Drew Dudley – Live to matter from YSEC on Vimeo.

The former Coordinator of one of the largest university leadership development programs in the country, Drew Dudley nevertheless embraces the idea that “leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.”

Now the Founder and Chief Catalyst of Nuance Leadership Inc., Drew works with dozens of universities, colleges, high schools, charities and other organizations around the world to empower young people to increase their leadership capacity.

Join Drew and 80 of Toronto’s leading social innovators to connect, inspire and celebrate together on November 25th at A Toast To Social Entrepreneurship. RSVP now.

We are excited to announce that we’ve sold out our event and are pleased to have Paul Estey of Public Inc. as our third guest speaker at A Toast To Social Entrepreneurship!

We’re looking forward to a spectacular event!

YSEC Toast – Invitation from YSEC on Vimeo.

With less than two weeks to go before our pitch contest we asked previous winner Mike Edwards (Preparing The Trail) to write about his experience and what it meant for him and his business.

On to you Mike…

Socially In Debt

If it were not for Facebook many of us 20-30 somethings might not have had much else to do but sit on our hands over the past 2 years while the economy reformatted its hard drive.

In May 2009, 6 months prior to meeting with Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada (YSEC) and learning about the YSEC Pitch Competition (via Facebook), I surprisingly joined nearly 10% of unemployed Canadians, many of which were recent university grads like myself, that had found themselves pinned beneath a mountain of student debt, living with their parents (if they were lucky), and fighting an uphill battle towards personal recovery .

It wasn’t until I read an inspiring article that coined the phrase “funemployed” that I realized that the economic turmoil that we were experiencing was being considered as a sign of social reorganization and a blessing in disguise for some. Bingo! With all of this “free time” I could finally show my dad the rocky mountains, read all the books that I had been meaning to read, strengthen personal networks, even start my own business. Maybe I could change the world. So I set out on my mission to build a team of “environmentally active” athletes who would work together at local athletic and tree planting initiatives across the country to preserve our unique Canadian landscape for future generations to enjoy.

Life’s a Pitch!

Soon after that I learned about YSEC and the power of social enterprise. I became a YSEC member in March of 2010 and after hours refining our pitch presentation and meeting with YSEC for pitch training, I suddenly found myself in front of a panel of judges, successfully pitching an idea for my own personal project – a socially and environmentally active not-for-profit now known as Preparing the Trail.

For months prior to the event I had been pitching my concept to business partners, corporate sponsors, friends, family and just about anyone that wanted to listen, until the idea was hardwired into my vocabulary – this is when I realized that I had discovered a true passion. As a tip to anyone out there planning to pitch an idea, make sure that it comes from your heart, find something you love to do, educate yourself on the subject, and spend countless hours making a plan and critiquing your ideas. If you truly have a good idea it will sell itself.

As a reward for winning the pitch competition, my business partner Stu Munro and I were awarded with a 1-year $1000 interest free loan which was invaluable in our first year of growth. At the time we had orders for custom branded promotional tree seedlings from companies like Bullfrog Power and Wholefoods, and since these companies had net 30 day payment terms the money was used to help us afford the seedlings and print material to make those first sales. Once we established cash flow through these sales, through fundraising at local athletic events, and through community building grants we were off to the races (literally!).

We were also rewarded with business consultation services from George Brown College which we used to strengthen our business plan and connect with local angel networks and student volunteers. Additionally, SAM prepared a Social Asset Evaluation for us which we have used to visually express the social, financial, and environmental impact of our operations for the 2010 season.

On a personal note, this experience has helped me gather the knowledge and confidence required to communicate effectively with today’s dynamic community of social entrepreneurs, volunteers, business partners, and investors.

Let’s get growing Toronto!

Mike Edwards

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Mike Edwards is a 26 year old Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo. Mike now works as a Project Manager for Enermodal Engineering – Canada’s largest consulting firm dedicated strictly to building energy and resource efficient green buildings and communities. In his spare time, he dedicates his time as the Founding Director of Preparing the Trail which he hopes to register as a charitable organization in the coming year.

Mike sits on the board of directors for the Halton Social Innovation Centre, a group that is working hard to create a shared space similar to the successful Center for Social Innovation in Toronto. Mike is currently training for a spring marathon, but also enjoys swimming, trail running, and sliding down hills.

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Mike will be one of the judges at this year’s pitch contest as part of the “A Toast to Social Entrepreneurship” celebration on November 25th. Join us as we motivate, inspire and award two $1000 loans to the next generation of youth leaders. This will be an incredible event so don’t miss out. Get your ticket now.

Julia Moulden – A bolt of lightening from YSEC on Vimeo.

Julia Moulden presents a new group of role models — ordinary men and women who have reinvented what they do for a living. They’re people who want their work to reflect their values, and help them make a difference in the world. She calls these individuals New Radicals, and she wrote a book about them.

When we met with Julia recently we asked her to share her moment of inspiration. This is her story.

Come join us at MaRS Discovery District for a Toast to Social Entrepreneurship on Nov 25th. RSVP here.

