Meet Rebecca — Founder of ICEAVIK Nordic Wellness Spa
Rebecca’s love for business started in a small town in Nova Scotia, long before ICEAVIK was ever imagined. As a child, she ran a full “store” out of her basement, Sears catalogue for shopping, her mom’s old debit cards as credit cards, and a binder of 100 “customers” complete with limits and purchase history.
At 13, she delivered flyers and quickly hired her dad, brother, and friend (Julie) to help, her first taste of running a team. By 15, she was working at Pharmasave, serving real customers.
In Grade 12, she heard about a single co-op position at Scotiabank. Twenty-one students applied, obstacles kept being added, and week after week people dropped out. Rebecca didn’t. She became the last one standing and earned the role and then having received a Scotiabank scholarship, went on to complete her Accounting degree at Saint Mary’s University.
After university, her life took her from Nova Scotia to St. John’s, then to Qatar for four years. Even overseas, her entrepreneurial spirit never stopped. She turned her family’s cottage into an Airbnb before Airbnb existed, managing the bookings remotely.
When she returned to Newfoundland, she rejoined Scotiabank in small business banking for several more years and after 10 years total banking, it was time for a change. She moved on to real estate, business account management, renovations, and managing rental properties. But one dream remained: to build something of her own, with customers, staff, and a physical space just like the store she imagined as a child.
Over four years ago, she visited her first Nordic spa, and the vision for ICEAVIK was born. The journey since then has been long, challenging, and full of setbacks but quitting has never been in Rebecca’s nature.