EMSB students encouraged to take part in entrepreneurship competition

Former EMSB MIND High School teacher Monica Paraghamian  has transplanted her passion for youth entrepreneurship programming to the Montreal-based non-profit organization, UpstartED, which has now opened up applications to their much-awaited upGen Bootcamp, a 2.5 day tech entrepreneurship competition (January 24  to 26). This part of their program is free and is an opportunity for interested students to partake in an incredible weekend event during which they receive coaching and mentorship to launch a social enterprise. 

The upGen Bootcamp is for ambitious students who want to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. In only 2.5 days, students will:  Learn how to solve a challenging problem by identifying a business solution;    Work in teams to build the solution using a digital tool/platform;  Build a viable business model and learn how to get their solution into the hands on users;  Set up an online store using platforms such as Shopify;  and Pitch a Business idea to a panel of external judges (made up of company executives, investors, and entrepreneurs).

The first two days will be hosted at College Durocher Saint Lambert, and the final day will be hosted at Shopify Montreal.  Six teams from this competition will be selected to enter UpstartED’s incubator program during which students receive coaching and mentorship in order to help them launch their idea to the Canadian market.  The upGen Bootcamp registrations are application-based. The students selected to compete will have their participation fee fully subsidized by UpstartED and their sponsors. Parents and students can take  a look at the application and explore this opportunity together by December 15!  APPLY HERE.   For more information about the organization, visit www.upstarted.org/upgen-program