Some entrepreneurs start with an idea. Others with a problem.

Today, they started by recognizing an opportunity, and having the courage to act on it.

Opportunities are everywhere. Sometimes they appear as a gap in the market. Sometimes they emerge from a personal passion, an unmet need, or a challenge waiting to be solved. Yet opportunities alone do not create change. Impact happens when someone chooses to do something with them.

For many JA alumni, entrepreneurship became the bridge between opportunity and action. Through JA, they gained the confidence to lead, the skills to build, and the mindset to transform possibilities into ventures that create value for others.

Today, we’re spotlighting five entrepreneurs from Canada, the United States, Eswatini, Zambia, and the Philippines who turned opportunities into businesses, businesses into impact, and impact into lasting change for their communities.

Maya Bezubiak (Canada) 🇨🇦

For Maya, entrepreneurship began with a desire to create something that reflected both her creativity and her values.

While many people saw a crowded beverage market, Maya and her co-founders saw an opportunity. Consumers were becoming increasingly health-conscious, yet many existing options forced people to choose between wellness and enjoyment. Rather than accepting that trade-off, they set out to create something different.

That vision eventually became 529 Hard Protein Seltzer, a beverage brand designed to combine functionality, flavor, and a modern approach to social drinking.

Building a consumer brand from the ground up required far more than developing a product. It meant understanding customers, building partnerships, navigating a competitive industry, and continuously adapting to changing market demands.

“I’m interested in leadership, freedom, and creativity.”

Those values continue to guide Maya’s entrepreneurial journey.

But her impact extends beyond the company she helped build. As President of the JA Canada Alumni Board, Maya remains committed to supporting young entrepreneurs and strengthening the alumni community that helped shape her own path.

For Maya, entrepreneurship is not only about launching products. It is about creating opportunities for consumers, for future founders, and for the next generation of leaders.

Kristopher Tabor (United States) 🇺🇸

For Kristopher, the opportunity started with a passion.

As a young person fascinated by photography, he dreamed of owning a professional camera. Without the resources to purchase one immediately, he began finding creative ways to earn money, selling snacks and pursuing small opportunities wherever he could find them.

That determination eventually allowed him to purchase his first camera.

What happened next changed the course of his life.

Photography quickly became more than a hobby. It became a business, a creative outlet, and a way to help people tell their stories.

“The real world felt a little closer.”

Through JA, Kristopher gained a practical understanding of entrepreneurship and realized that building a business was something he could actually do—not something reserved for others.

Today, Kristopher Tabor Photography serves individuals, organizations, and communities through professional photography and visual storytelling. His work captures milestones, preserves memories, and helps businesses communicate their stories through compelling imagery.

His journey demonstrates how a single passion, when paired with persistence and entrepreneurial thinking, can become a career that impacts countless others.

Sandile Nxumalo (Eswatini) 🇸🇿

For Sandile, entrepreneurship became an opportunity to serve his community while creating value through information, communication, and technical expertise.

As the founder of PRO-MEDIA News and SN Technical Services, Sandile has built ventures that address practical needs while creating opportunities for connection, awareness, and problem-solving. His work spans media, communications, and technical services, demonstrating how entrepreneurship can take many forms while remaining rooted in service to others.

Through JA, Sandile developed a new way of thinking about business. Rather than viewing entrepreneurship solely as a means of earning a living, he began to see it as a way to identify opportunities, solve challenges, and create meaningful value.

“I now think and act like an entrepreneur who identifies opportunities, solves real problems, and creates value.”

That lesson became the foundation of his entrepreneurial journey.

Building and growing multiple ventures required adaptability, persistence, and a willingness to continuously learn. Whether through media services that help inform communities or technical solutions that support clients and organizations, Sandile has remained focused on creating impact through his work.

His journey reflects the idea that entrepreneurship is not always about creating the next global startup. Sometimes, it is about recognizing local needs, using your skills to address them, and building ventures that strengthen the communities around you.

Today, through PRO-MEDIA News and SN Technical Services, Sandile continues to transform opportunities into impact, one project, one client, and one solution at a time.

Adlaidah Kaonga (Zambia) 🇿🇲

For Adlaidah Kaonga, entrepreneurship represented independence.

As a participant in the JA Company Program, she experienced firsthand what it meant to build a business idea, work within a team, and bring products to market. Those experiences planted a seed that would later grow into something much larger.

Rather than waiting for an opportunity to arrive, Adlaidah decided to create one herself.

“I used my JA Company experience to build something independent rather than waiting for an opportunity to come.”

That decision led her to launch Chimney Bakes and Smokes, turning her passion into a business while creating new possibilities for her future.

Like many entrepreneurs, Adlaidah faced uncertainty, limited resources, and the challenge of building a customer base from scratch. Yet each challenge became an opportunity to learn, adapt, and grow.

Today, her story demonstrates the power of entrepreneurial self-belief. By taking ownership of her future and acting on the lessons she learned through JA, she transformed an opportunity into a business and a pathway toward long-term impact.

Adrian Vincent Opinion (Philippines) 🇵🇭

For Adrian Vincent Opinion, entrepreneurship is about improving lives through one of the most fundamental human needs: housing.

As President and Lead Broker of Illustra Realty Incorporated, Adrian helps families and individuals achieve the dream of homeownership. While real estate is often viewed as a commercial industry, Adrian sees it through a different lens.

Every property represents a family building stability, security, and a future.

“I am now able to provide hundreds of Filipinos with a place to call home every year.”

That impact is what motivates his work.

Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Adrian has combined business leadership with a commitment to community impact. By helping people access quality housing opportunities, he contributes to stronger communities while improving individual lives.

His story demonstrates that entrepreneurship can be both commercially successful and deeply meaningful and that some of the greatest opportunities are those that allow us to serve others while building something lasting.

Turning Opportunity into Impact

Maya, Kristopher, Sandile, Adlaidah, and Adrian operate in different industries, live on different continents, and serve different communities.

Yet their stories share a common thread.

Each of them recognized an opportunity and chose to act.

For Maya, that opportunity was creating a product that reflected changing consumer needs. For Kristopher, it was transforming a passion into a profession. For Sandile, it was creating value through service and innovation. For Adlaidah, it was building independence through entrepreneurship. And for Adrian, it was improving lives through access to housing.

Their journeys remind us that entrepreneurship is about much more than business success.

It is about creating opportunities, empowering others, strengthening communities, and leaving a positive impact on the world around us.

Because of JA, they learned how to recognize opportunities.

And because they acted on them, those opportunities became impact.