Craig Elias
Entrepreneur in Residence

As an award-winning entrepreneur, author and business advisor, Craig Elias says he is on a mission to liberate and inspire people from all walks of life to create and commercialize new ideas. He says his motto is “tell me I can’t, and I’ll show you I can,” which certainly goes a long way toward explaining how he seems to pull of some impossible-seeming things.

“I am a lucky sales guy, who then became a lucky entrepreneur, who then become a lucky husband and a dad, who gets to do the things he loves,” he says.

Describing himself as a fortunate sales professional turned entrepreneur, husband, and father, Craig expresses gratitude for being able to pursue his passions. One of his key interests lies in guiding students towards entrepreneurship. Additionally, he has initiated and oversees three student pitch competitions—VentureQuest, 150Startups, and the Inventures Student Pitch Competition, held annually at the Inventures conference by Alberta Innovates. These competitions unite some of the brightest minds in Alberta's innovation and entrepreneurship landscape, inspiring and guiding the next generation to uphold the entrepreneurial spirit of the city.

He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Calgary specializing in New Venture Creation and Technology Commercialization and a cross-disciplinary BA from Western University. Craig has received coverage on NBC News, and in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the National Post, and Sales and Marketing Magazine. He was named 15th on the Forbes list of the 30 most social sales people on the planet.