August 20, 2021

Why You Should Attend a Pitch Off Event 

Written By: Celine Duenas

Are you thinking about entrepreneurship but are a little nervous about the industry? Have you been wondering what it’s like to pitch an idea to investors? Do you want to see young entrepreneurs in action? If so, get inspiration from skilled entrepreneurs by watching them present innovative ideas and solutions at a pitch off event. Use entrepreneur competitions and events as an opportunity to get to know yourself as an aspiring entrepreneur and grow in the community. Here are some benefits you can gain just from attending networking events, pitch-off competitions, and more!

  1. Learn from Leading Experts

The best advantage you can have as an aspiring entrepreneur is learning from those that are in the same journey as you. See for yourself what it's like to be in a higher level stage of the entrepreneurial journey. Take note of how these experts present themselves, their business, and their innovative solutions to key stakeholders such as investors, funding partners, and potential customers. 

  1. Get Inspiration from Like-Minded Entrepreneurs

If you are starting your entrepreneurial journey, inspiration and creativity is key to help you get started. If you are struggling with brainstorming, take inspiration from upcoming and rising trends within the industry and community to help kickstart your idea generation process. The best ideas are the ideas that people know and care about. So be curious and dive into areas that will inspire and motivate you! 

  1. Connect With Your Community 

Attending networking events is the best way to connect with the entrepreneurial community. One of the most important benefits of networking is being able to meet influencers in your industry along with people in similar positions as you. This will give you valuable insight on your industry and community by having connections with people that may be able to share their knowledge and provide you with unique opportunities. 

  1. Motivation to Get Started! 

The best way to get started with something you are passionate about is putting yourself in the perfect environment! Why not throw yourself right into it! Being exposed to people and situations that can help you grow to the entrepreneur you want to be can be extremely motivating! 

If you want to take advantage of networking opportunities, check out The Impact Innovation Challenge Pitch Off Event happening August 24 and watch teams pitch their impactful ideas to create change in the world! Use this as your opportunity to grow as an entrepreneur and begin your journey. Check it out here to register and attend the free live event!

August 20, 2021

Have You Met the Finalists For the Impact Innovation Challenge?

Our Annual Impact Innovation Challenge for young entrepreneurs across Canada has been mindblowing. Youth innovation is alive and rising! This year, the Impact Innovation Challenge consists of 3 categories of different kinds of ventures: Aspiring, Growth, and Non-Profit Entrepreneurs. The challenge focuses on entrepreneurs building a social impact venture and will pitch their startup and startup ideas for a chance to win cash, mentorship, legal support and coaching prizes to boost their startup. Thank you to our partners for supporting youth in Canada. These prizes are made possible by our cash prize partner SAP, RBC, Hootsuite, Osler, AO, Scale Collaborative and more! A special thank you to our submission review committee, our judging panel and Volition for offering pitch training for our finalists!

Here are the finalists that you’ll be seeing at our Impact Innovation Challenge 2021!

Aspiring Ventures:

The Aspiring Category represents aspiring entrepreneurs with brand new ideas that focuses on their idea and solution to their problem. This category is suited for youth exploring entrepreneurship for the first time and have been working on their problem and solution for less than a year! Here are your aspiring entrepreneurs! 

  1. Transition Space 

Meet the Transition Space Team, Will, Charlotte, Caleb, Lindsay, and Sarah! Transition Space is an online hub dedicated to helping Ontario youth navigate the adult disability system. This team takes a collaborative approach to provide information on components of the disability system, share personalized community resources to connect youth to the adult disability system, and facilitate conversations between youth, families, and care providers. 

  1. Cequest

Meet Devinder, Founder of Cequest! Cequest has a vision to create a place where children can walk outside and breathe in clean air where biodiversity thrives both on land and sea. Cequest brings a solution with the potential to sequester over 10 Gt of carbon dioxide per year by 2050. Cequest sequesters carbon to produce clean hydrogen fuel as well as a bicarbonate that can be released into the ocean to combat ocean acidification. 

  1. Orwell

Meet the Orwell Team, Veer, Pranav, and Jai! Orwell is the world’s first anti-social media platform! Their goal is to mitigate social media addiction in an accessible manner allowing for the improvement of both mental health and productivity in youths and adults alike. They are a non-profit technology company committed to transforming mental health for everyone. 

  1. PALcares 

Meet the PALCares team, Dylan, Darby, Sasha, and Luke! PALcares provides social good impact for community members who struggle to obtain relevant and applicable support and for government and non-profit stakeholders who lack the infrastructure to address service gaps, service duplication and sector inefficiencies. PALcares guides the community with an online interface that connects them to a personalized list of relevant social supports.

  1. ClinicalVR

Meet the ClinicalVR team, Andrew, Kalter, Sanchi, Tyvaughn! ClinicalVR utilizes virtual reality (VR) technology. They are an early-stage start-up trying to change the lack of VR in clinical practice by providing hospitals and outpatient clinics with VR headsets, VR software which includes VR experiences developed based on patient and healthcare provider feedback, and VR support/training.

  1. Kaptis

Meet the Kaptis Team, Anupra, Taira, and Riya! Since the beginning of the climate crisis, carbon dioxide has been viewed as a pollutant we need to remove. Kaptis views it as a resource. The Kaptis team is aiming to build a reactor that can convert captured carbon dioxide to valuable solid carbon products, with a focus on graphene.

  1. MODASTY

Meet Roaa, founder of MODASTY. MODASTY will be the only online marketplace for modest fashion. Inspired by the shopping challenges of all women who shop for modest fashion, MODASTY will aggregate modest and islamic inventory from brands and boutiques all over the world and bring it into one online space for one seamless checkout. MODASTY is the Amazon of modest fashion.

Growth Ventures

The Growth category represents entrepreneurs at an early stage for profit impact business that have been operating for less than two years and have validated their model through early traction! Meet your Growth entrepreneurs! 

  1. FlutterCare

Meet Dolma, CEO and Founder of Flutter Care Inc., a digital health company based in Vancouver, B.C. whose technology promotes positive pregnancy experiences and outcomes. Flutter Care, a new technology designed to predict and prevent pregnancy complications, has received recognition from 8+ institutions. This includes the Canadian Medical Association, British Columbia’s Medical Device Development Center, and Innovation UBC. In 2020, Flutter Care was announced as a winner of Startup Canada’s SDG Impact Pitch Competition for their work to advance gender equality.

  1. Apricotton

Meet Chloe Beaudoin and Jessica Miao, Co-Founders of Apricotton! Apricotton is a Toronto-based teen bra brand that helps girls across Canada and the U.S find bras that fit and make them feel confident. They eliminate the awkwardness of going to the store to buy a girl’s first bra. Most importantly, they design bras tailored to every girl’s body type, so that they can grow as she grows.

