Founders Coffee: Sean Clarke – 3 Crucial Questions Every Founder Needs to Answer First

The Speaker 

Sean Clarke is a retired Canadian Forces Master Warrant Officer, entrepreneur, speaker, and mentor who knows what it means to build a career more than once. Now on career number four after retiring twice, Sean brings more than 30 years of experience in military leadership, consulting, systems engineering, project management, and business growth. He earned his MBA and Diploma in Business Management from Athabasca University and has spent years working in both the private and public sectors, while also building and running his own successful consulting business. His experience spans technology, telecommunications, insurance, government, and innovation. Sean has lived the reinvention journey himself. He understands the uncertainty, risk, courage, and persistence it takes to start something new. Today, he is building his professional speaking company, mentoring professionals, and encouraging people to bet on themselves, trust what they know, build with purpose, and live it out with passion.

The Talk

In this practical but brief talk, we will explore the three questions that need to be answered by any business regardless of age or size: Who is the customer? What problem do they actually have? How are you going to solve it in a way that matters? Drawing on core ideas from design thinking and basic marketing, this session helps new founders move beyond assumptions and get specific about the people they want to serve. Participants will learn how to identify a meaningful customer profile, uncover the real problems behind customer behaviour, and shape solutions that connect with genuine needs instead of guesswork. It is a grounded starting point for building a business with focus, relevance, and a starting point for success.