Trent Student Entrepreneur Wins Gold at Pitch It Competition
Spencer Langlois takes top prize in Clean Tech & The Environment category at FastStart’s annual Pitch It competition
The competition was fierce as over 50 applicants and 13 finalists from Trent University, Fleming College, UOIT, and Durham College traveled to Fleming on October 4 to go head-to-head for FastStart’s third annual Pitch It competition.
Each year, FastStart’s Pitch It competition challenges postsecondary students to put their entrepreneurial skills to the test by giving students four weeks to develop a “for profit” business or a “not-for-profit” social enterprise that is innovative and offers a social or economic benefit to the community. The four weeks conclude with the final judges’ panel when $2,500 in prize money is awarded to the winning teams, $500 going to the winner of each of the five categories: Agriculture and Food, Information Technology & Media (including Media & Gaming), Clean Tech & The Environment, Trades & Retail Business, Lifestyle & Fashion.
Trent University was well represented by three finalists in the competition, Yusef Karim, Spencer Langlois, and Laura Mann. In the end, Trent reigned victorious, as Mr. Langlois took home gold in the Clean Tech & The Environment category, for his business, SolarWire.
"I always had the dream to create something that would change the world,” said Mr. Langlois. “Resources, labour, capital, all of these are value-placing variables to a community, but it is entrepreneurs who take what is in front of them and create something better. It is important for young people to know that their value is never determined by what they have, but by how they use what they have."