The Impact social that Impact Connect held on February 2nd at the University of Waterloo was a huge success, leaving Waterloo students and Impact members alike to be motivated and excited!

The session was very successful, with over 50 Waterloo students in attendance. A number of  Impact members were also there to share their experiences of being part of Impact, as well as to outline Impact’s plans for the upcoming year.

At the end of the session, many students stuck around to network and mingle with the Impact members, and many expressed interest in becoming involved with Impact’s programs in 2010!

If you were unable to attend Tuesday’s Impact social but are still interested in becoming a part of Impact team, please feel free to contact laura.chelaru (at) impact.org.

To see more photos from the Impact Social, click here.

This coming Friday, exactly one week before the 2010 Winter Olympics arrive in Vancouver, VEF Momentum will be hosting its first event of the year!

On Friday, February 5th at 5:30PM VEF Momentum: Higher, Faster, Stronger will feature a speaker and Q&A session, as well as ample networking time to help entrepreneurs connect with the people, resources and answers they need to succeed – all in an inviting, fun and casual atmosphere. What better way can you kick off the weekend than a great speaker, excellent company and delectable drinks and appetizers at our venue Pop Opera in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

When: Friday, February 5th, 2010
Start Time: 5:30PM
Location: Pop Opera, 686 W Hastings, Vancouver
Tickets: $10 – Register now (Registration is online only, there will be no registrations at the door and a maximum capacity of 150. Ticket price includes appetizers.)

The keynote speaker for the evening will be Mark Williams, Co-Founder of Elastic Path Software, a local success story that has created an e-commerce platform used by everyone from Sony Ericsson to the Vancouver Olympic Committee. Elastic Path has consistently ranked among the fastest growing companies in Canada. Mark will share some great war stories co-founding his start-up in Vancouver and will share what first-time entrepreneurs can do to reach the podium in their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Click here to register now!

For more information, please contact VEF Momentum at vefmomentum@gmail.com. You can also follow them on Twitter (@VEFMomentum), Facebook (VEF Momentum) or LinkedIn (group name: VEF Momentum).

Finally, there’s a radio morning show dedicated to the challenges and success facing Canadian entrepreneurs. “The Entrepreneur Hour” will both motivate and inspire you.

On Sunday January 31st at 10:15 a.m., Christine Lu, Impact’s Ontario Office President, will be featured on “The Entrepreneur Hour” with host Steve Stunt on CP24 Radio 1050. Christine will be discussing Impact’s goal to create the next generation of entrepreneurs realize their true potential. Impact connects people, knowledge and ideas and provides inspiration to leaders at every stage of their development. Due to the current economic environment, entrepreneurship in Canada needs to be encouraged at the youth level to foster innovation.

“The Entrepreneur Hour” is an informative weekly one hour radio show. Host Steve Stunt presents a wide range of topics relevant to the challenges of small business owners as well as interviews with outstanding Canadian entrepreneurs.

Throughout his diverse career, Steve has been a teacher and mentor to countless entrepreneurs, helping hundreds of small business owners get started. In addition to 20 years of teaching experience, Steve was a founding board member of Small Business Club Niagara, as well as a founder of the Niagara Entrepreneurship Awards. He has also been a judge in the Provincial Business plan competitions for the Ministry of Small business and sits on the loan committee for the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

For more information on “The Entrepreneur Hour”, please visit: www.theehour.com

Ever wanted to know more about Impact? Ever wanted to show your potential and connect with other inspiring leaders? Then the upcoming Impact social is the place for you to shine.

This Tuesday, February 2nd, Impact Connect will be hosting a social for UW students who are interested in learning more about the organization and our plans for 2010. It will be taking place from 5-6 pm, in the SLC room 2105B. RSVP by filling out this form [http://tinyurl.com/impact-social] or via Facebook [http://tinyurl.com/impact-socialFB] so you won’t miss out on this chance of getting the inside scoop of Impact.

We hope to see YOU there!

Are you a student entrepreneur that has an exciting idea but are having challenges finding working space, funding and other resources to get your business off the ground? Here’s an exciting opportunity that you absolutely cannot miss out on!

The University of Waterloo is partnering up with Centre of Commercialization of Research/Ontario Centres of Excellence to create a program dedicated to supporting 3 teams of student entrepreneurs to see their idea from the beginning stages to a final product/service. This competition is open to all post-secondary student entrepreneurs from Canada!

What you can gain:

• Up to $3000 per student (max 3 students per team to $9000) to fund your company
• Free office space at the Accelerator Centre
• Free accommodations for 3 months in University of Waterloo’s VeloCity residence, fully renovated featuring state of the art technology
• Invaluable connections to mentors such as David Crow and Jacqui Murphy
• = an unforgettable summer experience

Requirements:

• You are a student enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution at the time of the application.
• Must be able to commit to working on startup full-time from May through July. (not engaged in coursework or other employment).

On more information on how to apply, please visit the Velocity website. Applications are now being accepted until February 14th, 2010!

Impact is proud to be an official partner for VeloCity’s Entrepreneur Bootcamp.