JA Company Program
2015-2016
We’re on a mission to inspire and prepare youth to succeed in a global economy.
Dear JA Company Program Donors and Partners: This was another successful, busy and exciting year for the JA Company Program. The flagship of all JA programming, the Company Program is an intensive, hands-on entrepreneurial boot camp for high achieving teens. This curriculum based program can be run in school (teacher led), or alternatively it is also offered as an afterschool (volunteer business mentor led) extracurricular program. Students who enroll in the afterschool program are placed into teams with the teams quickly becoming companies. Once teams have agreed on a business idea, executives are elected, business plans are formulated, websites are designed and then production lines produce! The anticipated result for all the student companies is real sales and real profits being attained during this six-month afterschool program. This year ninety-seven Winnipeg students formed into nine afterschool teams; all creating unique product lines, all mentored by dedicated JA volunteers from the Winnipeg business community. During the 2015-16 year, the afterschool Company Program enlisted 29 volunteer mentors. Each mentor dedicated approximately 75 hours of advising time to their student company team over this six month period (program runs from November to late April) While enrollment in the teacher led in-school Company Program has remained steady, enrollment for the afterschool program grew 18% from last year. A lot of the success in this entrepreneurship program can be attributed to the strength of our partners. The Company Program saw an increase in funding due to new organizations such as CPA Manitoba coming on board as the Official Company Program Sponsor. Strong grassroots networking with organizations such as Ramp Up, CEO Manitoba, JCI Winnipeg, Shaw TV, Safe Work Manitoba, the World Trade Centre Winnipeg and Stu Clarke Centre for Entrepreneurship has made this program highly relevant to our student base. However equally as important, we are also seeing an increasingly strong and dedicated volunteer pool from the Winnipeg business community. This ultimately has made this program of more value – thus attracting a higher caliber of students. It never ceases to amaze how these bright engaged high school students can add this demanding extra-curricular program to their already busy school and work schedules. Please take a moment to see what these JA Achievers, our future leaders, have accomplished over the past year and notice how your contributions have made a difference!
CPA Manitoba Official Sponsor Of the 2015-16 JA Company Program JA Manitoba was thrilled to have CPA Manitoba on board as the official sponsor of the 2015-16 afterschool Company Program. This partnership has proven to be a great fit, as both organizations recognize the importance of developing the next generation of business leaders and encourage students to pursue postsecondary studies. All teams that participate in the JA program are required to develop business plans. These plans include everything from marketing and product development to full financials. Students have an opportunity to learn how to complete income statements, a break-even analysis and even create their own balance sheets to efficiently run their businesses. The program offers students a unique handson glimpse into the business strategy work that is often performed by professional accountants. The CPA designation is Canada`s premier credential for professional careers in business and accounting. A university degree in any discipline is all it takes to be eligible to enroll in the CPA program. Those who successfully earn their CPA designation are equipped with an education and background that enables them to go on and take leadership roles in the business community. You can find CPAs in all industries and across all business sectors. Many CPAs hold roles in upper levels of management, in CEO or CFO positions, or even as entrepreneurs running their own businesses. To learn more about becoming a CPA visit www.go.cpamb.ca
Scotiabank Manages student Teams’ banking needs! Thank-you to Scotiabank for handling all the afterschool Company Program’s student team banking needs for the 2015-2016 program year. Soon after each team decides on their product or service, they begin the task of selling $10 shares to gain their initial start-up equity. Once shares are sold, bank accounts need to be set up and money deposited. Scotiabank signed on this year as the official banking institution for all afterschool Company Program teams. Presidents and VP’s of Finance from each student company (along with one advisor) set up appointments with Scotiabank and learned the following: -how to open a small-business bank account -the responsibilities of being a signing authority, -the importance of online account viewing -how to deposit money -the basics of writing a cheque In addition to handling all the teams’ banking needs, Scotiabank also facilitated a lunch hour trade fair in the Shops of Winnipeg Square. This was a great opportunity for students to see and feel the busy vibe of the downtown lunch-hour business crowd. Thank-you Scotiabank!
SPECIAL EVENTS Afterschool Company Program In addition to the weekly team meetings that span over 20 weeks, many of the teams and students partake in the various special events and competitions that JA Manitoba organizes. Thank you to all the participants, volunteers and sponsors of various special events throughout the year. It is with your continued support and participation that JA can continue to inspire and educate our Manitoba youth!