  1. Typha Co. 

Meet Alec and Julien, Co-Founders of Typha Co. Typha Co. vision is to ultimately bring production in-house by deploying the first of its kind Typha bio-refinery, which will integrate a spectrum of bio-based products (chemicals, materials, feed) and bioenergy (heat, electrical power, biofuels). They are empowering the collective good to solve Lake WInnipeg’s environmental crisis!

  1. PEKO Produce

Meet the PEKO Produce Team, Arielle and Sang Le! Peko Produce delivers "peculiar" products to your doorstep for up to 40% off retail prices. Peko Produce purchases otherwise unsold “imperfect” produce from farmers and brokers at wholesale, providing them revenue that would have otherwise been unrecognized and discarded. They then compile all the varieties of produce into a box, sold at a fixed cost to the consumer at a heavily discounted price (in contrast to other retail grocery stores). Their mission is to empower access to affordable, healthy diets and rescue local food waste, one delivery at a time.  

  1. Reusables.com 

Meet the Reusables Team, Anastasia and Jason! Reusables was founded to help eliminate single-use plastics from our daily routines. Despite the convenience of single-use plastics, they present a threat to our planet and we would prefer to live in a world without them.They decided to break down the barriers between private, public and academic institutions and design a robust solution that is reshaping the way we consume.

  1. Hydronos Financial Technologies

Meet the Hydronos Financial Technologies Team, Jeremy and Philip! Hydronos establishes and offers an investable tokenized product for small-scale, sustainable infrastructure. The digital security, which uses blockchain technology to represent a tradable asset, enables private retail investors to invest in an asset class that had been previously difficult to invest in due to lack of liquidity, high transaction costs and limited transparency.

  1. ROVR

Meet the ROVR Team, Anthony and Kyle! ROVR is a VR Social Network that connects people based on common interests, mutual friends, and groups. ROVR enables the coolest thing about Social VR (and the Metaverse): that you can meet really interesting people easily, for free across any distance, and naturally befriend them. As VR hits the mainstream, ROVR will bring niche communities together, starting with the power VR users of today. When people make friends in VR, or bring their IRL friends to VR, they become power-users and realize the potential of Social VR. ROVR will be the social glue of the Metaverse.

Non-Profit Ventures

Meet your Non-Profit Entrepreneurs! This category represents early stage impact driven nonprofits that have validated their model through early traction. 

  1. Free Periods Canada Foundation 

Meet the Free Periods Canada Foundation Team, Zeba and Niki! Free Periods Canada Foundation is a grassroots, youth-run, registered non-profit organization. They are focused on fighting menstrual inequity and period stigma in Canada. Their solution is a unique integration of technology and community engagement in the field of menstrual equity advocacy, which does not currently exist in Canada. This tool can also be used as a networking opportunity for those interested in menstrual activism to connect with each other and other sexual and reproductive health experts.

  1. Threading Change Foundation 

Meet Sophia, Founder of Threading Change Foundation! Threading Change is a youth-led not-for-profit organization envisioning a future where fashion is ethical and circular, rooted in justice with climate, gender, and racial equity at the forefront. They work at the intersections of consumer education and industry transformation through our tri-impact model of education, innovative storytelling, and policy research.

  1. Warrior Yoga Network 

Meet the Warrior Yoga Network Team, Casse and Jesse! Warrior Yoga Network is a worldwide network of yoga and meditation teachers taking action to create a more inclusive and accessible yoga community. They are solving for the barriers that prevent people from accessing yoga and meditation as wellness practices. These are financial, social, cultural, geographic, physical barriers that prevent people from accessing wellness practices. These problems exist largely because the commodification of the wellness industry prioritizes profit - because of this, various systems of oppression are replicated and many people are left behind.

  1. Youth Helping Youth Non-Profit

Meet Anjali, Founder of Youth Helping Youth Non-Profit! Youth Helping Youth (YHY) is an international organization that promotes youth development. YHY aims to bridge the accessibility gap of resources and opportunities (scholarships, jobs, volunteer positions, tutoring resources) available to youth in low-income communities through easily accessible digital marketing platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.

  1. Break the Divide Foundation

Meet the Break The Divide Team, Sukhmeet and Abhayjeet! Break The Divide solves the challenges of apathy, denial, and polarization about issues through connection. They provide a space for young people to come together and connect with one another through genuine and intentional conversations. They help tackle the problem of the difficulty of tackling global issues by helping students focus on the challenges from local perspectives. 

  1. Accesso Canada

Meet the Accesso Canada team, Kath, Katie, Abigail, Tejas, Cecilia, Jim, and Gloria! Accesso Canada is a student-run collective of over 40 members from various backgrounds and interests. Based in Toronto, Accesso is focused on making the city more accessible through in depth reviews on how accessible malls and stores are across the GTA.  Accesso Canada is not only an organization to promote the awareness for accessibility needs but also one to promote the youth voice and perspective regarding various issues.

  1. Viability (Rebranding to Neurodivergent Futures)

Meet the Viability Team, Eliana, Vale, and Annanya! Viability is a youth-led organization dedicated to empowering neurodivergent youth in work, school, and life and supporting businesses in becoming more neuro-inclusive. Having operated in a disability space for 3.5 years, Viability has grown to offer a range of services including employment coaching, leadership programming, recreational programming, educational workshops, process consulting and community events. Unlike most other organizations in this space, they are disability-led and peer-to-peer, with 70% of our core team members identifying as neurodivergent.

Wow! We are blown away by the sheer number of ideas and innovation there are in this group of astounding finalists! Along with the diversity of applicant ideas and applicants residing from coast to coast of Canada. Now that you have met all the finalists, get ready to watch their amazing pitches at our Live Free Pitch Off event! This is a Pitch Off you don’t want to miss! 

The finalists will present their impactful and innovative ideas for prizes on August 24, 2021. Come listen to the top teams pitch to a panel of judges for amazing prizes (including up to $5000 per category) and mentorship opportunities! Each category will be in its own breakout room and audience members can choose which room they’d like to attend! Click here to register and get access to the event! Support your community and favourite finalists! 

August 13, 2021

Things to Keep in Mind When Pitching a Startup

Written By: Celine Duenas

Knowing how to pitch your startup is essential to the success of your business! You can have the best product or service, but without the attraction of investors, your business will have difficulty scaling up. We’ve rounded up some tips for you to remember when you’re making your startup pitch. 

Remember Your Goals 

Before you begin your pitch, consider why you are pitching. Ask yourself what milestones and goals you want to achieve and structure your pitch on those milestones. Why are you creating the pitch? Are you trying to bring your idea to the world? Are you trying to gain interest from an investor or investors? Or are you trying to find partners? Be aware that this can change over time as your pitch and business evolves. With your goals in mind, consider how you structure your pitch. 

