Advice from self-starting social innovators

Advice from self-starting social innovators

“We believe that business can be a tool for social good.” — Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay

MaRS saved a very special lecture for the final Entrepreneurship 101 event of the year: Meet the Entrepreneurs: Social Innovation, which featured three exceptional female entrepreneurs making an impact in the fields of sustainability, physical education and fashion.

Meet the panel:

 

Dessy Daskalov of Greengage Mobile
Dessy combined her background in engineering with her passion for sustainability to develop a technology platform that would improve corporate social responsibility by increasing the ease and efficacy of individual employees’ sustainability practices within large corporations.

 

Kaela Bree of Aussie X
You may have seen Kaela on CBC’s “Dragons’ Den.” Born in Australia, Kaela grew up in an entrepreneurial household. After working as an actress on a popular soap opera, she decided to start a company of her own here in Canada. Her corporate and youth sports programs have reached 137,000 people to date in major cities across Canada.

 

 

 

Izzy Camilleri of IZ Adaptive Clothing
Izzy started making clothes at age 10, and by age 19 had launched a successful clothing line, seen on both catwalks and movie sets. Today, she has expanded her company to include a collection of clothing for people with disabilities. IZ Adaptive is a pioneer in the fashion world and has been described as “revolutionary.”

 

 

In a panel discussion, host Vicki Saunders, senior advisor of Social Innovation Generation at MaRS, asked in-depth questions that every budding entrepreneur could relate to.

Some of the topics covered included:

  • biggest challenges;
  • keys to success;
  • how to raise money;
  • inspirations;
  • opportunities;
  • future plans; and
  • advice for entrepreneurs.

The three women also provided tips on places to network with other entrepreneurs, institutions to further your professional development and options for permanent or temporary office space.

The talk wrapped up with an audience Q-and-A session. Check out the video below to hear questions from entrepreneurs just like you. You may even find some of your personal questions answered!

Learn what these entrepreneurs wished they knew when they started their businesses—and what they know now—by watching the full discussion here:

Sketchnotes from Sacha Chua:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources: 

Want to connect? 

  • Join the Entrepreneurship 101 LinkedIn Group.
  • Follow the conversation on Twitter: #ent101
  • Get updates on Vimeo.
  • Download the course schedule.