Local high school students will have the chance to showcase their business ideas and win some cash.
The Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch competition is returning to give students in grade 9 - 12 the opportunity to win up to $3,000 by creating a video explaining their business idea.
The video has to be two minutes long and should summarize the business idea and highlight the unique benefits of it. Other tips for a successful video include explaining how you came up with the idea, how it can help people and how the business will be profitable. Props, sketches and prototypes are encouraged.
“This is an excellent opportunity for students to take an idea or a dream that they have been thinking about and start to turn it into a reality,” said Rosemarie Montgomery, Business Consultant with the Chatham-Kent Small Business Centre. “With access to smartphones, tablets and other technology, it’s become easier than ever for students to record a short video and enter the contest.”
The competition is put on by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Government of Ontario with the goal of helping inspire and educate the next generation of business owners and leaders.
Last year a total of 200 videos were submitted from students across Ontario with a selection of 20 finalists and six total winners chosen.
Videos are judged through a combination of online public voting as well as judges’ scores. Finalists are awarded a trip to the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery event and will each receive a prize pack that includes a space in the Summer Company program, business plan consultation and mentorship and an award of up to $3,000 to start their business.
“Every student who enters has the potential to become a business owner, create new local jobs and be a future economic leader in Chatham-Kent,” said Montgomery.
The deadline for video entries is March 22. For more information and to submit your video click here.