Connect With Your Audience

In order to make an impactful pitch, you must cater your messaging and story to who you are speaking to. Remember who it is you are pitching to. Is it an investor? A venture capital fund or a government funder? Whoever it is, you must create that connection and involve the audience!  Replace “I” with “we” and prompt the audience to feel! The intention is to share your problem and make it relatable to people with like minded beliefs. 

Highlight Proven Traction

Make sure you provide numbers in your pitch! This means showing investors valuable traction that demonstrates progress and momentum of your business. This can be things like number of downloads, achieved revenue, social media insights and growth, etc. Showing numbers and proven traction will illustrate your customers, opportunities, and problems that you want to solve. 

Tell Your Story 

Although numbers matter, so does your story. Structuring your pitch or any presentation for that matter, in a story format, creates emotional attachment with your audience. Remember that stories are compelling and can sell your business because they tell people about who you are, convey your values, foster community and collaboration, and impart knowledge and education. Include an opening that involves the audience and shares your problem. Your closing must offer a call to action to join your organization’s journey and offer your solution. 

Make Use of Visuals 

Provide visuals to your audience! Facts, Numbers, and important details can easily be presented through visuals such as photos, graphs, diagrams, infographics, and charts! Your slides should visualize your business solution, business model, market opportunity, and competition in a clear and concise format. Visuals can speak louder than words, so consider how you visually communicate your idea to your audience. 

If you want to watch a real pitch competition live with real young entrepreneurs bringing their ideas to life, LOI is hosting the Impact Innovation Challenge Pitch Off on August 24, 2021. Click here to register and attend the free online event!

August 13, 2021

Summer of Impact Week 4: Spark Your Story Recap

Missed this week's Summer Impact? Here’s a recap! 

This week’s summer camp was all about sparking your story and sharing your vision with the world. To be an impactful changemaker, you’ll need to inspire clothes to support your idea and vision and also use this as an opportunity to validate your solution. 

Our Keynote speaker, Eric Termuende, founder of NoW, spoke about his expertise in storytelling and public speaking. He taught us the great success there is when you connect your story with your passion. If you can share your story and make it personal, you become the hero of your story and you become that much more attractive to your audience. You should structure your story with a beginning, middle and end. Consider the pain that isn’t resolved, the change, and the solution. Use emotion and descriptive words so your audience can relate to your story. 

A panel took place with The Three Ships team to learn all about their humble beginning and how they transformed into a multimillion dollar enterprise. Connie and Laura from Three Ships provided us with three tips that they learned along the way. 

  1. Get used to a lot of “no’s”
  2. Know when to be scrappy and when to spend
  3. Be flexible (but unwavering in your vision) 

Their story from how it started to how it's going is truly inspiring. Their one last tip is to challenge yourself to find your why and start doing it! 

Ghalia Aamer from TalkMaze held a workshop for crafting and sharing your own story. To help guide our story, she introduced three questions to start us off. Why do you do what you do? What do you do? And what sets you apart? These are great questions to guide you when you begin to tell your story to an audience. 

Aashni Shah from HypeDocs held a workshop for celebrating your achievements and overcoming Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome is a psychological pattern in someone who doubts their skills, talents, and accomplishments. The best way to overcome this is to talk about yourself with more confidence. Track your accomplishments so that you realize you are doing a lot more than you think! 

A very eventful last day of camp! Here are some takeaways for you:

  • Use emotions, small words, and descriptive words for relatability when telling your story
  • Getting your first customer can take a long time, take “no’s” as learning opportunities
  • Practice public speaking and find what sets you apart and use that to lead your story
  • Build your confidence! 

Thank you for joining Summer of Impact 2021! We look forward to seeing all of your ideas come to life as young changemakers. 

Who joined us this week? 

Eric Termuende

Eric Termuende,  Co-Founder of NoW, has spoken for events all around the world. Eric has been the insight-packed, outside-of-the-box storyteller that has helped organizations from Amazon to Toyota shape the future of their workforce. As Co-founder of NoW of Work, Eric has worked first-hand with industry-leading organizations helping develop resiliency and a more intentional future of work, as well as writing a best-selling book on the topic. From the TEDx stage to Forbes, the Globe and Mail, Financial Post, and bookshelves across the country, Eric is a trusted resource as we navigate uncertainty and create a better tomorrow at work. 

Three Ships  

Connie Lo, is the Co-founder of Three Ships, an all natural, vegan skincare brand on a mission to make clean beauty accessible for all women by providing 100% plant-derived, certified cruelty-free skincare products all under $40. At Three Ships, Connie spearheads strategic partnerships, vendor + retailer management, brand strategy, sales, and marketing. Connie’s interest in natural skincare began at a young age when she would whip up DIY face masks and concoctions for her skin after coming home from school. She grew up believing in the importance of eating well and taking care of your skin, rather than covering skin blemishes up with makeup.

Along with her love of natural beauty, Connie also grew up with a strong passion for entrepreneurship. Throughout high school, Connie ran her own businesses and was selected to ring the opening bell at the Toronto Stock Exchange due to her natural entrepreneurial spirit. Her thirst for business continued throughout her time at Queen’s University, where she joined and co-chaired an international entrepreneurs’ competition. After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, Connie wanted to combine her passion for wellness with female empowerment. In 2016, a mutual friend introduced Connie to Laura Burget. Both frustrated about the lack of affordable, clean skincare on the market, the two took their $4,000 CAD and began creating their own formulations in their apartment kitchens with the goal to one day create the most transparent natural beauty brand in the world. In 2017, Three Ships was officially born.

When Connie is not focusing on Three Ships, you can find Connie traveling the world, hitting up the hottest restaurants and bars, practicing healthy living, and spending time with her fiancé, Jason.

Laura Burget, Co-founder of Three Ships, spearheads product innovation and formulations, operations, back-end production, and financials. Laura is a life-long supporter of businesses with high ethical standards. Her journey into entrepreneurship began at the ripe age of 9 when she sold handmade crafts and jewelry at her elementary school to raise money for endangered animals. While in school at the University of Toronto for Chemical Engineering, she even ran two businesses on the side. It was through these experiences that she fell in love with entrepreneurship and became fascinated with creating something from nothing.

She began using coconut oil to remove makeup naturally but was frustrated by the mess it created. After looking for a natural, yet effective and more convenient alternative, Laura was unable to find anything on the market. In 2016, a mutual friend introduced Laura to Connie Lo. Both frustrated about the lack of affordable, clean skincare on the market, the two took their $4,000 CAD and began creating their own formulations in their apartment kitchens with the goal to one day create the most transparent natural beauty brand in the world. In 2017, Three Ships was officially born.

When Laura is not focusing on Three Ships, she enjoys hikes outside of the city, going to the gym, exploring new restaurants with friends, and participating in any form of competition (especially board games).

