Sam Thompson (BMgmt '22)
Owner, Melmerby Adventures
I started in Arts, it wasn't for me. I thought I wanted commerce until an advisor told me about the Bachelor of Management. It was the perfect fit for me.
Sam Thompson’s first business venture was Christmas ornaments made of pumpkin seeds. He started selling them when he was 12 at the New Glasgow farmer’s market. He laughs remembering the day “I deposited $1000 into my account.”
Much of Sam’s early business education came from his grandparents, who owned clothing stores in Pictou County. His grandfather, he says, coached him on diversifying and saving.
When it came time for university, he took the advice of a family friend who suggested he enroll in the faculty of arts and social sciences at Dalhousie. The friend, also a businessperson, thought it was good to start with as broad a foundation as possible.
But Sam didn’t enjoy his classes and at the end of first year he wanted to switch. So, his default was to apply for a Bachelor of Commerce, studying subjects he was already interested in and knew something about. But that wasn’t right either.
During a conversation with the undergraduate advisor, Sam quickly realized, the BComm had a mandatory co-operative. Since he was already an entrepreneur, selling a variety of products, he wasn’t interested in more work experience. He just wanted an education, and that’s when she told him about the Bachelor of Management.
“It was a perfect fit” he says. And the broad scope of subject matter, informs the decisions he makes today.
As owner of Melmerby Adventures, an outdoor water sport company in Pictou County, he must consider the shoreline where people get into a kayak or climb onto a paddle board. These are the kinds of issues he says, that have him reflecting on his courses on environmental sustainability.
Sam also says he learned a lot about being involved in your community, and now serves on a transportation and health board.
In addition to Melmerby Adventures, he’s developing an eco-tourism business on property he recently purchased nearby. But if you want to meet him in the winter, he and his expanded line of products can be found at the New Glasgow farmer’s market, where he’s proud to say, he’s the vendor who’s been there the longest.