Dragons' Den star says business spirit 'alive and well' on P.E.I.

Dragons’ Den star Manjit Minhas was browsing the shops in downtown Charlottetown with her husband and two daughters on Tuesday when three people approached her with business pitches.

Manjit Minhas to deliver keynote speech at P.E.I. business expo

CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2018 3:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 17, 2018

Manjit Minhas, speaking with Compass host Louise Martin, says it's important for entrepreneurs to learn from their challenges and failures. (CBC)

Dragons' Den star Manjit Minhas was browsing the shops in downtown Charlottetown with her husband and two daughters on Tuesday when three people approached her with business pitches.

Did she mind? Not one bit.

"I love to see people be bold and brave enough to come and talk to me," she said on CBC News: Compass. "Not that I walk around with a chequebook in my pocket, but it is always a great conversation."

It shows the entrepreneurial spirit is "alive and well" on P.E.I., she said, as she prepares to give the keynote speech at the annual business expo Thursday at the Eastlink Centre.

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Minhas, the 38-year-old owner of Minhas Breweries, Distillery and Winery, said it's not always easy being a woman in a male-dominated industry, but she has learned to embrace it and take it as an advantage.

'Embrace that uniqueness'

"Being a young Indian women in this industry is unique and I have to embrace that uniqueness, and take that as an advantage that I'm going to stand out in the room and why not stand out for the right reasons."

It's always pretty fabulous to see what Canadians are coming up with.— Manjit Minhas

Minhas, who is from Calgary, has won several business awards, and last year her companies had revenues in excess of $155 million, according to her website. But she said it's important for entrepreneurs to acknowledge not just their successes, but also their challenges and failures.

Loves to hear ideas

"Entrepreneurs don't talk about that enough because it is definitely part of everybody's journey," she said.

"The lessons that you learn from those and how you pick yourself up and move on is really really important."

She said she never gets tired of hearing ideas from entrepreneurs, either on Dragons' Den or, like the construction worker who pitched her on a concept for a new tool, the streets of Charlottetown.

"It's always pretty fabulous to see what Canadians are coming up with," she said.