MEETING OF THE MINDS Company Program Launch - November 2015
(ABOVE) Achievers and Advisors participating in a fun business challenge (RIGHT) Guest Speaker from Portray Advertising and Former JA Achiever: Greg Lipschitz
JA MANITOBA held the annual kick-off event, “Meeting of the Minds” for the Company Program – A Student Venture, at CanadInns Polo Park. 120 parents, volunteers (Advisors), students (Achievers) and JA Corporate partners attended. Advisors and Achievers were placed in their companies where they met and got started with icebreaker activities. Greg Lipschitz (former JA Company Program Achiever, local entrepreneur and co-founder of Portray Advertising) was the guest speaker for the evening.
EXECUTIVE TRAINING Company Program - December 2015
Elected executives from each of the Company Program teams’ are invited to attend our annual “Executive Training” sessions. Due to the great training space at Manitoba Hydro, we were able to deliver all seven training sessions simultaneously. Training sessions were conducted by volunteer professionals in areas such as leadership, finance, marketing, production, health & safety, human resources and social media. A special thank-you goes out to Dash Agency, the World Trade Centre Winnipeg (BIC), JCI Winnipeg, Safe Work Manitoba, CEO Group (Asper School of Business) and Warehouse One for delivering the VicePresident and Presidential training sessions. Students in executive positions were given guidelines and pointers from our volunteer business trainers on how to effectively run their departments for the duration of the program. (ABOVE) Riley Bell from CEO Group (Asper School of Business) delivers the Financing training session to students in the Company Program)
(ABOVE) Students from Company Program attending Executive Training at the beautiful downtown Manitoba Hydro building
ELEVATOR PITCH CHALLENGE: Company Program – February 2016
This competition brought to us by the Investors Group is designed to push students out of their comfort zone and into the world of selling their idea – the Elevator Pitch! In Round I Students have 2 minutes to sell their product idea to a panel of judges. Vying for cash prizes in this nerve wracking contest, this competition tests the students on their product knowledge and their ability to make a persuasive pitch. In Round II the top six pitches are brought back for a second round. Building on the feedback the students have gained from Round I, they compete for cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 (compliments of Investors Group) JA Manitoba would like to thank Elaine Ross, Senior Corporate Communications Consultant from Investors Group for organizing and hosting this annual competition. (ABOVE) Investors Group – Judging panels
Winners Andres Bazin and Bilal Ayyache from team myTag (Nelson McIntyre High School) took first place and $300 in cash prizes. Congratulations to all the students that participated! (RIGHT) First place winners from team MyTag Andres and Bilal with award presenter Glen Melnyk from Investors Group
THE “PERFECT PITCH” Company Program - April 2016 JA Manitoba in conjunction with the Shaw Studios brought back for the 4th year “THE PERFECT PITCH” - JA Manitoba’s version of Dragons Den. Student teams vie for cash prizes in front of a studio audience at the Shaw Studios. (LEFT): Team “Maple Card Company” preparing to deliver their pitch.
Our judges Chris Westdal (Pool Pros), Diane Bilodeau (Caisse Financial Group) and Luc Bohunicky (Consultica Software Services) were our Dragons. The taping was packaged into 4 episodes, aired on Shaw TV channel 9 and is available for viewing on Shaw’s YouTube Channel. (ABOVE): Judging Panel: Chris Westdal, Diane Bilodeau, Luc Bohunicky
(ABOVE): Perfect Pitch, Shaw Studios
TRADE FAIRS Company Program – March & April 2016 During the Trade Fairs, students were not only marketing their products to the public, but they were also competing with each other to win a number of trade fair specific awards. JA enlisted the marketing expertise of Cynthia Dowse (Dowse Media and Communications) to not only critique each trade fair booth, but provide constructive feedback. (ABOVE) – Team “myTag at the St. Vital Trade Fair
(Above) –Team C-Spray at Kildonan Place Trade Fair
(Above) Team C-Spray product line
Trade fairs were held during the entire mall hours on the following Saturdays: March 12th: Kildonan Shopping Centre (full day trade fair) March 18th: Hydro Gallery downtown & Scotia Bank(lunch hour trade fair) April 9th:
St. Vital Shopping Centre (full day trade fair)
JA Winnipeg teams sold collectively $12,000 worth of product to the public!
CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT Company Program awards night – May 2016 Essence Event Center at CanadInns Garden City hosted 115 students, parents, volunteers and sponsors who attended the Awards Ceremony a "Celebration of Achievement" for all afterschool Company Program participants. This year, nine new companies from Winnipeg schools were honored for their achievements; showcasing the brightest and the best - youth making a difference. Awards, scholarships and numerous prizes were handed out at this evening.
(ABOVE) – Future Leader of Manitoba Scholarship winner Andres Bazin
(ABOVE) – Company of the Year winners, team C-Spray
“Next Generation of Leaders” Scholarship York University – August 8th-12th, 2016 JA Manitoba along with sponsor Pool Pros will be sending one Company Program Achiever, Priel Lisak, to the Next Generation Leaders Forum (NextGen). NextGen is a JA Canada global forum that provides business skills to youth so they can lead organizations of the future. Youth from all over the world attend this intense five-day forum, where participants face real business challenges and develop strategies in collaboration with their global peers. This year’s forum will take place at York University. The JA youth who attend the Next Generation Leaders Forum are many of the highest potential young people in the world, and the next leaders of industry and society. (ABOVE) Next Gen Scholarship winner Priel Lisak
Company Program Sponsors CPA Manitoba (Official Sponsor)
Safe Work Manitoba
Manitoba Hydro
Papa John’s Pizza
Manitoba Government
Pal Group (scholarships)
Shaw
Pool Pros Ltd. (scholarship)
Caisse Financial Group
EO Winnipeg (scholarship)
Investors Group
Waterford Global Inc. (scholarship)
Workers Compensation Board
Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship High School New Venture Championships Students from the afterschool Company Program were invited to compete in the province wide “High School New Venture Championships” hosted by the U of M’s Stu Clarke Centre for Entrepreneurship. Categories for competition include Idea Pitch, Logo Competition, Business Plan and Trade Fair Booth. We were pleased to announce that JA teams placed in three of the competitions. C-Spray took first place in the Idea Pitch Competition with MyTag placing 2nd in the Trade Show Competition. Rural JA team Dangles (based out of Birtle MB) placed 2nd overall in the business plan competition. Many thanks to the Stu Clarke Centre for putting on this high-caliber province wide competition!
st
C-Spray takes 1 in Idea Pitch $500
nd
MyTag takes 2 in Trade Show $100 Gift Card
nd
Rural JA team based out of Birtle Manitoba takes 2 place Business Plan Competition $1000 post-secondary per student
COMPANY PROGRAM AWARDS Award
Winner
School
Best Business Plan
Sense
SJR
Best Shareholders Report
myTag
Nelson McIntyre
Best Website of the Year
myTag
Nelson McIntyre
Innovative Product of the Year
C-Spray
Kelvin
Best Trade Fair Booth
C-Spray
Kelvin
Highest Unit Sales
Maple Card Company
SJR
Highest Dollar Sales
C-Spray
Kelvin
VP of Website/social media
Bilal Ayyache
Nelson McIntyre
VP of HR
Jillian Ilao
Kildonan East
VP of Marketing
Alice Phung
Grant Park HS
VP of Finance
Kaela Kunst-Bentz
Kelvin High School
VP of Production
Walid Ayyache
Nelson McIntyre
VP of Environment/Health/Safety
Sarah Voullon
Nelson McIntyre
President of the Year Award
Elliot Kimelman
Kelvin (Gray)
Next Gen Award
Priel Lisak
Grant Park HS
Company of the Year
C-Spray
Kelvin
1st Investors Group Challenge
Andres & Bilal
Nelson McIntyre
2nd Investors Group Challenge
Octavia & Jenna
Kelvin
3rd Investors Group Challenge
Adrien Dinzey
Grant Park team
Anthony McLaughlin Scholarship
Shaun Ramos
Grant Park
Pal Bursary for Growth
Allan Eung
Kelvin HS
1st Safety Plan
Maple Card Co.
SJR
1st Shaw Perfect Pitch
C-Spray
Kelvin
Entrepreneurial Excellence Scholarship Elliot Kimelman
Kelvin (Gray)
Future Leader of Manitoba Award
Nelson McIntrye
Andres Bizan
For more information about the Company Program contact Marie Hacault 204-956-6087