsor science fair with. In addition, he improved the buzzer system for his school’s Reach for the Top team and he made substantial profits from selling the new system to other schools, allowing him to pay for his first year of university. Already, Lazaridis’ strong entrepreneurial skills were evident.
In 1979, Lazaridis enrolled in the University of Waterloo’s electrical engineering program, however he dropped out of the program a couple of months before graduation in order to pursue the business he had founded in 1984 along with Fregin. The two named the company Research in Motion and its original purpose was to be an electronics and computer science consulting business, however, it later became a wireless technology firm that revolutionized the communications industry with the development of the BlackBerry. RIM started out very small, with a $600 000 contract with General Motors in 1986. In 1992, it still had only about ten employees but that soon changed when Jim Balsillie became the co-CEO (alongside Lazaridis) and when the first BlackBerry was created in 1999. The combination of Lazaridis’ technological aspirations and Balsillie’s business savvy enabled to company to grow to an international company worth over $68 billion by the end of 2007. RIM continued to grow, reaching almost $20 billion in sales in 2011, however the rise of other companies in the market (e.g. Apple, Samsung) challenged RIM as new trends began to develop even faster. This competition led to a drop of 55% in RIM’s stock prices at the end of 2011 and a call for a change in leadership. As a result, on January 22, 2013, Balsillie and Lazaridis were replaced as CEOs by Thorsten Heins and Lazaridis became the new vice-chair of the board and chair of the innovation committee. However, Lazaridis retired from RIM on March 29th, 2013.
Despite his retirement from RIM, Mike Lazaridis continues to utilize his entrepreneurial skills and influence society for the better. He is continuing his involvement in the computing industry through the Quantum Valley Investments Fund (he donated $100 million) which supports quantum computing ventures. In 2000, Lazaridis also donated money to help establish the Perimeter Institute for Research in Theoretical Physics and he donated money to the University of Waterloo in 2005 in order to build the Quantum-Nano Centre. He has also received numerous awards and positions of power in recognition of his innovative work in wireless technology and software. Lazaridis is a member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Research and Innovation Council, and governor of the Information Technology Association of Canada. He is also the university chancellor of the University of Waterloo and has received honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo and McMaster University. He also received an Academy Award and an Emmy Award for Rim’s role in inventing the DigiSync technology which greatly increased the speed of editing film. Furthermore, Lazaridis is an Officer of both the Order of Canada and the order of Ontario. Lazaridis also earned the Ernest C. Manning Principal Award — Canada’s most prestigious innovation prize — and he was on TIME 100 List of Most Influential People in 2005. Lastly, Lazaridis was named Canada’s Nation Builder of the Year in 2002 by readers of the Globe and Mail.
WHAT MAKES MIKE LAZARIDIS A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR?
We all know that Mike Lazaridis has had incredible success with the BlackBerry and with RIM. But what makes him such a successful entrepreneur? There are various factors that play into this, including Lazaridis’ characteristics and the plethora of skills that he possesses. First of all, Lazaridis is imaginative since he came up with a unique, innovative product to solve the issue of a lack of two-way mobile email and communication in the 1990s. Secondly, Lazaridis is perceptive since he created a device that made email more accessible right when email was reaching the peak of its popularity, providing a suitable market for the BlackBerry. Lazaridis is also ambitious because he aspired to create a product that would change the telecommunications industry and society forever. Furthermore, he is a risk-taker because he dropped out of university to promote a company that he had no way to know would succeed. However, Lazaridis’ self-confidence and belief that his business venture would eventually succeed motivated him to work hard and maintain an optimistic attitude even through difficult times, such as when RIM stock went down in value by 55%. His passion for technology and science also made him adopt a persistent approach to achieving his goals because he truly loved what he was doing and was willing to put in a lot of work to make it happen. Finally, Lazaridis is a leader since he was able to found RIM and coordinate all of its employees and operations in order to make RIM a profitable business. All of these characteristics enabled Lazaridis to rise up to challenges and push through all kinds of situations, thus making him a successful entrepreneur.
Lazaridis also has numerous skills that have given him the means to become successful. His proficiency in science and technology gave him the background knowledge necessary to recognize the limitations and possibilities present when creating a new device. His research skills and willingness to accept help from others also enabled him to bring together a team of people with varying strengths in order to produce the best device possible and reap as much profit from it as possible. His ability to continually absorb more information has also aided him in differentiating RIM from other companies by learning about the other businesses in the market. Furthermore, Lazaridis’ management skills allowed him to achieve his personal goal of making RIM a successful venture by creating a plan, and then organizing, directing and controlling the company in order to meet his goal. His management skills also helped him to recognize what resources he had and utilize them in an optimum way. Lastly, Lazaridis has strong relationship skills that contributed to his success. He had good relationships with the employees at RIM and expressed how amazed he was at what a motivated group of employees could accomplish when trying to solve a problem. As well, Lazaridis brought in Jim Balsillie as a co-CEO since he recognized that Balsillie could boost RIM financially. Overall, Lazaridis’ skills combined with his entrepreneurial characteristics and drive for success are what contributed to making him such an influential entrepreneur.
WHY WAS THE BLACKBERRY AN IMPORTANT INVENTION?
The BlackBerry was an important invention because it was the first mobile device that could synchronize with company mail systems, providing customers with access to their email away from work. The BlackBerry was used by millions of people and it enabled them to stay connected with the people and content that they cared about most throughout their day. Thus, the BlackBerry became a significant device in the lives of its owners. As well, the BlackBerry was an indispensable device of business executives, politicians, and celebrities. Furthermore, the BlackBerry led to the innovation of new smartphones and Blackberries that now serve as personal digital assistants, multimedia players, and which carry a large number of different apps and features. Overall, the BlackBerry allowed people to communicate effectively, schedule important dates, manage their contacts, and browse the internet. All of these things made the BlackBerry an influential device and an extremely important invention.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THE INVENTION OF THE BLACKBERRY HAD ON SOCIETY?
The invention of the BlackBerry completely changed the way that people communicated around the world. It enabled people to reach others much more quickly and consistently and it made email accessible around the clock. It was the first device that truly made communication mobile. Furthermore, BlackBerry was one of the pioneer phones of the mobile industry and a later version of the original BlackBerry was the first smartphone on the market. Due to the BlackBerry’s fulfillment of all mobile needs, it has become a household name in numerous countries and it has created its own culture comprised of people who use BlackBerry products and apps. Later versions of the BlackBerry also introduced BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) to the world, providing a secure and private way to send messages and share information. All of these factors have contributed to the BlackBerry playing an important role in the lives of many people and speeding up society’s methods of communication. As well, the BlackBerry has inspired other entrepreneurs to create innovative smartphones that have become integral parts of society and people’s everyday lives. These devices have really impacted the way that we communicate with friends, family, and colleagues, share information, entertain ourselves, and maintain international connections. Overall, these devices have tied societies around the world closer together and have provided us with countless applications that allow us to imagine, dream, and create things ourselves. We can thank the original BlackBerry and Mark Lazaridis for all of this.
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