Events, News & Media

Jose Lam

The Jose Lam Start-up Event is designed for aspiring entrepreneurs! If that’s you, then this will be your extra motivation to take that extra step, connect to a wide network of support, and start that business. In this exciting 1.5-day event, participants will work as part of a team to experience the thrills and pains of starting a real company, while engaging with skilled mentors, coaches, and potential investors.

This annual event is held in honour of the late Dr. Jose Lam, Professor of Business at Grenfell Campus and a passionate supporter of the entrepreneurship community in Western Newfoundland. This year, Navigate is excited to announce that the Jose Lam Start-up Event will be held on Friday, October 20th and Saturday, October 21st at the Centre for Research and Innovation! The event will start with an initial Meet and Pitch on Friday evening (Oct 20th), followed by a Work and Learn session on Saturday morning, and a final Pitch Competition on Saturday afternoon (Oct 21st).

The Jose Lam Start-up Event is part of BDC’s Small Business Week (October 15th-21st), organized locally by the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade. The event is free and open to anyone interested in entrepreneurship and learning more about starting a business. Meals will be provided for the duration of the event, and winning teams will win exciting prizes ranging from cash to valuable services provided by local businesses. Look for more updates on Navigate’s social media or at https://navigatesmallbusiness.ca/events-news-media/

Participants in Navigate’s recent Tourism Start-up Event came up with everything from gaming to henna application to picnic lunches as business ideas in the tourism sector.

The event, which was held at the Centre for Research and Innovation, saw about 25 people gather to brainstorm business pitches that were shaped with the help of seasoned mentors in the tourism industry.

“I’d like to send out a huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who pitched a business idea at the event,” said Dr. Brennan Lowery, acting manager of Navigate. “They all worked very hard and it was exciting to hear the great ideas they had to grow the tourism sector in this region.”

Teams included:

Baskets on Wheels: Natalie Toba and Gail Barnes. A unique picnic-based experience that will give cruise ship passengers a gourmet home-cooked dining experience in scenic locations around the Corner Brook area
Forever Gaming: Wayne Joyce and Coby Joyce. A mobile retro video game experience that brings vintage video games to events big and small to share the passion for gaming with people of all ages (first-place winner)
Having a Time: Anahita Mireslami. Bringing local Newfoundland cuisine to you with street food-style cuisine in downtown Corner Brook
Leap Ltd.: Kosuke Toba and Andrew Mosher. Connecting English learners from Japan with an authentic Newfoundland experience of immersive language learning and cultural tours (third-place winner)
Newfoundland Craft and Henna: Zuairia Kamal. Sharing the traditional art of henna with you at local events through a live art experience (photo below)
Starfish Site/Starlynn Counselling: Starlynn Shears-Osmond. A trauma-informed art therapy retreat centre in Gros Morne National Park informed by traditional healing practices and art (second-place winner)

The event was successful thanks to the support of the mentors, judges and sponsors, who made the weekend engaging, fun and productive.

The event began with an icebreaker led by “Barry the Unity Guy” of Epic Engage, followed by entrepreneurs Kevin Vincent (Newfound Sushi) and Jake Dicks (Jake Dicks Photography), who shared stories about their start-up journeys.

The talented and knowledgeable mentors who guided the pitch teams through the weekend included:

Abdul-Latif Alhassan, AbbaTek Group Inc.
Joe Dicks, Marble Inn
Prof. Lynn Kendall, Grenfell Campus
Allan Kendall, Appalachian Chalets & RV
Carole Spicer, Spicer Facilitation
Rob Thomas, NL Indigenous Tourism Association
Mark Tierney, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Grant Wheeler, Humber Motors Ford

The judges, who had their work cut out for them as they deliberated carefully to choose the winning teams, offering valuable feedback to all teams, included:

Lauralee LeDrew, Upper Humber Settlement
Lexie McKenzie, Go Western Newfoundland
Sharon McLennon, NL Workforce Innovation Centre
Samantha O’Brien, Atlantic Edge Credit Union
Glenda Simms, City of Corner Brook

“And of course none of this could have happened without the awesome support of our sponsors,” said Dr. Lowery.

Sponsors included:

Atlantic Edge Credit Union – $1,000 cash – first prize
CBDC Humber – $250 cash – second prize
Everoutdoor Adventures – Guided kayak tour for four – second prize
Spicer Facilitation – $300 business consulting – third prize
Madison’s Restaurant – $100 in gift certificates – third prize

For more information about Navigate, visit https://navigatesmallbusiness.ca/.

Navigate hosted a successful Mentor Speed-dating Workshop for aspiring entrepreneurs recently.

The fun and fast-paced workshop, held June 28 at the Centre for Research and Innovation, was a hybrid event that connected entrepreneurs and mentors both in-person and online.

