Collaborative planning and team cohesion. Mentorship from community leaders. Crafting the perfect pitch for local investors. Career experiences like this are helping Trent students sharpen entrepreneurial skills and build networks that last well beyond graduation.  

Here are four unique opportunities for Trent student entrepreneurs, all driven by two essential components for entrepreneurial success: community and connection. 

$100 Start Up
Students get the chance to be an entrepreneur, testing their business plans firsthand through the $100 Start Up project in Trent’s third-year Entrepreneurship course. Teams invest $100 to launch and operate a real business for one month to learn all about what it takes to bring a business to life within a supportive learning environment.  

Students navigate the common challenges and nuances of being an entrepreneur, which helps cultivate resilience and strategic thinking skills. The result? Graduates enter the business landscape more confident and solution oriented. Meet past participants and ideas in the $100 start-up.  

Create Centre for Entrepreneurship 
Trent’s Create Centre for Entrepreneurship connects students with faculty, campus programming and business communities, and offers a space to imagine and influence what it means to be an entrepreneur.  

Students are empowered to turn their ideas into real-world impact learning to pitch, plan, and launch ventures through ideation labs, team-based problem solving, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Through explorations of social innovation, leadership, and interdisciplinary collaboration, students tapping into the programming and resources in this space prepare to work alongside others with diverse sets of expertise in a wide variety of disciplines. 

Gzowski College Entrepreneurship and Innovation Micro-credential
Entrepreneurship thrives when connection is at its core. Trent’s Gzowski College Entrepreneurship and Innovation Micro-credential builds on that principle, offering students a community-driven experience where mentorship meets real-world impact.  

Open to all undergrads, the program blends hands-on workshops with one-on-one mentorship from local changemakers. Through ‘Mentor Match’ where students are connected with a local entrepreneur, they have the chance to learn firsthand industry knowledge from a professional in their field of interest. The micro-credential also facilitates connections between local business owners and students, who are future talent for organizations. For participants, the most valuable takeaway usually becomes the lasting connections they build. As one student put it, “I feel like I’m part of a community and I’m very hopeful.”  

Business Innovators Challenge
At Trent Durham GTA, students put their entrepreneurial thinking to the test in the Business Innovators Challenge. Working in teams, they develop and pitch creative solutions for real business challenges or market needs.  

Guided by academic and industry mentors, students deliver pitch presentations featuring market research, prototypes, and actionable strategies. Evaluated by local business leaders and faculty, the Challenge offers professional feedback and a cash prize for top ideas. 

Buy The River
Held along the banks of the Otonabee River, Buy the River is a one-day open-air marketplace that brings together 100+ students and 20+ industry professionals and local businesses for networking. With a focus on supporting emerging entrepreneurs, the event offers students an opportunity to pitch their ideas in a finance competition. They also get the chance to participate in immersive stock simulations, a series of interactive experiences, and career workshops. With opportunities to sharpen business skills and make meaningful connections, Buy the River supports student ambitions and local enterprises thrive. 

Learn more about Entrepreneurship at Trent.