THUNDER BAY - There’s no such thing as a bad idea and young entrepreneurs are hoping a panel of judges agree, as they entered the den to pitch their idea for a new business.
On Wednesday, 10 finalists presented their business plan during the finals for Enter the Den. The competition, hosted by Thunder Bay Ventures, has been running for the past eight years, and challenges high school students to develop a business plan to be pitched to a panel of business leaders in the city.
“We are looking for creativity,” said Chris Stewart, a commercial account manager with RBC and one of five judges. “Anyone can come up with just about anything, but we are looking for real life businesses that could actually come to fruition. We are looking for people who are confident in their product because sales are everything and you need to be confident that the product you designed can actually be a real business.”
Deborah Poole-Hofmann, event coordinator with Thunder Bay Ventures, said this year the students came up with some really great ideas.
Some of the pitches presented included a baby bundle based on traditional Aboriginal designs, senior software for senior’s home to help keep families connected, an ice cream stand in a northern community, and ways to reduce the workload on local farms.
Grade 12 Sir Winston Churchill student, Benjamin Bryson, pitched his idea for health dog treats, Best Friend’s Treats. He believes there is a gap in the market when it comes to providing healthy treats for pets.
“The idea I am presenting is healthier dog treats that I sell online,” he said. “I see this as important because a lot of dog treats that are out there currently have preservatives and you don’t know what’s in them because there is no organization regulating that.”
Bryson said it’s been a lot of work preparing a business plan from scratch, but he is confident in his idea and he believes there is a strong market for his product.
“I took on this idea when I realized how much people are willing to spend on their pets,” he said. “To a lot of people this might be like a child to them.”
The first place winner of Enter the Den will earn $1,500, but Poole-Hofmann said participating in the competition is about more than earning first place.
“It’s very gratifying to watch them go through all this,” she said. “It’s a huge step. Everybody knows speaking in front of a group of people can be nerve wracking. They build a huge amount of skills and self-confidence.”
And that is what Steward said the judges want to encourage, building up the courage in young people to develop new ideas.
“Every idea is great,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a wrong idea. But one of the things we want to give them is a sense of hope, that what they have actually can work. We want to give them some real, constructive feedback about real life.”
“Entrepreneurship is the backbone of our city,” Steward continued. “We all hear that youth are our future, so if we can get these youth to start some business to become entrepreneurs themselves, our city our nation our community will thrive.”
This year, Sierra Boire of Sir Winston Churchill won first place for Rose River Succulents, while Bryson's Best Friend Treats won second place, and Miguel Quequish of Dennis Franklin Cromarty won third place for Greybirds Ice Cream Castle.
