Launching A New Generation of Entrepreneurs

First off, thank you for being part of our email list. You can expect to receive approximately 1 email a month however for the next few weeks, you will receive a weekly email with updates on our launches and successes as we are officially a Founder in Founder Institute. Thank you for supporting us as we grow and expand. Exciting things are happening and we hope you will join us on this journey!

EntreLaunch is on a mission to change the world by empowering youth to think creatively, create social impact and think outside the box. Our programs are designed to alleviate global youth unemployment and underemployment by offering options outside traditional career paths. Through exposure to opportunities, youth develop skills to innovate and adapt to future job markets.

This week EntreLaunch took part in Startup Day on the Hill in Ottawa. The future of work was a major topic as we discussed how technology will replace existing jobs and how we need to prepare youth for this change. Working with teens, EntreLaunch is reaching our next generation of entrepreneurs at an earlier age which also gives teens more options as they plan their future. Schools are designed to push kids into post-secondary education but many graduates cannot find jobs in their field being either overqualified or under-qualified for many jobs. This results in a skills mismatch. We need highly skilled trades and we need entrepreneurs to create the jobs of the future.

The Jonathans and EntreLaunch It was a pleasure to see my two favorite Jonathans while at Startup Day on the Hill. I met Jonathan Ortmans at Global Entrepreneurial Congress (GEN) in Colombia in 2016 and again this March in South Africa. I love how GEN is creating a global entrepreneurship network in over 160 countries! The second Jonathan is Jonathan Greechan of Founder Institute. In September, Rebecca Palmer was accepted into the Toronto Founder Institute program as a Founder. The weekly email updates are just one of the assignments as we take EntreLaunch to the next level. The planning process for EntreLaunch began in 2013 and we finally launched full-time in January of this year after building our programs for the last two years. We had already validated the need for teen entrepreneurial education and had placed third in an international business competition through Copenhagen Business School (where we also met our Global Advisors and South Africa Lead Vongai Bhelebana). What EntreLaunch lacked however was a deeper connection to the Startup Community in the greater Toronto area. Founder Institute is a globally recognized program consisting of four months of rapid business acceleration and hard work – about 2 years in the normal business building process. We have assignments every week that take at least 20 hours to complete in addition to weekly mentor sessions and 2 separate working group meetings.  The program is intense and only the top entrepreneurs will make it through! The TELUS Elevator You have likely heard of elevator pitches but have you ever pitched in an elevator? TELUS is travelling the country allowing entrepreneurs to pitch their idea for a chance to win $100,000. EntreLaunch has a few ways to use this money so we pitched and submitted.  We note though that the sound quality in the elevator is not very good… Watch our pitch here.   We always want to hear from you! Please give us your feedback on our site, our newsletter, logo and how we can improve the experience.