Grad remembers his roots
Business Management grad Jason Prasad has clients across North America, but says companies in the Tri-Cities like the Foggy Dew, where this digital display is located, are the backbone of his company, Onext.
A businessman worth his salt knows the value of good word-of-mouth. Positive reviews of the Business Management Program at Douglas spoke volumes, says Jason Prasad. Combined with a family history rich with entrepreneurs – from auto shop owners to a Denny’s Canada COO to his parents who ran a janitorial company – going into business was a natural fit for Prasad.
“I was always interested in having my own business. I grew up around it,” says Prasad. Today, he’s the owner of the Tri-Cities franchise of Onext, a digital media company with clients across North America.
Though business was in his blood, Prasad says coming to Douglas was a crucial step in giving him the practical know-how needed to succeed.
“I apply everything I learned in college to my work every day – from being patient to my skills in marketing, presentation and negotiation,” says Prasad.
He decided on the type of business he wanted to run while still a student, after visiting a franchise convention. Just one day after writing his final exam at Douglas, Prasad was scouting locations for electronic billboards – Onext’s bread and butter.
Today, Prasad’s customer-base ranges from the local Tri-Cities companies he calls “the backbone” of his franchise, to high-profile names like World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Fido and Flight Centre. In the next year, he hopes to expand his client base to Europe.
“I deal with worldwide corporations. If it wasn’t for the knowledge I got at Douglas, I would be like a deer caught in the headlights,” says Prasad.
He credits the relationships he built with his instructors as being one of the best things about his education at Douglas.
“The teachers were always there to help, no matter what time it was. They were always available,” says Prasad. He has particularly fond memories of Bernard Villeneuve, now retired from teaching. Prasad says Villeneuve brought an admirable level of knowledge to the classroom, some days not even cracking open a text book as he lectured.
“When I started my business, Bernard was the first person outside of my family that I told. He was very supportive.”
In turn, Prasad now ensures his clients get the one-on-one time with him that he felt benefited him as a student and dedicates himself to giving back to the community. The dog lover sponsors the BC SPCA Port Coquitlam’s Adopt-a-Pet Campaign, donating free ads on his network promoting its pet of the month. Another cause close to his heart, having been born two months premature, is the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, particularly its recent Miracle Weekend Telethon.
“I think it’s really important to remember your roots. It’s great to be associated with certain global companies and the recognition it brings, but the community clients are really the backbone of Onext. Without them I would never have had the opportunity to be partnered with the global companies,” says Prasad.
For more information on the Business Management Program, attend a free information session.
Published June 25, 2009
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