2022/2023 YELL Canada Venture Challenge Program by YELL Operations Team

YELL Canada 10th Annual Venture Challenge 2022/2023

Welcome from our National Director of Education

Welcome to YELL’s 10th Annual Venture Challenge and our return to in-person pitches! It is so exciting to all come together again to celebrate the amazing ventures you have built. Over the past year, our students have shown incredible resilience and ambition as we emerge from the pandemic. In speaking with our network of YELL teachers, I am wholeheartedly impressed and excited about the future generations of problem solvers. I am confident they are ready for the challenges they will face out in the world.

We are entering an unprecedented period in education. Traditional assessment techniques and the inherent value placed on content memorization are thrown for a loop with emerging AI technology. Education is evolving. Our students and future leaders have access to tools that they must learn to utilize effectively. Programs like Entrepreneurship 12 offered by YELL give students the critical thinking skills and the initiative to see opportunities in the turmoil. Our team is honored to play a part in developing our future leaders.

In the past year, we have welcomed teams of students and educators from Yukon. In addition to our many teams in Metro Vancouver, Northern British Columbia, and Alberta, our YELL network is growing! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to collaborate with educators in each of these regions to improve our programming further. I am extremely proud to be supporting such a dedicated and passionate team of teachers.

Finally, I would like to thank our community partners: RBC Foundation, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, Coast Capital Savings, CPA BC, CPA AB, KPMG and MNP, for supporting the continued expansion and growth of our programming to schools across Canada. I would also like to express gratitude the many volunteers who have spent time with our classes this year, as speakers, mentors and judges. Thank you all so much for investing in Canada’s future leaders.

Thank you all for your engagement and support, and take care,

Ian Mak

National Director of Education, YELL Canada

So you're wondering...

What is the YELL Venture Challenge?

As part of the YELL entrepreneurship program, students in grades 10-12 learn the core concepts of lean entrepreneurship - from problem solving and ideation, to customer discovery and market segmentation! Over the last couple of months, students have formed teams to come up with a business venture idea, and with the guidance of mentors, validated their business idea and prepared a pitch presentation. They have been working hard as a team and have practiced their pitches many times. Each class even participated in a mock pitch with judges to prepare for the Venture Challenge!

The Venture Challenge is a pitch presentation event -think of it like Dragon's Den for high school! Teams have prepared and will present a 7 minute pitch to a panel of judges, comprised of members of our community, who have never seen or heard their presentation before. These judges may be business leaders, startup founders, industry experts, company CEOs, investors, community partners and accelerator program staff. Judges will ask questions and give feedback using our judge rubric. These filled out rubrics are then passed to the YELL teachers and used to assist them with assessment.

Mentors and judges are members of our community who volunteer to support our youth. They spend countless hours each year with our YELL students - sharing stories and advice, answering questions, making business connections to help them grow their professional network and helping them to validate their business ideas.

The Venture Challenge is a mandatory part of the program. Students must pitch at the Regionals event in order to fully complete and graduate the YELL program. (The SemiFinals and Finals are just a bonus for extra experience!) As YELL is an accredited high school course, students will receive a percentage and letter grade that's reflected on their high school transcript. They will also receive a program completion certificate if they graduate the program in good standing. Our partnered post-secondary institutions also offer YELL graduates, first year entrepreneurship credit if they choose to apply to their university - giving them a head start on their post-secondary journey!

We wish all of our YELL students good luck at our 10th Annual Venture Challenge!

Important Venture Challenge Prep Info For YELL Students

Participation in the 2022/2023 YELL Venture Challenge Regionals is mandatory. Students must present in order to fully complete the YELL Entrepreneurship Program and receive a program completion certificate from your YELL teacher.

Pitch format:

Each team will do a 7 minute pitch

Approximately 10-15 minutes of Q&A and feedback from the panel of judges.

How to prepare your presentation:

Have your pitch saved on a USB drive in both Power Point and PDF formats! You will not have access to the internet on the room's computer, nor will you be able to plug in your own device to project onto the screen. Your final presentation must be saved on the USB drive and plugged into the room's computer. We do not suggest any videos that require audio output as the room may not have speakers set up.

Who will be in the pitch rooms:

Each pitch room will have YELL Ambassadors who will be facilitating and assisting with the transition between teams.

3 judges that will listen to pitches, ask questions, and give feedback using the judging rubric. This rubric will be given to your teacher for assessment purposes. You may also have YELL teachers, mentors, school administration, YELL partners and YELL students' supporters watching the presentation.

Feel free to invite your mentors, friends, and family to come watch your pitches! You've worked hard this year and we encourage you to invite them to cheer you on!

