Students receive grant, mentorship and training on starting a business

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The group of 15 Summer Company students will be heading back to school next month, but they will bring with them an education in entrepreneurship and their own businesses to consider as they plot their futures.

Now in its 23rd year, the program is delivered by Invest WindsorEssex’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre and funded by the provincial government to promote entrepreneurship through the hands-on experience of creating a business.

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“I think what stood out this summer was how ambitious the students’ enterprises are,” said Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre executive director Sabrina DeMarco.

“They were launching ideas that are big, ambitious and innovative endeavors from product manufacturing of cosmetics and board games to development of apps. The ideas we’re seeing are increasingly sophisticated coming through the program.”

The Summer Company offers students, both high school and post-secondary, up to $3,000 in provincial grants, training and a mentor to help get their ideas of the ground and navigate the paperwork maze required to start a business.

“They help me most on learning about the financial side of running a business,” said Nathaniel Prange, a Grade-11 student at Marantha Christian Academy who is developing board games.

“They gave me advice on how to spend my money and where and how to do things the most cost-efficient way. I also learned a lot about marketing.”

Prange will continue to work with the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre this fall to bring his games to market by Jan. 1.

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Prange said his games are designed around strategy and having a lot of moving parts to think about.

“Making board games is something I’ve been doing for a long time and I enjoy it,” Prange said. “There are so many steps to getting one into production, but I’ve been given that opportunity because of the Summer Company.”

Assumption Grade-11 student Amisha Suresh created a cosmetics and skin care business called Luminque Naturra and found herself so enthralled with the entrepreneurship experience that’s she’s considering studying business instead of biology when she begins her post-secondary education.

“I was inspired to do this by my Grade-10 business teacher Mrs. Rhonda Bentley,” Suresh said. “The Summer Company has opened up new pathways.”

Suresh’s move into manufacturing cosmetic/skincare products came from watching her dad create his own skincare products at home. She was able to sell her products at the Downtown Farmers’ Market and is setting up her website to continue with online sales.

“It went well this summer,” Suresh said. “Patience was my biggest lesson.

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“If you rush to get things done and don’t pay attention to details, you won’t end up with the product you want in the end.”

Suresh added dealing with the public also provided her with many important lessons.

“I’d never done that before and it will really help me moving forward,” Suresh said.

DeMarco said all 15 of the Summer Company students got to experience selling at the farmers’ market.

She added there was a diverse mix of businesses and business owners with the gender split being about 50-50 this summer.

“They got to meet their peers and make contacts with other business owners at the market,” DeMarco said. “They got to sell themselves and their products.

“That’s what the program is about – planting the seeds of entrepreneurship to continue on with your business or create a new one in the future.”

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