March 2023 Newsletter

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

Startup Tourism Weekend 2023

Keep an eye out for more details about the Startup Tourism Weekend, tentatively scheduled for May.

Startup Tourism Weekend is a pitch competition organized to address some of the challenges faced by the tourism industry and how aspiring entrepreneurs can be the solution.  In two and a half days, you will work as part of a team to experience the thrills and pains of being an entrepreneur in the tourism industry, and meet fantastic mentors, coaches, and investors who will guide you through the startup process.

This two-day event will start with an initial Meet and Pitch on Friday evening followed by a Work and Learn day on Saturday with a final Pitch Competition. The event will flow as follows:

Day 1: Meet and Pitch

• Have dinner and meet the other entrepreneurs and ‘wantrepreneurs’
• Pitch an idea to the group to have it included in the vote for which projects are worked on over the weekend
• Participants vote on the projects they would like to work on
•  Build a dream team by pairing up with participants who want to work on the same idea as you!

Day 2: Work and Learn!

• Work with your group to further develop your idea, find out what your customers want, build a prototype, or create a brand. We will provide you with some of the things you will need to make this happen.
• Receive help from experienced mentors to help solve some of the tougher challenges that you will inevitably encounter.
• Build a compelling pitch with the help of assigned coaches. You will have 5 minutes to present your business to a panel of judges, and to the rest of the group.
• Watch the presenting teams, have fun, and celebrate the work that you have done.

More details coming in the April Navigate Newsletter and on our Facebook page, @navigatesmallbusiness.

NAVIGATE NEWS

A PhD candidate in Grenfell’s transdisciplinary sustainability program made the top five list at the Mel Woodford Cup competition this week.

Abdul-Latif Alhassan is co-founder of AbbaTek Group Inc., a software company that aims to increase capacity to collect and analyze certain environmental data, starting with microplastics. His partners are Jean-Samuel Poirier, a master of business administration student, and geoscientist Ivo Agbor Arrey.

AbbaTek Group helps advance community science solutions to solve local challenges related to natural resources, climate change and natural hazards. The company’s focus is on the skillful implementation of the “People, Planet, and Profit” paradigm.

The top winner was Notch Embedded, a software tool that allows engineers to quickly support new chips in electronic designs.

The runner-up was SmartBin, which has developed a sensor to detect when waste bins are full to save companies time and money and plan more efficient collection processes.

The other finalists were Bonocle, a platform that makes braille education and entertainment accessible, portable, affordable and fun to reduce braille illiteracy and empower persons who are blind, and Songflow, a software-as-a-service platform for songwriters to collaboratively create and manage songs.

Two other awards were handed out courtesy of the Fry Family Foundation: Med SimuLabs won the award for women or non-binary leadership and CodeDoc Hub won for an early-stage idea.

The Mel Woodward Cup was created through a donation to the Faculty of Business Administration in 2017 from the family of the late Dr. Mel Woodward, founder of the Woodward Group of Companies. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency also provides support for the competition.

Read the full story here.

Last week, Prof. Lynn Kendall of Grenfell Campus’s business faculty delivered a free, three-hour workshop titled Financial Management Fundamentals at the Centre for Research and Innovation, sponsored by CBDC Humber and Navigate. Topics included cash flow management, basic budgeting, CRA registration, reading your financial statements. (Photo by Marvella Wells)

PARTNER EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

Today, March 28, Navigate will have a table at the Youth Future Fair! If you or people you know are between the ages of 15 and 30, drop by the Corner Brook Civic Centre between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to learn about career, education and volunteer opportunities!

Youth Future Fair
Tuesday, March 28^th
11am – 3pm
Corner Brook Civic Centre

The Future Fair is a Job, Career, Volunteer and Education Fair for youth ages 15 – 30.  Over 25 local businesses and organizations highlighting a wide variety of industries and/or education opportunities.
Some of them include:

·         Grenfell Campus
·         CNA
·         RCMP
·         Royal NL Regime and Canadian Army Reserves
·         Qalipu (education/trainings and info on Canada Learning Bond)
·         Atlantic Edge Credit Union ( Financial Literacy)
·         NLOWE
·         Navigate
·         Lifewise (Mental Health Peer Services)
·         Western Regional School of Nursing
·         Town of Pasadena

The Future Fair will also feature a Job Board where students can check out real time job ad’s in the region.  There will a table set up with career counsellors from the YMCA Employment Supports to assist with the job board and how to do a job search.  Students will also be given the opportunity to win various small prizes, as well as a main door prize of an Apple Macbook.

For more information, please contact CBYF:   info.cbyf@wnl.ymca.ca