“I’m Alan,” says Alan Andreasen with a firm handshake and a sunny smile.
“I’m Ian,” says Ian Andreasen with a firm handshake and a sunny smile.
“So which one’s Alan?” asks the photographer after shooting mirror images — the Andreasen identical twins.
“Oh, he’s the older one. Yeah, Alan’s 27 minutes older than Ian.”
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| Chris Wood, Business Edge |
| Identical brothers Alan and Ian Andreasen have energy to burn as their nutritional supplement company continues its record-breaking growth. |
The Andreasens are Calgary’s entrepreneurial twinbill — co-founders and partners of Fortius Inc., which manufactures nutraceuticals and dietary supplements for humans and animals.
Naturally, in separate interviews, we had to ask Alan, chief executive of Fortius, and Ian, the president, twin questions.
And naturally, they answer in identical voices while reclining in an office chair, hands clasped behind their heads.
“Our father still can’t tell us apart on the phone,” laughs Alan.
Or was that Ian?
1. What was the best part of growing up as identical twins?
ALAN: “It’s not a normal relationship. You can count on (a twin) right to the end. They’re very trustworthy. You have a sense of the feeling that they will be there no matter what and I can’t say the same for a normal sibling because we have an older brother and an older sister as well. We look out for each other.” IAN: “There’s always a partner to do something with, like to play a game with. There’s never boredom. And if there was boredom, we’d put our heads together and solve it.”
2. How would you describe your relationship with your brother now that you’re business partners?
ALAN: “It’s a multi-faceted relationship. Some facets have a tendency to grow apart. Some facets have a tendency to grow together. We’re as close as we ever have been, given that we’re under an incredible amount of stress. We live together and work together so we’re in each other’s face, you know, 24 hours a day almost.”
IAN: “We’ve developed a darn efficient way of communicating in our business relationship. We know exactly what each other’s role is.”
3. So you’re proving that families ties and business can be advantageous?
ALAN: “Yeah, Ian and I are always coming across the rules, don’t do business with family and don’t do business with friends. But we find we’re an exception to the rule.”
IAN: “Often times, it is said: ‘If you could just clone yourself.’ Well, that’s everyone’s wish and I think that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
4. Who is your role model?
ALAN: “Richard Branson (entrepreneur). He’s a controversial figure who had Virgin records and went through a rough time. He just struck a lot of personal chords in his autobiography (Losing My Virginity). Basically, the message was: ‘It wasn’t easy for him to get where he got to, but just keep trying, believe in what you’re doing, make those hard decisions and you’ll get there.’ ”
IAN: Richard Branson is an inspiration. If you look at the story of how he got to where he’s at, he has shown it doesn’t require sophisticated amounts of education. It requires doing what you have to do, period.”
5. Your favourite book?
ALAN/IAN: “Losing My Virginity.”
6. Best story of people getting you and Ian mixed up?
ALAN: “First thing everyone wants to know is if we went out with the other guy’s girlfriend. We’ve never done that. However, Ian was unable to go to his job and I went and did his job (maintenance at B.C. Ferries) for him because it was important that he was there. It was crazy. At the end of the day, they said: ‘Ian, don’t forget to punch out.’ I said: ‘Oh, you mean I was supposed to punch in?’ ”
IAN: “Alan finished McGill University one year before me and so when I came to Calgary, everyone thought I was Alan. I’d say: ‘No, I’m Ian.’ They’d look at me with a haze over their eyes, going: ‘This guy’s obviously flipped out.’ So you’re sitting there for five minutes convincing them.”
7. Your favourite sport?
ALAN: “Motor sports. We also bicycle raced when we were young and competed head to head. After that, we got into motocross. Now we’re motorcycle road racers. We’re both professional in that.”
IAN: “Mountain biking. Anything on two wheels is my favourite.”
8. Who’s the better athlete?
ALAN: “That’s a very delicate question when you’re asking twins. I think neither one wants to be eclipsed by the other. So I take particular care when I answer that one. Depends on the sport.”
IAN: “Alan would have to be a little faster. He has the experience of European driving — the autobahn.”
9.How did the Fortius partnership develop?
ALAN: “I was hired by a Swiss feed manufacturer for Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) as well as the U.K. Swiss Feed Mill had a fatal flaw in their network distribution and it started burning to the ground because they had too many people in between them and the farm. I had a bunch of people coming to me because I was the technical guy, saying: ‘Can you formulate a product for us whereby we can retain our business?’ So that’s when Fortius in Europe started. We went into production of animal supplements. I was in Europe. I needed someone in Canada that I could trust. The first guy that came to my mind was Ian.”
IAN: “I was convinced that if Alan was the leader and I could provide adequate support to him, we’d do well.”
10. So it was a natural fit?
ALAN: “I didn’t really have to talk Ian into it because somewhere way down in our genes is entrepreneurship. Everything is A-OK.”
IAN: “We are totally consumed by our business — to be realistic, it’s about 90 per cent of our lives at this stage.”
11. Would you say that your business philosophies are identical?
ALAN: “They’re aligned but they’re not the same and that’s complementary.”