Ghalia Aamer 

Ghalia Aamer, Founder of TalkMaze, realized her passion for entrepreneurship when she set out to become a tutor at the age of 13. She was unable to find a company that would hire her because of her age so she decided to launch her own business, Toon Tutors, with a goal of providing meaningful employment opportunities for young people and affordable educational tools for families. In an effort to help peers foster interest in entrepreneurship, Ghalia started the first business-focused club at her high school, OSA Entrepreneurs. The club connected students with mentors and resources to teach them about entrepreneurship. Ghalia recently represented Canada as the country’s youngest delegate for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit, championing youth entrepreneurship across the world.

Aashni Shah 

 Aashni Shah is a Software Engineer turned founder building HypeDocs , a tool used to help people beat imposter syndrome, gain confidence and take control of their career narrative. Aashni has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Inspiring Women in STEM, as well as an Emerging Leader Under 40 in Canada. 

Innovation Challenge 2021 

Ready to show off what you’ve learned? Want to take your innovative business or non-profit idea to the next level? What’s your impactful solution?

Submit your solution by August 5 in our Innovation Challenge. This year there will be 3 separate categories (aspiring, growth, and non-profit) with 5 finalists each. Each category winner will receive a cash prize, mentorship, and perks from our partners. See more details here.

Interested in participating but don't have a team or want to ask questions about your idea/startup before submitting? Email academy@theleagueofinnovators.com

We want to hear from you! 

We want to hear from you!

After the session, let us know what you thought about Week 4! Click here for our survey and take 2 minutes to share your feedback! 

August 13, 2021

Summer of Impact Week 3: Spark Ideas Recap

Missed this week's Summer Impact? Here’s a recap! 

This week’s summer camp was all about sparking change and generating radical ideas. Ideas come from understanding who you’re solving the problem for which requires you to flex your creative muscle and take a human-centred design approach. 

Our Keynote speaker, Ryan Holmes, founder of Hootsuite, spoke about the process of ideation and provided us with the best tips. He taught us that the best ideas are the ideas that others care about. It might not start with the “BIG IDEA”, but it does start with the little ideas and building on those. It’s about being present in the moment and understanding what is the most impactful solution for your audience. In the end, his number one tip is to be curious, find that big wave, and get focused on that idea that will serve you really well! 

A panel took place with The Knowledge Society (TKS) team to learn all about how to bring your ideas to life. The team emphasized the importance of professional connections. Cold calling connections can be a powerful tool for seeking opportunities and being part of something bigger that you are passionate about. Focus on something that hasn’t been done before, and find gaps in existing solutions! TKS introduced “Moonshot Thinking” which is an ambitious, exploratory, and groundbreaking way of thinking and solving problems. 

Leah Coss, founder of Build a Biz, held a mini challenge for creative ideation sprint. She taught us how sprint ideation can push you to efficiently and creatively brainstorm by using Miro Boards. Decision making is one of the most important roles as an entrepreneur and using a “creative ideation sprint” will help expedite the decision making process and make it easier to prioritize the best ideas. 

It was a very jam-packed day of summer camp! Here are some takeaways for you:

  • Be curious and dive into new areas for ideation!
  • Focus on the big waves and impactful solutions.
  • Find ways to push your creativity efficiently by using Miro Boards.
  • Cold call potential connections to seek opportunities for yourself and your impactful solutions.

What a great third week of Summer of Impact! We can’t wait to see you for LAST Week of Summer of Impact: Week 4 - Spark Your Story! Want to join us live? It’s not too late! Click here to register if you haven’t already!

Who joined us this week? 

Ryan Holmes

Ryan Holmes, founder of Hootsuite, is a Canadian computer programmer and internet entrepreneur. He is famously known as the founder and CEO of Hootsuite, a social media management tool for businesses with more than 18 million users. He began developing Hootsuite in 2008 through his agency, Invoke Media. He is also the founder of League of Innovators, a charity with the goal of building entrepreneurial acumen for youth, from discovery to acceleration.

The Knowledge Society (TKS) 

Kim Parnell, The Knowledge Society (TKS) Director, is a serial entrepreneur that has been involved in a wide variety of ventures - from organizing conferences & events to TV hosting & production to founding, and later successfully exiting, a commercial cleaning company. Kim’s most recent venture was co-founding the data architecture startup Truebase. Using the internally developed, open-source data notation “Truth”, Truebase works with many different types of companies across Canada, the US and Australia, to create highly structured data models in the form of ontologies. These ontologies are used to power various business systems such as knowledge graphs, semantic networks, intuitive search, recommendation engines and various machine learning models. Kim loves working with creative & curious individuals, specifically, the young ambitious ones. She has served as an entrepreneurship coach for organizations such as YES (youth entrepreneurship arm) and as a mentor to the startup incubator, Founder Institute. She works closely with educational institutions like Georgian College (Big Data Analytics Program) as an industry advisor and helps provide students with real-world project experience. She is a frequent speaker on technology topics and shares much of her entrepreneurial journey on her various social media accounts.

Selina Liu, TKS innovator and researcher,is a 17 year old researcher and innovator diving deep into the intersection of brain-computer interfaces, neurological diseases, and genetic engineering! She is pursuing her Honours Bachelor of Science at The University of Toronto and has recently created Anthozoas, a moonshot company with the mission to genetically engineer coral zygotes to be resistant to the effects of rising water temperatures. She is currently a lead researcher at Medicine4Youth and an event coordinator at Youth Medical Action Potential.

Astha Dhyani, TKS innovator and researcher, is a 16 year old innovator and researcher in the field of neuroscience and brain-computer interfaces. She has consulted for companies and organizations such as Instacart and the United Nations, and has worked on developing her own moonshot company called Revalysis, which aims to reverse spinal-cord injury induced paralysis through gene therapy and antibodies. She is currently working with OpenBCI’s ganglion board to control laptops through her brainwaves, as well as working towards getting her I.B. Diploma at Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School. 

Uma Darbha, TKS innovator and researcher, is a 17  year-old neuroscience nerd, and is currently researching a section of neuroscience called Optogenetics. In the past, she has worked on projects like using piezoelectric materials to harness energy from earthquakes, and she has also been a student researcher at a couple neuroscience labs across North America since 2020. She is currently super interested in how we can use optogenetics to examine the human “consciousness” in terms of metacognition and memory! You can check out her portfolio here

Leah Coss 

Leah Coss, founder of Build a Biz, is on a mission to change the way we value people in society starting with the way we educate our youth. To prepare today’s kids for a future filled with Artificial Intelligence, Technology and Ongoing Change, she has built platforms and education methodologies that promote the development of Essential Human Skill Development in children and youth.

Get Connected on Facebook

The League of Innovators’s Youth Entrepreneurship Community allows you to connect with others, network, and be involved with a supportive community!

We'll share resources all week on Facebook and reminders for our Innovation Challenge - submissions are due August 5! Join the group here!

Mentorship Session

Attend live sessions happening on Thursdays at 2pm PST with fellow peers and learn straight from entrepreneurs to support your journey. You can expect all the mentors to share their experiences and knowledge with you as well as expand on specific topics or challenges that you may encounter.  