You may bring snacks and drinks to enjoy during the day but please do not consume snacks in pitch rooms or theatre. Make sure you are not leaving behind any trash or personal belongings. Please be respectful of other teams that are pitching, and students and faculty who may be working or studying at the university that day. There may also be classes in session so please keep the noise to a minimum.

YELL Teachers

Alberta Ian Ferguson Bert Church High School

Airdrie, AB

Metro Vancouver

Catherina King

Pinetree Secondary School

Coquitlam, BC

Garrett Cox Richmond Secondary School Richmond, BC

Ian Mak Mulgrave School West Vancouver, BC

James Nevison Sutherland Secondary School North Vancouver, BC

Jo-Anne McKee

West Vancouver Secondary School West Vancouver, BC

Northern BC

Alex Chan

Nechako Valley Secondary School

Vanderhoof, BC

Ashlyn Mehr

Caledonia Secondary School

Terrace, BC

Helen Erickson

Smithers Secondary School

Smithers, BC

Yukon

Andrew Jansen

F.H. Collins Secondary School

Whitehorse, YK

Lauren Scott

Ross Sheppard High School

Edmonton, AB

Joe Dardano Burnaby Mountain Secondary School

Burnaby, BC

Lydia Taylor Vancouver Technical Secondary School

Vancouver, BC

Mitch Grave Queen Elizabeth Secondary School Surrey, BC

Sheri Johnson Handsworth Secondary School North Vancouver, BC

Martin Runge

Correlieu Secondary School

Quesnel, BC

Trevor Hood

Prince George Secondary School

Prince George, BC

YELL Mentors

Allan Waine

Program Facilitator Edmonton Unlimited

Andy Nguyen Co-Owner Bak'd

Avinash Ambale Founder and CEO

Daara Nano Biosense

Ben Pereira President Neighbourly North

Brandon Smith Building Contractor New Vision Project Inc.

Brian Abelseth Co-Founder Doortender

Chris Stairs Co-Founder Sales Primer

Curtis Haley Financial Coach Outright Coaching

Daryl Hatton CEO ConnectionPoint

David (Cyri) Jones Founder and CEO Zen Maker Lab

David McMichael

Instructor, School of Business Capilano University

Dino Konasewich

Early Stage Investor, Advisor, Founder Blue Sky

Enoch Weng CEO and Co-Founder Rise Above Finance

Eugenio Coccimiglio Program Facilitator Edmonton Unlimited

Floyd Sjimons CEO Enermetrics/eDecisions

Frank Pho Founder ADNA Venture Partners

Holden Beegs Co-Founder Zero Experience

Joe Deobald Founder Full Frame Marketing Inc.

Josh Gray Co-Founder gogglesoc

Julia Zu Talent Development Specialist

Nicola Wealth

YELL Mentors

Julie Wang

Digital Strategist

Tiny Planet Digital

Julien Curl Consultant

Oliver Wyman

Justin Lam

Chief Strategist

Three Sixty Media

Justina Mark Founder Mark Consulting Ltd.

Lee Tracie-Stockburger

Associate and Executive Coach Novus Global

Lisa Lambert Principal Rule Number Six

Mandy Lines Owner Budget Blinds

Margaret Hadley Accountant Salesforce

Maz Ahmadi Managing Director Wizardry Labs

Mervyn Mabini Principal M2N Advisor

Neil Keown Founder

Sawback Technologies Inc.

Octavia Yung

Principal

Occtam Solutions Inc.

Ping Yao

CEO and Co-Founder

Optigo Networks

Rachel Chase

CEO and Co-Founder

Zennea Technologies

Rybo Chen

Global Transformation Leader SAP

Sophie Bujold

Founder and Community Designer Cliqueworthy

Tanner Hougen Co-Founder Yukon Built Inc.

Tiffany Duff

Assistant Director of Student Recruitment Northeastern Univeristy

Timmy Ho Director of Engineering CTO.ai

Winnie Henry Financial Advisor Scotiabank

YELL Mock Judges

Adriano Maluf Amui

CEO & Founder, FCA Strategy

Allan Waine

Program Facilitator, Edmonton Unlimited

Ari Nitikman

Founder, Elevate Ultimate

Brooklyn Rowe Venture Manager, Creative Destruction Lab

Catherine Barr

CEO and Owner, Turner Media Canada Ltd

David Thomas Mediator, British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

Enoch Weng CEO and Co-Founder, Rise Above Finance

Eugenio Coccimiglio

Program Facilitator, Edmonton Unlimited

Floyd Sjimons

CEO, Enermetrics/eDecisions

Frank Pho Founder, ADNA Venture Partners

Holden Beegs Co-Founder, Zero Experience

Josephine Kwan Director, ChopValue

Julia Tran

Project Manager, Edmonton Youth Economic Ecosystem Collaborative (EYEEC) Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area

