Event Impact Summary, submitted by Shawn Mintz, President, MentorCity
We embarked on several complimentary mentoring activities during the Canadian Mentorship Challenge which engaged close to 500 people. Seneca College’s Sharks’ Pond was the highlight as it provided budding student entrepreneurs with an opportunity to present their business ideas to local business leaders.
The Sharks’ provided great advice, feedback and shared their experiences. Hatem Jabshan, the CEO of Steeped Tea and a recent Dragon’s Den success story spoke about his past experience opening franchise restaurants “Opening a restaurant is a lot of hours. Prepare yourself for a hard journey”. The majority of the Sharks’ were Seneca graduates and these role models inspired the audience as they answered business, career and personal questions. The students are now ready to achieve even greater success and to one day sit in the Sharks’ seat.
Other activities included distributing a free mentoring eBook for three days - this empowering guide provides simple techniques on how to find a mentor and how to make the most out of each interaction. Also, several new people joined our innovative on-line mentor matching websites to engage in a series of give-and-take mentoring relationships.
What The Attendees Had To Say:
“Sharks pond was a great experience. It was the first time that I’ve actually presented in front of a panel of judges. The whole experience has helped me gain confidence and knowledge that can help me further succeed in the future. The sharks were very informative on the pros and cons of each business and gave great feedback on performance. Overall, it was a great chance for young entrepreneurs to gain some hands on experience for future use.”
Danny Sue, Student, Seneca Colleges Business Administration - Entrepreneurship and Small Business Program
“The challenge that Sharks pond presented was not only lots of hard work, but also a lot of fun. Our group devoted hours to perfecting our presentation and plan, just like any real business searching for investment. "The Sharks" were helpful in giving constructive criticism on our projects and advice on becoming entrepreneurs.”
-- Maggie Wilkins, Student, Seneca Colleges Business Administration - Entrepreneurship and Small Business Program
“I just wanted to send my congratulations to you for such a successful Sharks’ Pond yesterday. It was not only fun, but also very engaging and educational. Different background of the Sharks brought interesting and valuable insights to our students. I learned a lot too!”
-- Tan-Ling Yeung, Senior Development Officer, Seneca College
Event Materials and Media Coverage:
Facebook page
Sharks’ bios and the students business ideas
Toronto Sun and 24 Hours, Biting into entrepreneurship
SeneNews
The Noozl
NetworkRed – Seneca’s online mentor matching site
MentorCity eBook