Click here to join the Mentorship hour! 

Don’t forget to check out the mentorship guide here! 

Thanks for joining us this week! See you next week!

July 16, 2021

Summer of Impact Week 2: Spark Change Recap

Missed this week's Summer Impact? Here’s a recap! 

Week 2 was all about sparking change. This means identifying and finding problems that you are passionate about and using that passion as your entrepreneurial direction for your venture. Kelly Lovell, CEO of BridingTheGap Ventures, spoke about choosing your own path and adventure and being able to self-reflect on what problems you are connected to to build not your elevator pitch but your “passion pitch”! In order to identify problems, Kelly introduced the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to discover which impact ecosystem you may belong to!

Workshops took place with different people and organizations to discuss and discover different social issues that you may be interested in. First batch of workshops covered social issues that will help you identify what problems you are curious and passionate about, including Gender Equality, Conscious Consumerism, Neurodiversity, and Activism. The second round of workshops covered personal and professional development. 

Discovering Social Issues Workshops

Developing Personally and Professionally Workshops 

What a great week 2 of Summer of Impact! We can’t wait to see you for Week 3 - Spark Ideas and Generate Radical Ideas! Want to join us live? Click here to register if you haven’t already!

Who joined us this week? 

Kelly Lovell

Kelly Lovell, CEO BridgingTheGap Ventures and Founding Global Chair, YOUNGA Forum

Kelly is a 19-time award-winning young entrepreneur passionate about bridging opportunity gaps to prepare young people for the future of work and solve global challenges. She’s a 3-time TEDx speaker, a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader and Queen's Young Leader—a prestigious honour bestowed by Her Majesty QEII that recognizes exceptional young leaders under 30 creating a legacy of impact.

“It’s less about what you’re doing and more about what you stand for and why you’re doing it” - Kelly Lovell

Sophia Yang 

Sophia Yang, Founder & Executive Director of Threading Change, a youth-led ethical fashion organization working at the intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in alignment with the necessary transition to a circular economy. Originally born in China but raised in Calgary, Alberta, Sophia draws on her multitude of diverse work and volunteer experiences as the drivers for her holistic approach and perspective on the protection of our environment. As a dedicated climate justice changemaker, Sophia has worked for over a dozen environmental organizations ranging from federal government agencies (Parks Canada, Natural Resources Canada), NGOs (Nature Conservancy of Canada, SPEC, Parkbus, CityHive), industry (CNRL), and academia (UBC, SFU).

Viability Team

Eliana, Co-founder and Chair of Viability is a third-year student at the University of Toronto with a background in Peace, Conflict & Justice, Psychology and Linguistics. She is passionate about neurodiversity, mental health, and accessibility. As a co-founder and the current Chair of Viability, Eliana hopes to empower neurodivergent youth and work with them and community stakeholders to co-create brighter and more just futures. Eliana is also currently working on two additional projects: one which focuses on accessibility and student rights, and another which centres around neurodiversity and employment. Eliana brings her lived experience with neurodiversity and disability when advocating for systems change and ultimately hopes to create more spaces where neurodivergent youth can live as their authentic selves and thrive. Outside of work and school, Eliana likes travelling, hiking, art, plants, and cooking (or at least is trying to - don't be afraid to reach out and share your favourite recipes with her!)

Vale Patterson, program facilitator at Viability is a third-year premedical student at the University of Toronto double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. He uses his experiences with autism, CPTSD, and dissociation as well as his art background to do educational content creation, webinars, graphic design, and program facilitation for Viability. He is an advocate for the autonomy and mental health of neurodivergent people and is passionate about the neurodivergency paradigm and biopsychosocial models being more incorporated into the health field. In addition to this, he also likes drawing, reading, cooking, and translating

Annanya Jain, UX Team at Viability is a 3rd-year student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sexuality, Marriage and Family studies. She is a strong mental advocate in her community and draws upon her experience with ADHD, G.A.D and panic disorder. At Viability, Annanya helps members secure employment, co-leads social programming and is part of the UX team for Viability's upcoming exciting project. In her free time, you would probably find her watching anime, playing video games and writing poetry. Annanya loves continuous learning so if you want to see what you can learn from each other, she's always open for a conversation.

 

Ravina C Anand

Ravina C Anand, COO of FLIK is a social-tech entrepreneur and the COO of FLIK, a female-identifying mentorship portal. In a hyper globalized world, Ravina aims to advance women’s economic participation and help women from remote and underserved communities. With experience in municipal politics and community advocacy, she promotes diversity by encouraging people to fight injustices and challenge stereotypes. On a global level, Ravina advocates for women and creates conversations around the trends and procurement for scaling social innovation situated in inclusivity, diversity, and equity. 

Harjas Grewal

Harjas Grewal, founder of United Women, a platform to connect and empower BIPOC youth. She is also the Global Social Impact & Activism Associate Manager at DECIEM | The Abnormal Beauty Company. Harjas is an activist whose career has taken her to the United Nations General Assembly, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and more to advocate for real change. Her expertise is social impact, activism, and human rights.

Mylene Tu 

Mylene Tu, Founder of Lumaki Labs, is a social impact-driven student entrepreneur studying Management Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Currently, she is the CEO of Lumaki Labs- an EdTech startup on a mission to fill the gaps of education through impactful internships. Prior to Lumaki Labs, she ran an organization geared towards empowering young women in STEM and has been recognized as a Woman of Inspiration by the Universal Women's Network. Outside of school and work, Mylene enjoys running, painting for her Etsy shop, and playing the ukulele. 

Grant Me Team 

Leyton Vergeire, Student Account Manager and Lead Mentor at GrantMe.In high school, Leyton knew he wanted to be a healthcare worker; but this desire was too vague for him to identify his exact passion. While Leyton adores the technical side of healthcare, he also knew he wanted to be more invested with his future patients and their families. Leyton discovered a sub-discipline of oncology called radiation therapy that blends both aspects of healthcare, and knew this was the perfect fit for him. Leyton currently attends the University of Alberta, Honors Physiology, for Pre-Radiation Therapy. As Leyton is passionate about helping students navigate their post-secondary journey, he is also a lead mentor and Student Account Manager at GrantMe!

Madeleine Golubev, Head of Community at GrantMe works with organizations and schools across Canada to set up workshops/events that help students navigate the post-secondary process. As well, she leads GrantMe's Mentorship/Ambassador programs and develops curriculum workshops for GrantMe students. Madeleine is passionate about helping students reach their goals and feel empowered about their futures!

Graydon Lawson

Graydon Lawson, Founder of Reduce Waste Now, a social enterprise that provides sustainable alternatives to everyday products. Graydon’s easy and actionable ways to reduce waste have led him to be featured on Subaru’s Drive Magazine, and to speak at Marvell Semiconductor’s annual Go Green Expo. He’s currently attending the University of Victoria pursuing a degree in economics.

