I attended Youth Employment Services’ (YES) 12th Annual Entrepreneurial Conference today and I was totally satisfied with my experience.
The conference began with a keynote with Montreal’s Real Estate mogul Tatiana Londono (see her also on HGTV’s The Property Shop). Tat (as she calls herself) shared experiences and explained that hard work, not to take no for an answer and to have a clear goal got her where she is today. Tatiana is proof that keeping your eye on the ball gets you what you want. Kudos to her!
After a few questions, the round table sessions began. There were no less than 20 different subjects covered. From basic legal and accounting issues to guerrilla marketing techniques and home-based business tips. The YES conference had something for everyone. See the complete list of round table subjects here.
Unfortunately, we were only allowed to attend 2 round tables. Which means that I missed the other 18 or so subjects covered. Perhaps a two-day conference should be considered in the future.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on Entrepreneurship Idol. Five pre-selected business ideas were given 5 minutes to pitch their idea. The 5 teams nervously described their ideas in front an audience of 75+ as well as 3 discerning judges, Mitch Joel, President of TwistImage; Louise Guay, President and Founder of My Virtual Model; and Pino Di Ioia, Co-Founder of moozoo juices® and CEO of BeaverTails®. The host/emcee/time keeper was none other than CJAD’s Rick Peterson.
The Contestants:
A free culture and art magazine called Snap!, a Sustainable Agency, search sales with Salesaholics, get your fill with Fantasy Sports and Stocks site, a houla-hoop program for better health in our schools.
The Winner:
Snap! Congrats to them – they won $2,500!
Josyan McGregor 