Mervyn Mabini Principal, M2N Advisory

Nabhya Harjai Venture Leader, Creative Destruction Lab

Ping Yao CEO and Co-Founder, Optigo Networks

Rybo Chen Global Transformation Leader, SAP

Sophie Bujold

Founder and Community Designer, Cliqueworthy

YELL Venture Challenge Judges

Regionals - Saturday, May 13th AM

Ashiq Ahamad Managing Director, SolvedAF Consulting

Alexandra Greenhill Founder and CEO, Careteam Technologies

Anna Chan Founder and CEO, myMomentum

Ellyana Baumet

YELL Ambassador and 2021 Venture Challenge winner

Farouq Manji Chief Marketing Officer, Sleep Shop

Ian MacKinnon CTO, Later.com

Liam Hilder

Venture Manager, Creative Destruction Lab

Mina Haghighi (former) Community Catalyst, Spring Activator

Samantha Peng Venture Manager, Creative Destruction Lab

Regionals - Saturday, May 13th PM

Carlos Calao Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Caroline Chiu

Business Development Liaison, City of Richmond

Chris Motiu Professor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Daniel Shmidov

YELL Ambassador and 2019 Venture Challenge winner

Dhwani Patel Senior Venture Manager, Creative Destruction Lab

Judy Benevides Professor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Richard Wood Professor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Sam Chan

VP of Programs, Launch Academy

Sean Dunphy

Staff Accountant, KPMG

Shelby Rasmussen

Staff Accountant, KPMG

Sithu Ranamukha

Climate Stream Lead & Senior Venture Manager, Creative Destruction Lab

Will Brenner

Product Manager, Greenspace Health

YELL Venture Challenge Judges

Regionals - Sunday, May 14th

Angie Schick

Executive Director, New Ventures BC

Houssam Chahine Staff Accountant, KPMG

James Smith Principal, Upside Venture Law

Jenny McQueen Program Specialist, Science World British Columbia

Katie Glinkski Chief Marketing Officer, FrontLobby

Leah Coss Co-Founder, Build a Biz Kids

Taryn Wou

YELL Ambassador and 2019 Venture Challenge Winner

Majan Mann Senior Management Consultant, KPMG

Sadiq Panjwani

Vice President and General ManagerIntegrated Solutions Division, Teledyne FLIR

Richard Bent Product Marketing Manager, FreshBooks

YELL Venture Challenge Judges

Semi-Finals - Saturday, June 3rd

Aaron Stuart COO, WUTIF Capital Inc.

Anastasia Hambali Senior Director of Partnerships, Boast

Anjali Dhaliwal

YELL Ambassador and BC Investment Trainee, Front Row Ventures

Brittany Whitmore Founder, CEO and Principal Publicist, Exvera Communications Inc

Byron Thom Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, Cymax Group Technologies

Chris Hobbs President. of TTT Studios

Diraj Perkash Goel Founding Partner, GetFresh Ventures

Finals, Sunday, June 4th

Arunima Gupta

Associate Commercial Real Estate, Coast Capital Savings

Greg McKinley Manager, Assurance, MNP LLP

Jim Payn Community Manager, North Shore, RBC

Glorie Averbach

Co-Founder, President & Lead Business Coach, myCEO.ca

Leann Yutuc Senior Consultant, Switchboard Public Relations

Mehrsa Raeiszadeh Co-Founder, MintList

Sean Braacx Chief Product Officer, StoryTap

Shivam Kishore Senior Advisor, Digital Transformation | Sustainability, UN Environment Programme

Tiffany Chester Partner, Brand and Marketing Strategist, Fractional CMO, Kollectively

Larry Jung Student Recruitment Officer, CPA BC

Rattan Bagga

Co-Founder, YELL Canada

YELL Ambassador Volunteers

Aaron Anandji Surrey 2019/2020

Alfred Yeung Burnaby Mountain 2022/2023

Alice Lee West Vancouver 2021/2022

Ami Onda Burnaby Mountain 2022/2023

Anna Kundilivskaya Burnaby Mountain 2022/2023

Anjali Dhaliwal Surrey 2017/2018

Aryan Bamzai Tri-Cities 2019/2020

Aubree Saba-Amisano Surrey 2019/2020

Daanyaal Patni West Vancouver 2018/2019

Daniel Shmidov Tri-Cities 2018/2019

Ellyana Baumet Mulgrave School 2019/2020

Iris Gu Richmond 2021/2022

Jordan Johal Burnaby Mountain 2022/2023

Matthew Tran Surrey 2019/2020

Negar Leil West Vancouver 2020/2021

Nicholas Tsap Burnaby Mountain 2020/2021

Parnian Ashrafi West Vancouver 2019/2020

Sara Bahreini West Vancouver 2019/2020

Sophia Nguyen Surrey 2021/2022

Taryn Wou Tri-Cities 2018/2019

Regionals Saturday, May 13th at BCIT Downtown

YELL Classes: Mulgrave School (Monday and Wednesday classes) and West Vancouver

Location: BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver.