Social Reset Team 

Jake Bradshaw, Co-founder of Social Reset is a recent graduate of Queen's University where he studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics. Ever since his own struggle with depression and anxiety he has been passionate about mental health advocacy. Jake has advocated for mental health through public speaking, writing and community organizing alongside a variety of organizations. Recently Jake co-founded The Social Reset, an organization that is working to address the mental health crisis by helping young Canadians cultivate healthy relationships with social media. 

Joey Florence, Education Director at Social Reset, graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelors of Arts with a specification in Psychology and Sociology and is on a mission to teach students how to cultivate healthy relationships with social media. Joey’s previous research has focused on the effects of social influencers on behaviours (such as eco-friendliness), and has now shifted to incorporate social media’s influence on mental health - as he is passionate about healthy living and experiencing life for today!

Get Connected on Facebook

The League of Innovators’s Youth Entrepreneurship Community allows you to connect with others, network, and be involved with a supportive community!

We'll share resources all week on Facebook and reminders for our Innovation Challenge - submissions are due August 5!

How to join:

Answer the questions that appear in order for us to approve your request:

  • Enter Eventbrite confirmation OR e-mail used to sign up 
  • Confirm you are between the age of 14-25

Mentorship Session

Live sessions with fellow peers and learn straight from entrepreneurs to support your journey. You can expect all the mentors to share their experiences and knowledge with you as well as expand on specific topics or challenges that you may encounter. 

Click here to join the Mentorship hour! 

Don’t forget to check out the mentorship guide here! 

Thanks for joining us this week! See you next week!

July 15, 2021

Top 5 Skills You Need to be a Successful Entrepreneur

Written By: Celine Duenas

Are you wondering how to become successful in your business? There are certain qualities, traits and values that most successful entrepreneurs share. Besides the expected communication and management skills, there are other distinct qualities that set entrepreneurs apart from others. If you need guidance into the entrepreneurial world, we’ve rounded up the top 5 essential skills you need to excel in as an entrepreneur. 

  1. Resilience 

Entrepreneurs face all sorts of challenges and difficulties in their career. It’s easy to quit and give up when things get tough, however, what makes a resilient entrepreneur is the willingness to stick it out during these tough situations. Being able to face obstacles head on is a commonality amongst successful entrepreneurs. This is because resilience allows you to recover quickly from setbacks and take “failures” as learning opportunities to overcome obstacles with the right attitude and the right mindset. 

That’s resilience. 

  1. Problem-Solving  

The first step in building any start up is understanding the problem you want to solve and providing that solution from your organization to your consumers. This is crucial for the operations and success of your business. But the entrepreneurial journey is peppered with daily challenges and you must also be able to adapt to different and complex situations, where problem solving is a key skill. Knowing how to evaluate each situation and analyze for solutions makes you a great problem solver which allows your business to thrive in the long run. 

  1. Creativity 

Entrepreneurship is rooted from creating and exploring new ideas. Having creativity as a skill helps you develop opportunities for enhancing your existing products, services, or simply making your organization better. Be the entrepreneur that can be innovative and generate new ideas for unique and useful solutions. It’s good to think outside the box, and not shy away from wild ideas, so be prepared to brainstorm and get creative. 

  1. Active Listening and Empathy 

Empathy is defined as the ability to “understand and share another person’s feelings and emotions and to demonstrate that understanding.” Active listening is similar to empathy, where the main goal is to pay attention, focus on the other person, and ensure that you understand without interrupting or being impatient. These two similar skills are important to have as an entrepreneur as it helps strengthen your interpersonal relationships with your team, customers, stakeholders, and more. As an entrepreneur, these two skills can help you in many kinds of situations like improving your teams’ performance and understanding your competition. 

  1. Willingness to Learn and Grow  

The last but most important skill to have as an entrepreneur is the willingness to learn and grow. There are endless possibilities for you to explore as an entrepreneur in an eager and evolving economy. Not all successful entrepreneurs are born with the greatest skills in the world, entrepreneurs learn and deepen their knowledge throughout their long journey. In order to grow as a knowledgeable entrepreneur, you must keep an open mind to learn, grow, and evolve. Seek out opportunities by reading books, taking classes, attending seminars, participating in case competitions, and more! You can join LOI’s Summer Campto validate your ideas and pitch your business venture to industry known leaders and investors in the Impact Innovation Challenge!

A great way to test your knowledge and entrepreneurial skills is by signing up for our Impact Innovation Challenge. With exposure to other entrepreneurs, industry leading investors, and useful resources, you will be able to build and accelerate your business while enhancing your network and entrepreneurial skills. You will be able to challenge yourself by pitching your startup and business ideas for a chance to win cash, mentorship, legal support and coaching to boost your business. Apply here so you don’t miss your chance to submit your impact idea and be part of the Impact Innovation Challenge 2021.

July 12, 2021

Summer of Impact Week 1: Spark Your Passion Recap

Missed this week's Summer Impact? Here’s a recap! 

Who joined us this week? 

Swish Goswami 

Swish Goswami, 24, is the CEO of Trufan, an audience engagement platform helping brands generate, segment and activate first and third party data. His company has made two acquisitions, raised over $4.1M to date (from several NBA players and venture firms) and has clients like Sony Music, Netflix, NBA, NFL, Procter & Gamble and a plethora of small to medium sized businesses.Swish has given three TEDx talks, secured a publishing deal with Kogan Page and a sneaker deal with K-Swiss, and set up an angel fund called AGEX Capital. Through AGEX, he is an advisor/investor in popular social companies like Upstream, FaZe Clan and Ashare. Swish has a personal following of over 200,000 and enjoys speaking around the world under North America’s prestigious bureau Speakers Spotlight. For his entrepreneurial and philanthropic achievements, Swish was inducted into Plan Canada's Top 20 under 20 and Bay Street Bull’s 30 under 30, recognized as LinkedIn’s Top Voice and Startup Canada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year and awarded the United Nation’s Outstanding Youth Leadership award


Yamila Franco 

Yamila was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. As a proud Afro-Indigenous entrepreneur, she co-founded Nyoka Design Labs, a clean technology social enterprise focused on leveraging advances in sustainable biotechnology and material sciences to bring eco-friendly, clean & innovative products to market. Her role has recently shifted to focus on strategy, scaling impact initiatives and laying the base foundation to build sustainable social enterprises. In her journey, Yamila also co-founded AfroHub Market, an e-commerce and networking platform which focuses on supporting the local community of entrepreneurs of African Descent in British Columbia and actively works as a financial literacy educator and strategist supporting entrepreneurs in navigating financial systems and establishing healthy financial habits. Yamila enjoys being and learning with the community, advocating for financial literacy and inclusion & volunteering to create safer and more inclusive spaces for all.

