Kingston, Ontario – August 3, 2022 – Kingston Economic Development is excited to announce the successful Summer Company entrepreneurs for 2022. Ten local students launched their first enterprises this summer with businesses ranging from creative industries, mobile applications, professional services to manufacturing.
Summer Company is a provincially funded program for youth in high school or post-secondary school that is delivered annually by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation. Participants receive hands-on mentoring and training from local business leaders and $3,000 to start their business venture. The young entrepreneurs attended and participated in a weekly virtual business bootcamp, where they received valuable insights on starting and sustaining a new start-up as well as business plan templates and information on cash flow projections.
Kingston Economic Development will be holding a Summer Company Showcase event on August 17, 5 – 7 pm at Fractal Coworking to celebrate the achievements of these young entrepreneurs. Members of the public are welcome to attend and support the program participants.
“This program allows enterprising, young entrepreneurs work on their business idea throughout the summer while learning the fundamentals of owning and operating a successful business. The students have demonstrated creativity and enthusiasm and we are happy to have been a part of this experience for them!” says Rob Tamblyn, Business Development Manager – Small & Medium Enterprises, Kingston Economic Development.
The young entrepreneurs attended and participated in a weekly virtual business bootcamp, where they received valuable insights on starting and sustaining a new start-up as well as business plan templates and information on cash flow projections.
“There are always opportunities and risks and through Summer Company I hope to better learn about navigating the process of launching a new product with mentorship to help guide me along the way. The unknown of how markets will react to a new product is scary, but super stoked to send it this summer and make HulFlo a reality!” says Ben Tripp, HulFlo, Summer Company 2022 Participant.
Kingston Economic Development will be holding a Summer Company Showcase event on August 17, 5 – 7 pm at Fractal Workspace located at 623 Fortune Crescent. Members of the public are welcome to attend and support the program participants.
Meet the 2022 Summer Company Participants:
Amy Van Nest – Custom Creations by Amy
Custom Creations by Amy makes home décor and unique gifts for celebrating big occasions. Whether it’s a birth stat elephant, wedding hangers, ceramic coasters or wooden signs, Amy makes them by hand and individualized.
Ben Tripp – HulFlo
HulFlo is a boat dryer designed to dry out the inside of high-performance watercrafts such as rowing shells, sailboats and paddle boards to reduce internal humidity preventing material breakdown.
Claire Brackenbury – Heartfelt Cards
Heartfelt Cards creates whimsical felted designs made from colourful raw wool with the option to customize. 15% of sales go to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to help fund mental health research and support resources.
David Li – Riftium
Riftium is Kingston’s newest custom website company which implements and deploys modern websites for local businesses. Sites are coded from scratch, giving clients maximum flexibility for their site design.
Dax Tompkins – R&D Lawn Care
R&D Lawn Care provides lawn care, deck sanding/washing/staining and landscaping services to the Greater Kingston Area. Owned and operated by two local Queen’s students providing quality services locally.
Imogen Lawford-Wickham – FireScape
FireScape, programmed and developed by Imogen, is a mobile app designed to mitigate fires hazards and reduce their damage
Jake Moodie – Gigli Inc.
Gigli is an online marketplace platform that enables homeowners to easily hire a student to complete their on-demand household gigs. Post a gig that you need help with, accept your favourite offer and let the student handle the rest.
Kayleigh Treverton – Kayleigh Treverton
Kayleigh Treverton is Kingston’s newest marketing agent to help small businesses increase their digital presence. She specializes in digital content, videos, events and social media marketing.
Mike Pierce – OCT Tutorting Company
OCT Tutoring company is working towards making test preparation more affordable for students. Mike is ready to use his background as a teacher and medical student to help you in achieving your study goals.
Seham Kettaneh – Taita’s
Taita’s is a condiments company inspired by Canada’s multicultural mosaic. Taita’s hopes to give cultural generational recipes some well-deserved attention.
To learn more about Summer Company visit investkingston.ca/summercompany
-30-
Media Contact:
Nour Mazloum
Marketing & Communications Manager
Kingston Economic Development Corporation
613-329-9270
mazloum@investkingston.ca