During the session, about 15 entrepreneurs had allotted time with each mentor to pick their brains for ideas and advice regarding their start-ups. These aspiring entrepreneurs, which included a group of Grenfell and CNA students who recently completed an eight-week entrepreneurial internship program with Navigate, also had a chance to build networks and acquire valuable knowledge.

Navigate would like to thank the following people who volunteered their time as mentors:

Denise Gibbons, CAN- Corner Brook Campus
Sonja Mills, Port Rexton Brewery
Scott Andrews, Futurpreneur
Neil Nordeje, Ecobloc
Steve Churchill, Phone Tech
Morgan Payne and Megan Walsh, MP Business Solutions Ltd.

“The value of events like this is that they can provide aspiring entrepreneurs with valuable knowledge and expertise to guide their start-up journey,” said Dr. Brennan Lowery, manager of Navigate. “As well, bringing back in-person events is an important part of maintaining and growing the entrepreneurship community. That said, Navigate also recognizes the value of online events to ensure accessibility to people across western Newfoundland, and we want to keep offering high-quality hybrid options for our entrepreneurship events.”For more information about Navigate, visit https://navigatesmallbusiness.ca/ or email blowery@grenfell.mun.ca.

Register now for a chance to win prizes of $1250 and a $500 branding package from Mireille Sampson at User-Friendly Website Design (winner) and a guided kayaking tour for 4 with The Saltbox and Everoutdoor Adventures (runner up). There will also be other fun swag! Prizes sponsored by:Saltbox and Everoutdoor AdventuresUser-friendly Website DesignDonations from the GCBBT Business Excellence Awards Gala cake auctionNavigate presents: Jose Lam Startup Event – November 4-5 Calling all aspiring entrepreneurs! This event is for you! The Jose Lam Startup Event is the perfect opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs, ‘wantrepreneurs’, and anyone who has ever dreamt about starting their own business one day. This event will turn your “one day” into “day one’! In a day and a half, participants will work as part of a team to experience the thrills and pains of starting a real company, while engaging with skilled mentors, coaches, and potential investors. The event will start with an initial Meet and Pitch on Friday evening followed by a Work and Learn session on Saturday morning and a final Pitch Competition on Saturday afternoon. The event is open to students and members of the general public who are interested in entrepreneurship and in learning more about starting a business. Meals will be provided for the duration of the event. Friday, November 4, 2022Meet, Mingle, Ideate and Pitch

Have dinner and brainstorm with the other entrepreneurs and ‘wantrepreneurs’
Pitch an idea to have it included in the vote for which projects will proceed to the pitch competition on Saturday
Participants vote on the projects they would like to see move forward
Build a dream team by pairing up with participants who want to work on the same idea as you!

Saturday, November 5, 2022Morning: Work, Learn and Build your Business Model

Work with your group to further develop your idea, brand, product, service or prototype, develop a business model, and start testing your idea on potential clients. We will provide you with some of the things you will need to make this happen.
Receive help from experienced mentors to solve some of the tougher challenges that you will inevitably encounter.

Afternoon: Pitch your Idea!

Build a compelling pitch with the help of assigned coaches. You will have 5 minutes to pitch your business idea to a panel of judges and to the other participants.
Watch the presenting teams, have fun, and celebrate the work that you have done!

Space is limited. Please register in advance HERE to reserve a spot. This event pays tribute to one of the biggest fans of Startup Weekends: the late Dr. Jose Lam.Register now for this free event!Thank you to our generous prize sponsors!

Entrepreneur Ecosystem Coffee Break – Testing your business idea on June 23.

More information to come.

Let’s get social! Community Impact-a-thon

Are you passionate about making a difference in your community? Do you have ideas that could create a positive social impact or do you see social problems in need of solutions?

Join Navigate and the Centre for Social Enterprise for an impact-a-thon community challenge to pitch your idea for a chance to win seed funding of $500, $750, or $1000 for your social enterprise!

When: Friday, June 3 from 4:30pm-9pm and Saturday June 4 from 8:30am-5:30pm

Location: Grenfell Campus, Arts and Science Atrium, Corner Brook

Registration: https://forms.gle/rC8NdamSbGDJ14Sh8

For more information, click here.

Community Workshop & Consultations

Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise (CSE) and Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre present four community workshops around social enterprise, social innovation and rural sustainability.

Register for just the session(s) of interest to you, or stay with us for the whole day! Faculty, students, entrepreneurs and community members are also invited to register for a consultation session with the CSE team, who would be happy to chat about a variety of social enterprise-related topics. Please see the document below for more information.

When: Thursday, June 2 from 9am-4pm and Friday, June 3 from 9am-12pm

Location: Room AS2011, Arts and Science Building, Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook

Registration: https://forms.gle/Ebmo8w63zWdkTaWY9