 "My goal is to raise more leaders in the community so we can break cycles of intergenerational poverty, create more opportunities for leadership & building sustainability at different levels of community and business"

Simran Dhillon

Simran Dhillon is a student at the University of Alberta studying psychology within the faculty of science and exploring facets of advocacy, community engagement, research, and innovation. Simran’s experience utilizing her advocacy and passion for innovation and entrepreneurship has placed her on public platforms including a conference held at the United Nations headquarters in NYC, in front of city hall, a TEDx event, channelled through her local newspaper, through serving her university, and an invitation to the 2020 Peace Summit at the UN centre in Thailand. For the past year, Simran has dedicated herself to entrepreneurship and her innovative start-up FentaGone; FentaGone’s mission is to reduce the amount of fentanyl-related overdoses occurring on the street level. Her team has received $10,000 worth of initial funding by winning the World's Challenge, through the Global Education program at the University of Alberta. Most notably, FentaGone garnered the support of Telus and Alberta Innovates by winning first place at the Telus Innovation Challenge earlier this year where they received $120,000 worth of financial support and ongoing mentorship and support by these affluent organizations. Simran and her team are currently in the process of verifying their design through research collaborations with two labs located at the University of Alberta specializing in biochemical and opioid-related research. Simran’s experience advocating, outreaching and learning from her community has inspired an immense motivation for entrepreneurship and to innovate to create a brighter future for all. 

“Almost a year ago, I was in your position listening to Swish talk and now we are on the same panel” - Simran 

James Lau

James Lau is a Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) certified personal development coach whose passion is to build a tribe of high performing dreamers. He had been trained under coaches who’ve worked closely with world-renowned leaders in the personal development space like Mindvalley, Tom Bilyeu and Tony Robbins. Quickly after graduation, he became one of the youngest mentors at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

Since founding Apologue in 2018, James has impacted the lives of over a thousand students through his signature workshops and seminars in South East Asia and North America. He works with millennials around the world to navigate and change the way they look at their lives and their future. One of his latest achievements is the launch of Apologue's mentorship program - The Growth Accelerator Program, which currently has a 100% success rate in helping students land summer/full time opportunities.

James Lau - Apologue’s Signature Purpose Workshop

Apologue's signature Purpose workshop helps young adults around the world to take that first step in better identifying their purpose so that they can accelerate their growth and live a more fulfilling life. This hands-on workshop will equip you with a game plan that will guide you as you move into different chapters in life.

More info + application form here! 

LOI students can get a special discounted rate at only USD500 for the entire year. (USD$1800 original pricing)

Don’t forget to check out the toolkit here! 

What did you miss?

Big Themes 
  • The origins of entrepreneurship
  • Why impact entrepreneurs do what they do
  • Discover what you feel connected to, and dive into your values and goals
Cool Panel

The Future of Entrepreneurship

  • How the world of entrepreneurship is changing and how it shows up in the future work
  • what it means to democratize entrepreneurship
  • The importance of being a mission-driven entrepreneur 
Breakout Rooms
  • What is your takeaway?
  • What does entrepreneurship mean to you?
  • How can it show up in your life? 

Interactive Workshop with James Lau, Apologue

Finding your “why”

  • Self reflection workshop to identify your why, problems you feel connected to, and think about your values and goals 

James ran the Purpose Workshop during the session and the Growth Accelerator Program was developed after interviewing over 100 students asking them what they really need. This is our most complete mentorship/coaching program designed to help young adults to develop themselves personally and professionally. It has three pillars - community, accountability and coaching which allows students to overcome pitfalls and leverage opportunities by elevating their growth and building strong relationships with industry professionals. We are currently at a 100% success rate in helping students land opportunities (summer and fulltime!) 

Mentorship Session

Live sessions with fellow peers and learn straight from entrepreneurs to support your journey. You can expect all the mentors to share their experiences and knowledge with you as well as expand on specific topics or challenges that you may encounter. 

Click here to join the Mentorship hour! 

Don’t forget to check out the mentorship guide here! 

Reflection Question 

What’s your reason for being a changemaker and who do you feel inspired by? 

What can you take away from this week’s Summer of Impact? 

  • Inspiration to get started on your journey as an entrepreneur and changemaker 
  • Understand yourself, values, skills, and more
  • Discover why you want to pursue entrepreneurship

Here are some words of encouragement

“That passion is going to be what keeps you going. Obstacles are hard to triumph but passion is what helps you to overcome it.” - Simran 

“I had to work on my mindset to be open and find people to help me solve problems” - Yamila 

“To be happy, you must practice gratitude” - James 

“Just because you are good at starting something doesn’t mean you are good at managing people. These are things I had to learn on the fly.” - Swish 

“It is not about you knowing how to do everything, it is about surrounding yourself with the right people and giving yourself grace.” - Jeremy 

Get connected on Facebook

The League of Innovators’s Youth Entrepreneurship Community allows you to connect with others, network, and be involved with a supportive community!

We'll share resources all week on Facebook and reminders for our Innovation Challenge - submissions are due August 5!

How to join:

Answer the questions that appear in order for us to approve your request:

  • Enter Eventbrite confirmation OR e-mail used to sign up 
  • Confirm you are between the age of 14-25

Want to join us live? It’s not too late to sign up and join us weekly. Click here to register!

Can’t wait to see you next week for Week 2: Spark Change! 

June 29, 2021

League of Innovators hosts “Impact Innovation Challenge” for young entrepreneurs

VANCOUVER, B.C., June 28, 2021 - League of Innovators (LOI) will host its National Impact Innovation Challenge for aspiring youth entrepreneurs this summer. The challenge focuses on entrepreneurs solving big social and environmental issues through their business with 3 categories to compete in: Aspiring, Growth, and Non-Profit Entrepreneurs. Contestants will pitch their startup and startup ideas for a chance to win cash, mentorship, legal support and coaching to boost their startup. Candidates of this challenge must be a Canadian resident and should have at least half of its founding team be under 25 years of age. These young entrepreneurs are building a social impact venture through introducing a new service, product, idea or approach that commits to a social, environmental, and economic advancement or introducing a venture that addresses one of the UN’s sustainable development goals.

“With many social and environmental impacts through business surfacing to mainstream discourse, entrepreneurs are now stepping up to raise the bar and make a real difference through their work. The Innovation Challenge helps young changemakers validate their unique ideas, gain access to a national network of resources and mentors, and gives them the confidence to work on tangible solutions to personal, economic and social issues” says Manisha Narula, Director of Community Impact & Strategy. 

How can these individuals set themselves apart from other founders building businesses? With a variety of educational programs, LOI has given eager go-getters an opportunity to take charge of their future and recognize the power they hold as innovators and entrepreneurs in the ever-evolving economy. The Impact Innovation Challenge is no different and delivers game-changing resources, tools, and experiences while challenging and testing the young innovators business ideas and solutions to well known industry leaders and professionals. 