In light of our upcoming pitch contest we thought that it would be great to get some perspective from somebody who’s had a lot of experience with pitch contests before. So this is a guest post by community member Christine Ho of Well of Change.

On to Christine…

So you are considering entering a pitch competition? Let’s say you clearly explain your business and cover the basics: management team credibility, problem, solution, target market, customers, marketing, business model (how you’ll make money), competitors, competitive advantage, demonstrated traction, funding amount and how will it be spent. Take it from somebody who’s been both a judge and participant in numerous pitch contests. Whether you win or not, there are many benefits of participating in a pitch competition:

1) Pitch competitions are a great exercise. They can open your eyes and may evolve your business. Good intentions are not enough in social entrepreneurship. By helping your own business make money first, you will be able to achieve your social mandate in a sustainable manner. By continuing to bring rigorous business metrics, we can make social enterprises even more successful.

2) Pitch competitions have many winners. After the pitch, you’ll have more contacts for mentors, peers and attendees in the audience. If you use the opportunity wisely, the competition can be a marketing platform. We received our first angel investment in the off hours after one of our competitions. Whether it is a 30 second elevator pitch or a 20 minute presentation, a pitch is such a short time to fully evaluate a company. So follow up with your contacts.

3) Remember, the judges are not your jury. A competition usually has a panel of expert judges that are required to pick a winner. Firstly, their expertise may be outside your sector. More importantly, what does any one panelist really know? The old story is that 9 out of 10 companies funded by venture capitalist fail. Even the experts gamble. Therefore the customer is the only real jury. So on your next pitch, look to demonstrate market traction with your customers.

In conclusion, beware of assuming post hoc ergo propter hoc*. Do not believe the winning company pitched well therefore they must have prepared a lot for the competition. They probably won because they demonstrated a good business and winning the pitch was simply a reflection of that. So if you are a serious entrepreneur, my advice is work on your business.

Christine Ho

Thanks to Anfernee Chansamooth and Kevin Tsoi for reading drafts of this.

*Post hoc ergo propter hoc is Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”

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Christine co-founded WellofChange.org, a marketplace that allows you to donate any item and service to raise money for your favourite charity. She is a role model for “StartSomethingWithAlesse.ca”, a national campaign that gives grants to motivate young Canadians to take action. An entrepreneur at heart, she also started C Ho & Associates, an events marketing business that’s been involved with the Toronto International Film Festival and Canada’s Walk of Fame.

She has been a guest speaker at the Rotman School of Management, Ryerson University, Schulich School of Business and George Brown College. Christine has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Science in Computer Electronics (BSc) from Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Come check out YSEC’s pitch contest on Nov 25th as part of our Toast to Social Entrepeneurship celebration where we will be awarding two $1000 loans on the night. Click here for more info and RSVP.

Tonya Surman – Be a part of the solution from YSEC on Vimeo.

Tonya Surman is the founding executive director of the Centre for Social Innovation – a dynamic convergence space whose mission is to catalyze, connect and support new ideas that are changing the world.

Tonya was recognized as a ‘Leader in Social Change’ from the Canadian New Media Awards in 2009 and in 2010, Tonya became a Global Ashoka Fellow for her work at CSI.

Join Tonya and 80 of Toronto’s leading social innovators to connect, inspire and celebrate together on November 25th. A Toast To Social Entrepreneurship. RSVP now.

In case you missed it, here’s the video of our very own Nogah Kornberg presenting “Teaching the G-word (Genocide) to 9-year-olds” at Treehouse Talks last month.

Nogah Kornberg, Treehouse Talks, Oct. 1 2010 @ MaRS from Treehouse Group on Vimeo.

The next Treehouse Talks is on November 5th @ MaRS (rm. CR3), from 6-7:30 pm. More info here.

On Earth Hour eve, keynote re:Vision speaker Nathaniel Whittemore of Assetmap and Change.org, comments:

Today the first ever Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSEC) of Canada conference, re:Vision 2010, kicks off in Toronto, Ontario. With students, innovation centers, coworking spaces and an increasingly vibrant startup scene, Toronto is a place to watch.

So in response to Nathaniel’s question of whether Toronto is the next social innovation hub our answer is a resounding “YES!” Incidentally, this was echoed by the Center of Social Innovation on their facebook fan page yesterday.

Check out Nathaniel’s full blog post here: Change.org: Is Toronto The Next Social Innovation Hub?

A big thank you to Nathaniel for his great work and contribution in the area of social change, and for being a part of the immensely successful re:Vision 2010.

The Globe and Mail’s Your Business asked three of re:Vision 2010’s speakers to answer “Why is mentoring important, and how did you first get involved in it?”.

Check out their full essays at Globe and Mail: What it means to be a mentor.

Catch Tonya Surman and Nathaniel Whittmore at re:Vision Earth Hour and Mark Simpson at re:Vision 2010. Registration still open. Don’t miss out!

4 sleeps to go! Press releases are on their way! Get a sneak peek at the re:Vision 2010 program book! It’s HOT!

If you haven’t registered yet NOW is the time to do it as spots are filling up fast! Don’t forget we’re running a video contest so enter it and you could win a FREE ticket!