By Andrew de Souza

Clodhopper creators coach PA business crowd

Jul 18, 2012 | 6:57 AM

Two of Canada’s greatest purveyors of choclately treats stopped buy Prince Albert Tuesday night to inspire the city’s entrepreneurs.

Chris Emery and Larry Finnson are best known as the creators of the much-loved candy known as Clodhoppers and their newest creation OMG’s.

They came as guests of the Prince Albert chapter of Saskatchewan Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs.

They talked about how the two had taken Emery’s grandmother’s recipe, built a brand from the ground up through blood, sweat, tears and borrowed money. At its pinnacle, it was carried in some of the continents largest retailers but eventually, Clodhoppers was sold by its board of directors (along with the company name “Chris & Larry”) the product itself fell to the wayside of candy shelves everywhere.
A few years of shifting careers however let them realize their true love was in the candy business and they rebounded to create OMG’s.

With the help of an appearance on CBC’s the Dragons Den in early 2011 and a deal from Dragon’s Den investor Arlene Dickenson the two were back in business.

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Now, OMG’s are set to be in every Shopper’s Drug Mart in Canada—though not Prince Albert’s quite yet due to its relatively small size.

It was the passion for business and the love of an idea Emery and Finnson shared with the audience on Tuesday evening.

Finnson (whose son was recently drafted to the Prince Albert Raiders) said his goal was to inspire entrepreneurs with he and Emery’s story.

“When they watch it, it’s like wisdom, it’s like learning from their parents,” he said. “If you see a good business story that you can relate to and there’s a connection, the younger crowd can see what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished. The fear goes away and they try things that they never would try.”

He said it was passion that brought the two to their successes and it was passion that he wanted others to have in their endeavor.

“That’s the key to anything you’re selling. That passion is contagious. When people see the fire in your eyes it excites them,” he said.

“I get up in the morning with fire and love to go to work. When I try to sell to a buyer they pick that up, get excited and they want to invest in that.”

adesouza@panow.com

twitter: @drewdesouza

by Andrew de Souza

Clodhopper creators coach PA business crowd

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