As exciting or terrifying it might be, the Innovation Challenge may be the next step for any business to take to gain attention and traction into their specified industry. This challenge can give entrepreneurs valuable exposure they need to build and accelerate their business while enhancing their communication and people skills. This event will provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to network with other entrepreneurs, connect with mentors and investors, pitch their big ideas and learn about resources that are available to them. The challenge and prizes are made possible by partners such as SAP, RBC, Hootsuite, and Osler. 

“Participating in the LOI Summer Camp and Innovation Challenge gave me and my team confidence, support, and access to an invaluable network! This was so critical especially during a time as isolating as the pandemic it has been so great to feel supported by a community like LOI!” said Samantha Gardner, First Place winner of Impact Innovation Challenge 2020.  

The public will have the opportunity to apply for this challenge until 11:59 pm. on August 5, 2021. Finalists will be confirmed by August 12 and will be given pitch training and guidelines before the final pitch event on August 24 at 3p.m. PST. Visit the website to determine which category is the best fit and apply for the Impact Innovation Challenge.


About League of Innovators

League of Innovators (LOI) is a Canadian charity with a goal of building entrepreneurial acumen for youth 15-25 years old to be their own bosses in life and career. The charity founded in 2017 by Ryan Holmes, Founder and CEO of Hootsuite, has worked with over 10,000 youth to discover entrepreneurship and supported 480 young entrepreneurs in their pursuit of their entrepreneurial visions LOI is delivers accessible programs and tools to provide youth educational experiences that shorten their path to success, empower their ability to be their own boss, and amplify their impact as future innovators and entrepreneurs.

Visit us online at theleagueofinnovators.com  

Contact:

Joanna Buczkowska-McCumber, Executive Director, The League of Innovators

Email: Joanna@theleagueofinnovators.com | Tel: +1-778-389-2731

February 10, 2021

Meet the Founders of Batch 3

Starting your first business can be intimidating and is not the easiest thing that you will ever do! However, it very well may be one of the most rewarding things that you do. As an entrepreneur, you have the power to disrupt, innovate, and shape a better world! Your inspiration will likely come to you least expect it! For the founders of Batch 3.0 of Foundations, this was finding a way to reduce loneliness and companionship during COVID-19, discovering the power of being present while enjoying a cookie that you baked, or seeing the damage one-use coffee cups have on the world’s environment. These are just some of the fantastic stories that came out of Foundations Batch 3.0. Often the most challenging part of starting a business is frankly deciding to “just start.” The thought of starting a business can be overwhelming and daunting, and that is why the League of Innovators (LOI) is here to help!

If you have not heard of LOI before, we are a national charity that fuels the fire of young entrepreneurs through various programs at all stages of their business! Foundations came to fruition to make entrepreneurship less intimidating and more attainable. We do this through expert guidance on starting a business and connecting youth with a community of like-minded people! Foundation is a 6-week program that provides knowledge, resources, tools, and mentorship to help take their ideas to action.  It truly takes a village to launch and scale a business. The League of Innovators is here to support and make connections!

That is enough about us! Let’s start to dig into some of the fantastic founders we had the honour of working with within Batch 3 of Foundations. Batch 3 of Foundations consisted of 38 Ventures and 58 Entrepreneurs under 25 years old. These ventures came together from 8 different provinces from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Victoria, BC. Our founders came to Foundations with various business ideas, from selling unique crafts at farmers’ markets to apps, service-based businesses, and more! To help show you what is possible in just three short months, I want to share three founders’ stories from Batch 3.0 of Foundations.  

Serge Livingston - Founder of Treaźe

The first story we would like to share is Serge Livingston, the founder of Treaźe. Treaźe is a fun family adventure company based out of Kelowna, BC, that run treasure hunts. So how does it work? Easy, you buy a map from Treaze.co, and on the hunt day, you hit the streets of Kelowna and search for clues (locks with QR Codes), the first to solve the riddle wins a prize. It is a safe and fun way to social distance and bond with friends and family. So how did Serge come up with this idea? 

When Serge was a child, his father used to plan Treasure hunts for him and his siblings; it was simply a buried chest with pop and popcorn. Jump forward ten years, and COVID-19 hit, and times are tough! Serge decided to start running Treasure hunts for his friends and family for fun. Then he had the idea, “ why don’t I do this for the public as a business.” Serge joined Foundations in October 2020. Throughout the program, Serge worked diligently to get Treaźe off the ground. By the end of Foundations, he won our Founders Pitch Competition and was a week away from his first treasure hunt. Jump ahead three months; Serge is continuing to crush it, having run two treasure hunts with over 500 participants; he has two full-time employees and four interns! He is continuing to improve his hunt by working on an interactive app for the hunts. His next treasure hunt is on February 15th, so if you are in Kelowna, BC, buy your map now! 

Tanya Griffiths - Founder of Being Baked Cookies

Next up is Tanya Griffiths, the founder of Being Baked Cookies. Being Baked Cookies bakes and sells gourmet cookies with a unique handwritten message to promote being present. In the summer of 2020, Tanya decided to leap into entrepreneurship. She did not feel confident in her experience and knowledge of launching a  business. That is when she was referred to LOI by a friend. In her time in the program, Tanya was challenged and kept accountable continuously, making her more confident and supported while digging into problems that she can solve and what she wants to achieve as an individual and a business. By the end of Foundations, Tanya has sold over 200 cookies in the Greater Vancouver Area and continues to grow. You will soon find Tanya at Farmers Markets across Vancouver and working closely with local non-profit organizations that provide mental health and mental health illness resources.

Angelica Tso Co-Founder BYO

The third story we would like to share is Pricilla Lam and Angelica TSO, the BYO founders. BYO was started to reduce the waste from single-use coffee cups, eliminating waste from landfills. They plan on tackling this problem by creating a mobile-based incentive program that rewards patrons for using reusable coffee cups when ordering at cafes.  COVID-19 added some obvious struggles into their business development as most coffee shops temporarily do not allow reusable coffee cups. However, that did not stop the duo!

Priscila Lam Co-Founder of BYO

Through the Foundations program, Angelica and Pricilla tested and validated their idea through customer research and interviews with both users and coffee shops. Through this experience, they have made the most out of the situation and now have a very clear gameplan moving forward to build and launch their minimum viable product.  Today the BYO team is looking to expand as they gear up to develop and launch their MVP. Hopefully, as COVID-19 restrictions start to subside, you will see BYO in coffee shops near you!   

We are incredibly proud of all the hard work that every member of our 58 founders of Batch 3.0 has put in this past fall! We are even more excited to be continuing to work with all Batch 3.0 ventures as they launch and scale their businesses in the months to come!

 Are you feeling inspired? Do you, too, want to start your own business? Don't wait! Check out out the Foundations page to learn more on how LOI can help you get started and apply for Foundations Batch 4 🙂             

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