I started out by wondering what entrepreneurship is like in Canada, since many of the start-ups and founder I have been reading about have begun in the USA. I found a very interesting article about some of the challenges of being an entrepreneur. http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/fp-startups/can-we-do-a-better-job-teaching-entrepreneurship-in-canada
This led me to the non-profit organization The Next Big Thing, which works to inspire and provide guidance for young entrepreneurs. They can apply for a fellowship which provides them with advice, mentorship, networking opportunities, and workspace.
The board of this organization is pretty impressive. There are two co-founders, Ryan Holmes who is also the founder and CEO of Hootsuite, and Meredith Powell, whose credentials include management and business strategy for large apparel companies and launching a B2B ecomm platform. The rest of the team includes a large variety of CEOs and founders of many different companies and organizations including venture capitalism and charities.
I think this is a really exciting idea because not only does it provide opportunities for young people but also the opportunity to work with and be mentored by a variety of highly successful people. The fellowship would be a great experience for any student with entrepreneurial goals and ideas.
