Can You Learn to Be an Entrepreneur? (w/Susan Kates)
Before you start a business, how can you find out whether entrepreneurship suits you?
In this episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Roger Pierce speaks with Susan Kates, a professor at Humber Polytechnic, entrepreneur, and faculty advisor to Enactus Humber. Susan teaches entrepreneurship, has coordinated Humber’s Entrepreneurial Enterprise Business Management Program, and earned a Masters degree in innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2026, she received the Ontario Centre of Innovation’s inaugural Educator Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award.
“One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs tend to have is that they don't do their research,” she says. That research can start with a customer conversation or taking a booth at a farmers market. For example, Susan shares how three founders tested snack boxes with customers and how Humber students applied innovation to turn discarded cosmetics into paint.
She also explains why spending time alongside a business owner can teach you things a classroom cannot. Listen to this podcast to learn how to test demand, ask questions about ownership, and develop entrepreneurial thinking.
Resources
Email Susan Kates: susan.kates@humber.ca
LinkedIn page
Humber College website
Show Credits
Host & Producer: Roger Pierce | Artwork: Kaitlyn Pierce | Sound Engineering & Editing: Aleksandar Nikolic, FixTheAudio.com
In this episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Roger Pierce speaks with Susan Kates, a professor at Humber Polytechnic, entrepreneur, and faculty advisor to Enactus Humber. Susan teaches entrepreneurship, has coordinated Humber’s Entrepreneurial Enterprise Business Management Program, and earned a Masters degree in innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2026, she received the Ontario Centre of Innovation’s inaugural Educator Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award.
“One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs tend to have is that they don't do their research,” she says. That research can start with a customer conversation or taking a booth at a farmers market. For example, Susan shares how three founders tested snack boxes with customers and how Humber students applied innovation to turn discarded cosmetics into paint.
She also explains why spending time alongside a business owner can teach you things a classroom cannot. Listen to this podcast to learn how to test demand, ask questions about ownership, and develop entrepreneurial thinking.
Resources
Email Susan Kates: susan.kates@humber.ca
LinkedIn page
Humber College website
Show Credits
Host & Producer: Roger Pierce | Artwork: Kaitlyn Pierce | Sound Engineering & Editing: Aleksandar Nikolic, FixTheAudio.com
