Before Oliver Proudlock enrolled onto an MBA, he had built up a successful tourism company in the French Alps. Proudlock’s startup, Elevated Leisure, treats holiday makers to rustic chalet accommodation situated in the glorious backdrop of the Chamonix Valley. Activities, tours, ski instructors and even chefs can be provided for holiday makers during a stay with Elevated Leisure.
The properties that Oliver manages range from affordable apartments to luxurious lodges complete with hot tubs and saunas. Whether holiday makers have visions of rambling their way across the mountainous regions of France, or prefer to think of themselves curled up beside a log fire with enough s’mores to see out the winter - Oliver has catered towards these needs.
Why Oliver Chose to Get his MBA at Desautels Faculty of Management
So, why would a man move away from his successful startup business in the Alps to take up a place at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal to study an MBA?
“I knew that Desautels Faculty of Management was going to help me grow as an entrepreneur in general,” says Oliver. “My first business kind of occurred randomly, you see. I didn’t go through a business plan or go and get financial aid – it just grew organically. I felt I needed some more grounding in business to help me develop Elevated Leisure into a more serious business by learning things relating to legal, tax, HR and all sorts of other disciplines that I didn’t feel like I had enough experience in.”
Oliver is quite modest about the origins of his company and paints a very candid picture of how he founded his first startup business – which he didn’t exactly plan to do at all!
“It was very much an organically built business. I didn’t go to Chamonix with a structure or idea in mind. I had a friend in real estate who knew of a chalet in the French Alps that was sitting empty and wasn’t getting sold. I came up with the idea of renting it out temporarily so that they could invest in it and make it more appealing to buy – so I turned it into a guesthouse. I worked on that for about a year and began to help other people in the area with their properties.
“At that point I realized that this was something viable and long term. With this in mind, I set up Elevated Leisure as a guesthouse operation. I then went into providing holiday activities as well because a lot of guests come to the properties looking to do things like skiing or snowboarding lessons, rafting, paragliding and hiking trails.”
Oliver decided to look elsewhere to expand his business knowledge after six years spent focused on his first business venture. His gaze took him all the way across the Atlantic to the bustling city of Montreal and McGill University – a world away from the quiet valleys of the French Alps.
“I enrolled in McGill because I felt like it was the only school worth investing my time and money into,” says Oliver bluntly. “This was for a number of reasons. Firstly, McGill’s reputation is second-to-none and the school put me in contact with some of the top companies in the city. It’s been great for networking and making connections in Montreal. That was very important to me. As a foreigner, I wanted to know I’d be able to get exposure in Canada.
“The academic side of McGill is very exciting too. The school does more than most in the entrepreneurial side of things. For example, last semester I took a module in how to manage a small business, and the next semester I took an entrepreneurial ventures module, and the semester after that I signed up for entrepreneurial finance! That’s something that I think is very unique to McGill. They also have small cohorts so it felt a little more tightknit than the other schools I considered.”
Get closer to your dream programme
Your consent preferences have been set.
Time to start exploring.
Your account has been removed.
You can still browse the site or sign up again once you have parental consent.
Get closer to your dream programme