IAN: “We are so similar that we can count on each other 100 per cent.”
12. And the biggest differences?
ALAN: “I’m more into the marketing. I’m more aggressive. Ian is more on the financial operations side, so he’s more cautious. It’s that kind of relationship that is healthy. You need the anchor but you need someone pushing the envelope.”
IAN: “I was in the incubator. So from a physical perspective, he’s been stronger. However, I’ve had to learn to work smarter.”
13. One person who has had a major influence on your life?
Alan: (gestures towards Ian’s office).
IAN: “I’d have to say it’s Alan.”
14. Your favourite pastime?
ALAN: “Spending time with my wife (Jessica). Between work and travel, it’s hard to spend enough time with her.”
IAN: “Anything on two wheels.”
15. If you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would that be?
ALAN: “My grandfather passed away prematurely due to a stroke. So something to be able to enhance people’s lives, especially when you’re at an age when you’re susceptible to having some illness strike you. And that’s why we enjoy what we do. If we can offset a heart attack for 10 years due to a cholesterol-reducing product or a blood pressure-reducing product or something that is prophylactic against breast cancer, then I feel like we’ve made the world a better place.”
IAN: “I think that through our company we’re trying to give more back to the environment. We’re trying to design our products so that they have less impact on the environment.
“We’ve moved away from the big jars because they take up so much room in landfills. So we’ve gone to a flexible pouch. We in our generation have to take a stance on the environment and we’re trying to do so through our company. I think the environmental part is important because Alan and I paid our way through university as tree planters.”
16. How do you see Fortius making a difference in the future?
ALAN: “The nutraceutical market is going to have such a big impact in the next five to 10 years because they’re natural-based. What we’re doing right now is clinical trials on safety and efficacy. And if we can prove the safety and efficacy, then that is a major leap for education of the professionals because that’s what they want to see.”
IAN: “There’s definitely a major switch in people’s mentalities in terms of trying to treat a problem versus trying to prevent it. We are all starting to realize that it is far more effective, more cost efficient and healthier to prevent getting ill and to prevent disease onsetting.”
17. So you see exponential growth in natural products?
ALAN: “It’s going to be huge.”
IAN: “We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of the natural product industry. It’s been shown already that food itself can be as powerful as any drug if used properly.”
18. Your home is on fire. One possession you’d take with you?
ALAN: “My computer.”
IAN: “My pictures.”
19. As immunologists who have marketed performance-enhancing products, what’s your message to Mark McGwire, who used the controversial substance Androstenedione in becoming baseball’s home-run king?
ALAN: “It ties into the hormonal system. I would never touch that. If it was me, I wouldn’t take it.”
IAN: No, Mark. It is too close to a hormone. Oftentimes, you can take an extract from, say, pine needle and it will be similar to Androstenedione. Mark has been taking pure Androstenedione. So I’d definitely say no. I sure wouldn’t do it. I’m here for the long run.”
20. Your vision for Fortius?
ALAN: “I see ourselves being a company that is doing well over $100 million in revenue a year in five years. We’re probably going to take this company public in the next two years.”
IAN: “I see myself involved in this industry for a long, long time because there’s a lot of science now that is going into the study of natural health products. I see this company growing to a very, very large level.”
THE COMPANY: Fortius Inc.
* Brass: Alan Andreasen, CEO/co-founder; Ian Andreasen, president/co-founder.
* Profile: Fortius is an international manufacturer of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements for humans, commercial livestock, equines and pets. The company prides itself on formulating only products that have reliable, peer-reviewed studies backing their efficacy.
* Highlights: Fortius was ranked 21st on Profit Magazine’s list of hottest Canadian startups in 2000 and was ranked by Alberta Venture magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in Alberta the past two years.
* Stats: In the past three years, Fortius has increased sales by 832 per cent and assets by 660 per cent.
* Web site: www.fortius.ca
* Phone/Fax: 640-6000, 212-5287.
* Address: P.O. Box 700, Calgary South, T2H 2H2.
IN PROFILE: Alan Andreasen
* Born/Raised/Age: Richmond, B.C., Abbotsford, B.C., 31.
* Title: Chief executive officer, Fortius Inc.
* Education: Bachelor of Science (immunology), McGill University.
* Family: Wife Jessica.
* Role model: Entrepreneur Richard Branson.
* Claim to fame: Named Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 1999 (with brother Ian) by Business Development Bank of Canada.
* Passions: Motorcycles (ranked No. 2 in Alberta and top rookie on pro motorbike road race tour last year). Helping people get healthy.
IN PROFILE: Ian Andreasen
* Born/Raised/Age: Richmond, B.C., Abbotsford, B.C., 31.
* Title: President, Fortius Inc.
* Education: Bachelor of Science (immunology), McGill University.
* Family: Single.
* Role model: Entrepreneur Richard Branson.
* Claim to fame: Named Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 1999 (with brother Alan) by Business Development Bank of Canada.
* Passions: Anything that goes fast on two wheels (1998 Alberta amateur superbike road race champion).