Parking: There is pay parking at BCIT as well as nearby parkades. Please be mindful of duration of your parking as you may not have time to step out and add time. Do not park at street meters as there is a 2 hour time limit.

Transit: The closest skytrain station is Granville Station (across the street) and a short walk from Waterfront Station (3 blocks.)

Enter BCIT via the Seymour Street Main Entrance. Take stairs or elevator to the 2nd floor.

BCIT Downtown

Map of Venture Challenge Rooms

Schedule

Registration opens at 8:00AM with opening remarks starting at 8:45AM. Make sure you leave time to find parking, pay for parking, or walk from your transit stop. DO NOT BE LATE!

You are expected to be present at opening remarks and back in the main room at 11:45AM to complete the YELL program survey and for closing remarks.

Make sure you know what time you are pitching and in what room and its location. You are expected to be waiting outside of your pitch room, at least five minutes prior to your pitch time. If a member of your team is missing, you are expected to pitch without them. We will not be waiting for late comers or allow late teams to pitch. Reminder that pitching at Venture Challenge Regionals is a mandatory part of the program and your team needs to pitch in order to fully complete the YELL program.

If you are pitching later in the day, you may use the time to practice. Feel free to find a place onsite to practice, but be mindful and do not be not be disruptive to other students who are studying, or faculty members who are working that day at the university.

Regionals Saturday, May 13th at KPU Civic Plaza

YELL Classes: Surrey, Richmond, Pinetree, Vancouver Technical

Location: Kwantlen Polytechnic University Civic Plaza Campus, 13485 Central Avenue, Surrey

Parking: Public parking is available at market rate on level P1 in the parkade at Surrey City Hall. Public parking is available between 6 a.m. and midnight, seven days per week. Parking pay stations are located throughout the parkade. Please be mindful of duration of your parking as you may not have time to step out and add time and you will not be able to add time via your cellphone (even if the machine tells you so.) Please note that free two-hour parking on level P1 is available only for visitors to City Hall and the Surrey Centre Library. All other patrons in the parkade must pay in accordance with the posted rates. If the k d i f ll dditi l id ki is available 150 metres away at 13583 - 104 Ave

Enter the building through these doors and take elevators or stairs to 6th floor. When you enter this building lobby, you will see Prado to your left, and the Civid Hotel check in counter and restaurant to your right. The elevators are straight ahead.

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KPU

Civic Plaza Map of Venture Challenge Rooms

Registration Opens at 1:00PM with opening remarks beginning at 1:45PM. Make sure you leave time to find parking, pay for parking, or walk from your transit stop. DO NOT BE LATE!

You are expected to be present at opening remarks and back in the main room at 4:45PM to complete the YELL program survey and for closing remarks.

Schedule

Regionals Sunday, May 14th at Capilano University

YELL Classes: Handsworth and Sutherland

Location: Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation, Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver (see next page for detailed campus map.)

Parking: There is pay parking at Capilano University. Lot #2 and #3 are the closest. Please be mindful of duration of your parking as you may not have time to step out and add time.

This is the building you're looking for. If you're coming from the parking lots, you will need to go up one floor to the main entrance. The bus loop is on the same level, on the other side of the building.

nd Flora Bosa Centre

Capilano University

Campus Site Map and Parking Lots

Capilano University Map of

Venture Challenge Rooms

Capilano University

Registration opens at 8:00AM with opening remarks starting at 8:45AM. Make sure you leave time to find parking, pay for parking, or walk from your transit stop. DO NOT BE LATE!

You are expected to be present at opening remarks and back in the main room at 11:00AM to complete the YELL program survey and for closing remarks.

Schedule

Semi-Finals

Saturday, June 3rd at BCIT Downtown

YELL Classes: Teams that have advanced from the Regional events and teams from YELL North, Alberta and Yukon.

Location: BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver

Parking: There is pay parking at BCIT as well as nearby parkades. Please be mindful of duration of your parking as you may not have time to step out and add time. Do not nd a short

Enter BCIT via the Seymour Street Main Entrance. Take stairs or elevator to the 2nd floor.

