Watch the Trent Youth Entrepreneurship Society video for more information.

If you’re a Trent University student on the brink of launching your own business, the student-run Trent Youth Entrepreneurship Society (TYES) wants to hear your percolating ideas. TYES provides students of all stripes, whether they’re studying Anthropology, Chemistry, English Literature or anything in between, with vital resources and guidance to transform their entrepreneurial dreams into a real-life operation.

Hanging the ‘open’ sign on student businesses

“We are fulfilling the unique need to support all kinds of entrepreneurs and connect students from different subjects to potential partners and team members,” said Cameron Ogden, a Business Administration student in his fifth year and president of TYES, one of Trent’s newest student groups. “Our Business program’s specialization in entrepreneurship, with a focus on other areas such as marketing, accounting human resources, is strengthened by our connection to numerous other student groups including the Trent Central Student Association, the Trent Business Students Association and the Trent Marketing Association.”

The student-run organization offers provides students with the opportunity to participate in networking events featuring guest speakers and workshops to help students create business plans and improve their pitching skills. A key component of the group’s mandate is securing financing to support entrepreneurial students while providing critical resources essential for job creation and the success of Trent students.

“Our services will be vital in the creation of sustainable, socially beneficial, internationally developmental and technological businesses,” Mr. Ogden says.

Partnering in enterprising success

TYES resources are amplified by additional partnerships in the local Peterborough business community, designed to create proper channels for students to accelerate their businesses including FastStart, an extra-curricular program that opens the door to entrepreneurship, and the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster (GPIC), a group which brings together talent, knowledge, and investment to drive economic growth and development and entrepreneurship-led job creation.

“FastStart and GPIC have cast an extremely wide net in Peterborough and have made many crucial connections for budding student entrepreneurs,” Mr. Ogden explains. “Their goal to foster entrepreneurship in Peterborough supports our initiatives at Trent. We truly benefit from each other by introducing students to all of their resources, skills, and knowledge partners.”

Within this established partnership TYES is gearing up for a busy fall by extending Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) held at Trent University from November 16-20 into Entrepreneurship Month from November 12-27. The group will offer boot camps on power pitching and lean business canvassing models to prepare participants for student-run entrepreneur competitions during GEW.

Mr. Ogden says TYES will also facilitate access to several upcoming entrepreneurial competitions to highlight talented students at Trent University and showcase Peterborough as the next entrepreneurial hub of Ontario.

More than profit margins

Mr. Ogden believes TYES, along with its partners, will serve double-duty as both safety net and trampoline for potential entrepreneurs, reducing the hesitation students associate with starting their very own business.

He also has higher aspirations. “We will strive to innovate and disrupt the status quo in terms of defining a successful business. A business that is financially sound is equally as important as having a positive impact in our community and world.”