“Doing a little bit more diligence upfront gives me more security and comfort... I get really excited but I’ve learned to slow down and say ok excitement is needed and that’s step one and then logical diligence is step two.” – Joel Sherlock
A serial entrepreneur and business leader, Joel Sherlock is a born connector who builds great teams and delivers the expertise to execute.
Joel has been at the helm of nine successful start-ups and corporate exits, including one of BC’s top private real estate brokerages, a national first action sports e-commerce company, a successful corporate consulting firm and a few private equity funds. Joel’s time is now focused on Vitalis Extraction Technologies, a Kelowna BC based global leader in supercritical CO2 extraction technologies and industrial equipment, the impetus for which was provided by his involvement in commercial real estate.
He is Chairman and Co-Founder of Spectrum Asset Leasing and Doventi Capital. Doventi Capital in Vancouver is the private equity fund Joel co-founded to support professionals in the growing legal cannabis market. Spectrum Leasing in Toronto is an asset backed lender designed to support entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the world’s fastest growing market.
Born in Winnipeg Manitoba, Joel’s early years were spent working hard on the farm and studying finance at UBC and Harvard Business School with a stop at BMW becoming the number two salesperson in Canada. With offices in Kelowna, Vancouver and Toronto plus a rigorous travel schedule, Joel loves to balance that out with a few days on the farm, with no phone or internet. Philanthropically Joel contributes to Charity Water and ME to WE and sits on the board of a number of charitable organizations including The Mel and Mart Zajac Foundation, Zajac Ranch for Children (Vancouver).
Show Notes [02:04] Patrick introduces his next guest to The Everyday Millionaire: Joel Sherlock [03:30] Let’s get right to it! What is Joel up to and what does he do? [04:53] Joel provides an extended remix of what he does in Kelowna and his path from commercial landlord to solutions provider {albeit initially reluctant} for an emerging medical cannabis industry. [07:43] Initially investing in real estate and his client’s inventory, Joel then stepped into new territory by financing the equipment and went further still to create an equipment manufacturing start-up. Entrepreneurialism is in his blood. [09:28] Joel delves into the commercial aspect of his real estate and the checks and balances he undertook to ensure their asset was protected. [10:51] As a commercial landlord, Joel had to examine the long-term viability of his inherited hit-and-miss tenants in a tenuous industry vs. new tenants who were bringing forth an emerging, potentially risky but profitable business in legal medical cannabis. [11:54] Joel expands on the extensive diligence he undertook with the medical cannabis business from the chief of police to the patients themselves. Still with hesitation he decided to move forward with it. [13:15] Patrick and Joel focus in on the necessity of slowing down to do thorough diligence with our investments, even when it appears to be a no-brainer opportunity. It provides far more security and peace of mind. [16:01] The extraction business. Joel takes us through the process of how it works, then how he identified and crafted solutions to an issue with his extraction equipment investments. [18:24] Joel came to realize he didn’t need to replicate himself to expand his business; he needed to acknowledge the weak spots in his own skillset and recruit the best people to fill the gaps. [20:44] Where does the name Vitalis come from? [21:26] Although there is a diverse customer base for the extraction equipment they manufacture, Vitalis focuses on the hemp and cannabis industry due to the explosive growth in that market. Joel further explains their philosophy on exceptional service,