As some of you already know from an earlier post, we here at Impact are proud to present Ontario’s Next Top Entrepreneur, a pitch competition to be held at the Ontario Centres for Excellence Discovery 2010 Conference.

Ontario Centres of Excellence is offering up to $18,000 cash for any undergraduate or graduate student team in Ontario that is looking for funding to start up their company. Recent graduates are also welcome. All you have to do is submit a quick online application form application form with an optional video by Monday, April 19th, 2010!

The top five teams will move on to deliver their pitch at Ontario Centres of Excellence’s (OCE) Discovery 2010 conference. The winning team will be enrolled in OCE’s Centre for Commercialization of Research’s New Entrepreneur Program where they will be granted a non-recourse micro-loan of up to $18,000 ($6,000 per team member), have access to advisory services, and have the opportunity to network with key mentors and private investors.

Registration for this competition ends soon, so don’t wait any longer!  Apply now and you might become Ontario’s Next Top Entrepreneur!

Are you Ontario’s Next Top Entrepreneur? Send in your application today! Only 4 days left!

Do you think you have a viable and potentially profitable business idea?  Then why not put it to the test and audition for CBC television’s Dragons’ Den?

Fresh off the highest-rated season yet, CBC Television’s DRAGONS’ DEN is embarking on an epic audition tour. Due to overwhelming demand, producers are expanding the search to over 40 stops. From the Great White North to the edges of every coast, DRAGONS’ DEN is seeking Canadians with creative ideas and money-making savvy to make the case for cash. Successful candidates will make their way to the Den for a chance to appear in front of the Dragons in the new season.

Click here for a list of the audition cities and times.

Can’t make it to the auditions?  Not to worry, you can also apply online!  Simply follow the instructions to fill out the application.

Have questions about the audition process?  Check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

Not sure what to expect for your audition?  Dragons’ Den offers some advice!

We hope to see you on DRAGON’S DEN!

During the week of August 23rd, we will be hosting our 4th Annual Impact Apprentice Competition at Downtown Toronto. The candidates will be competing in 4 days of business challenges including: Marketing, Sales, Consulting, and Creativity. Past prizes include $10,000 worth of goods and services, as well as exclusive internship opportunities with some of the top North American companies.

Impact Apprentice have been recognized as Canada’s most prestigious and exclusive business competition. We are looking for the top 48 university students (both undergraduates and graduates) across the nation to compete. The registration process is private and only by nomination. Please submit the following information to the provided email address.

Your Information

• Name:
• School:

Nominee’s Information

• Full Name:
• School:
• Area of Study:
• Email:
• Phone Number:
• One or two sentences of why you are nominating them to be Impact’s Apprentice:

Once they have been accepted through the first round of nomination, we will then conduct the second and third round of selections (the candidates will also be able to access the Apprentice website). The deadline for nomination is APRIL 30TH, 2010.

All nominations should be sent to apprentice@impact.org.

Impact Microcredit Chair, Mitchell Schinbein, will be participating in the MasterMind event at this weekend’s YSEC Re:Vision 2010 Conference on Sunday afternoon. Impact Microcredit 2010 has been one of 4 delegate initiatives at the conference that have been selected to be analyzed in this challenge .

Here’s How It Works

Impact Microcredit 2010, along with the  three other “cases” will each provide a two-minute pitch in front of an audience that describes the project and the challenge. After hearing all of the pitches, the audience is going to decide which of the four cases they want to help over the next hour or so. Followed by this will be a breakout session, where four separate discussions will take place, each based on a specific case. In these breakout sessions, the audience will get a chance to learn more about Microcredit 2010 and discuss ways to address the various challenges and oppurtuinities presented in this initiative.

Impact would like to wish Mitchell the best of luck in this event and thank the Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada in selecting Microcredit to be part of this worthy event!

To learn more about Impact Microcredit, please click here.

To learn more about YSEC and the re:Vision conference, please click here.