How I Found My Passion (Again)

My life has been defined by defying expectations.

When I was 14, my father launched a construction business which began growing quickly. I spent some of the most important years of my life observing and listening to my father: I overheard the important phone calls, heard about the big meetings, heard about all the challenges, the most exciting and most difficult situations that come with entrepreneurship. I remember noticing how his face seemed to be constantly in transition: one day he would be smiling, laughing, thrilled and passionately excited; the next day he would be stressed out, tense, exhausted, and drained.

I did not know it then, but I was getting an early education in what it took to be an entrepreneur.

My father’s construction business continued to scale in an impressive way. All signs pointed me to joining the family business: it was an easier, clearer path. However, during my university years and after a brief semester abroad on a work-study program in Germany, I discovered technology – and committed my life to tech instead.

I spent the next 19 years launching and growing my own tech company, launching The path was challenging and almost never clear. Much like my father, I felt myself going back and forth between thrilling, excited passion and difficult tension from challenging situations. Every day brought a new adventure – and I was in love with the experience of entrepreneurship. My colleagues, friends and family members were expecting me to spend the rest of my life as a tech entrepreneur and retire one day from that journey.

Between 1998 and 2017, I was the CEO of a growing tech company, leading up the conceptualization and commercialization of a managed cloud desktop services product. The company had reached over 85% recurring revenue and less than 5% churn. On the surface, the dream looked like it was in full swing.

Yet, in 2017, I felt myself standing at a crossroads that felt familiar. Just like I once had to choose between following my passion and joining the family business, another choice had to be made again. I stopped to evaluate where my passion lied.

I loved the tech world, but the dream had run its course for me. I spent the next few weeks deep in thought: after over 20 years as a tech entrepreneur, who was I today? What did I love doing? What was I best at?

In the weeks and months to follow, I did what all entrepreneurs did: I sought inspiration and energy from my colleagues, fellow entrepreneurs. I had numerous dinners, brunches, and coffee meetings with members of the entrepreneurial community in Canada, hoping the conversations with amazing people would spark an “AHA!” moment and show me the way forward on my next journey.

I noticed one thing that came out in almost every conversation with entrepreneurs and founders: the biggest challenge all companies faced was a struggle to develop a clear vision and structure. Without vision and structure, none of the companies would scale. The entrepreneurs I met who had a crystal-clear vision? They were scaling – incredibly fast.

I realized I had a unique ability: I could help entrepreneurs that wanted to crystallize their vision and supercharge their business.
I found a passion for entrepreneurial coaching – and I jumped in with both feet. I chose my (new) passion (again) instead of choosing what was “expected” or “easiest.”

After a 2-year journey of exploration, introspection, and focus, I’m proud to announce I have officially become a certified Business Coach, workshop leader and a Professional EOSⓇ Implementer.
Traction comes where you least expect it.

P.S. A workbook called “14 Paths to your Passion” was incredibly valuable for me - hope it can be helpful to you, too. Access it here!

Hugo Boutet is an Entrepreneur, Business Coach, Strategist & Workshop Leader who specializes in supercharging growth in companies & empowering high-performance teams. He spent 19+ years' building his own technology company before finding his passion (again). Connect with him on LinkedIn here.