Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs are Emily Rudow and Kayla Nezon, whose company designs highly innovative, patent-pending base layer hockey equipment designed to help youth hockey players get dressed faster while providing extra protection in areas that are currently left exposed…
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WORK
Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
We’re the founders of Oneiric Hockey and develop patent-pending, innovate hockey equipment for youth.
What was the inspiration for your career route?
We’ve been playing hockey since we were kids and hated the long process of getting ready and leaving games with injuries from areas left exposed. Our passion for hockey drove us to create a product for youth to streamline the process of getting dressed while keeping them protected on the ice.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
This is a tough one! The most touching one was hearing our first feedback from a customer whose daughter loved our product. We celebrate every milestone; the first pitch competition we won, our first order of inventory arriving, filming a segment on Dragons’ Den. There are too many to name.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
No longer having to work out of co-working spaces! Having our own office and continuing to build a portfolio of really amazing products.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Persistence. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. If it feeds your passion and solves a problem, then go for it.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
We donate to MS Walk, CIBC Run for the Cure. We are also working on a product recycle project right now to help outfit youth hockey players for less money.
What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
Every day there are new challenges and many ups and downs of entrepreneurship. If we had to narrow it down to just one, we’d have to say the biggest obstacle was building a functional product that people love. Testing, reiterating, testing, reiterating, and testing some more until we finally got it right.
What does the word notable mean to you?
Something that alters peoples’ perspective and creates change.
PLAY
Where is your favourite place to wine/ dine in your city and why?
Emily: Get Well – they have amazing craft beer, free arcade games, and North of Brooklyn Pizza. What more can you ask for?
Kayla: Ezra’s Pound pours the best cup of coffee in the city.
What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Emily: Medium.com and ‘Something About You’ (ODESZA remix) by Hayden James– probably listened to this close to 1,000 times in the last three months.
Kayla: Pitchfork and Radiohead’s new album, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’.
Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
@historyphotographed.
What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Emily: Iceland. The landscape is so diverse and literally looks like a different planet. Bali is the next country on my list for some much needed relaxation.
Kayla: Not a country, but Zion National Park in Utah is mind-blowing. Next on the list is Spain.
What gives you the greatest FOMO?
When we spend beautiful sunny weekends promoting Oneiric indoors at a cold hockey arena – although we love doing that too!
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Emily: Beef Jerky
Kayla: Wine Gums
What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
Expensive bourbon and whisky consumes a large portion of our money. We wish we spent more money on celery.
And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Success is loving what you’re doing every single day. Learn from the lows, celebrate the little wins, and run with the highs.
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