BCIT Downtown

Map of Venture Challenge Rooms

Schedule

IN PERSON PITCHES:

Registration opens at 8:00AM with opening remarks starting at 8:45AM. Make sure you leave time to find parking, pay for parking, or walk from your transit stop. DO NOT BE LATE!

Students are expected to be present at opening remarks and back in the main room at 11:15AM for our guest speaker and then for announcements.

VIRTUAL PITCHES:

Students are expected to log in to bit.ly/YELLzoom at 9:00AM.

Fireside Chat

Jayesh Parmar's entrepreneurial journey hails from Saskatoon, Canada, he has risen through the ranks to become a respected figure in the startup ecosystem. Having incubated his startups in San Francisco and been an alumnus of Toronto's Extreme Startups, New York's Canadian Technology Accelerator, and Vancouver's Hyper Growth Program, Jayesh has an unwavering passion for success.

As the former CEO/Co-founder of Picatic.com, which was successfully acquired by Eventbrite, Jayesh has proven his ability to lead and build successful businesses. His skills extend beyond the startup world, as he is also an active investor who is always on the lookout for new opportunities to learn and grow.

Jayesh's latest venture, Gunkii, is a testament to his unwavering commitment to creating innovative products that make a difference. Gunkii's tongue scraper is a unique blend of his Indian roots and the Ayurveda system of medicine, showcasing his dedication to delivering exceptional and meaningful products.

Jayesh believes in building profitable companies with a focus on giving back to the community. He is on a mission to create profit and purpose companies with team cultures that are immersed in giving, cheekiness, fun, and adventure. He knows that with the right mindset, anything is possible.

When he's not busy building businesses, Jayesh spends quality time with his amazing partner, Nicole, and their incredible son, Jai. He is also an avid coach who loves helping others unlock their full potential. His unwavering dedication to his family, community, and business endeavors exudes confidence and inspires others to achieve greatness.

Guest Speaker Moderator

Ellyana Baumet is a passionate young entrepreneur who is an Alumni and Ambassador for the YELL Canada Program. She won the 2021 YELL Venture Challenge as the CoFounder of signR, aiming to foster an inclusive community for the deaf and hard of hearing through telecommunications.

Furthermore, Ellyana is currently at UBC pursuing her Bachelor of Arts (Sociology + Law and Society) with the Master of Management Dual Degree at the Sauder School of Business.

Finals Sunday, June 4th at BCIT Downtown

YELL Classes: Teams that have advanced from the Semi-Finals.

Location: BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver

a short

Enter BCIT via the Seymour Street Main Entrance. Take stairs or elevator to the 2nd floor.

BCIT Downtown

Map of Venture Challenge Rooms

Schedule

Registration opens at 8:00AM with opening remarks starting at 8:45AM. Make sure you leave time to find parking, pay for parking, or walk from your transit stop. DO NOT BE LATE!

Students who are pitching in person are expected to be present for the entire duration of the Venture Challenge Finals.

The link for virtual pitches is: bit.ly/YELLzoom

Message from the Directors of National Operations

Dear [incoming] YELL Alumnus,

Congratulations! We know that YELL isn't an easy program but we hope that you had an enjoyable and knowledgeable experience. We are so proud of all that you have accomplished throughout the YELL program! Now that you have nearly completed our course, we will soon welcome you into our network of YELL Alumni. We send out emails occasionally with updates within the YELL community or share with you, cool news and opportunities, from events to scholarships. Make sure to also follow us on our social media channels @yellcanada to stay in the loop of what’s happening.

Having worked with Canadian entrepreneurs for over a decade and also currently serving as Co-Chairs for Vancouver Startup Week, we know firsthand, the importance and value of community. We’d like to invite you to join our YELL Ambassador Program and become, as we like to call them, a YELL Ambo! We’re sure you’ve seen our Ambos around all year attending your classes as speakers, mentors or judges and volunteering at events like Venture Challenge. YELL Ambos are always the first to get news, first dibs on tickets to certain events or share fun stories and support each other on their own individual endeavors. Being a YELL Ambo is a great way to give back to next year’s YELL classes, expand your network, improve and practice skills like public speaking and to keep in touch and have fun with fellow YELL alumni!

So if you’re interested in joining the YELL Ambassador Program, get in touch by emailing us at operations@yellcanada.org!

We look forward to continuing to support you in your journey towards a successful entry in post-secondary education and/or the job market!

All the best,

Katty Wang and Vivian Lago Directors of National Operations, YELL Canada

More information: www.yellcanada.org

Get in touch: info@yellcanada.org