Creative youth in Guelph-Wellington take on entrepreneurship

Guelph-Wellington’s young entrepreneurs are showing their creativity and learning some business lessons this summer through The Summer Company program.

The Summer Company program offers students an opportunity to experience the ins and outs of being their own boss. The program comes from the Ontario government and is offered through the Business Centre Guelph-Wellington for students aged 15 to 29.

During an open house at city hall on Thursday, 13 entrepreneurs showcased their businesses. 

One of those businesses was Crown Kombucha, a beverage company created by a couple from the University of Guelph’s bio-medical engineering program. Sam Heard and Nick Dernovsek sought gaps in the beverage industry to see where they could squeeze in with something new.

After surveying restaurants and patrons, they found that non-alcoholic beverages are in-demand, especially among Gen Z and millennials. They decided to make a cocktail flavoured kombucha. 

“So there’s a lot of kombucha companies out there, but none of them really do cocktail flavours yet. We kind of wanted to tap into that niche,” said Heard. 

The first flavour they’ve developed is a non-alcoholic Moscow mule kombucha. They were able to use the space at Dixon’s Distilled Spirits to make the batches to put into kegs. The process of making kombucha is very similar to making beer. The plan is to do catering, get on tap at local bars and sell online. They are looking to add more flavours like like cosmopolitan and mojito. 

The company’s first big event is this weekend where they will be serving 200 guests at a fundraiser. 

Aariz Baig used his environmental engineering knowledge to get into an untapped market. He built his junior consultancy firm called GreenTrack Environmental Solutions to help companies find out the volume of plastic companies use in packaging. 

The federal government’s Federal Plastics Registry is rolling out its reporting requirements starting in September. The first phase applies to producers of plastic packaging, electronic and electrical equipment and single-use or disposable products. Reporting is mandatory and failure to comply could mean up to a $500,000 fine for a first offence.

“You have companies that have a well established name, and then it’s very difficult for big companies to approach junior companies. But these sorts of things give us the opportunity to come into the market. We have something niche that we’re offering, and they need our help for it,” said Baig.

Following in her mom’s footsteps, Drew McNaughton is becoming an entrepreneur with her business Drew’s Dog Services. After seeing her dogs Macey and Leo get anxious and scared at the groomers she started giving them haircuts herself. She wanted to offer a calm experience with positive reinforcement for other anxious dogs so she started her grooming business.

There were four outdoor home maintenance businesses; SPX Power Washing by Will Peters, Avery’s Precision Greens by Avery Lorentz-Kempe, Precision Lawn Works by David Morris and Charlie’s Yard Services by Charlie Shaw. Although the weather has been hot this summer it’s worked to these businesses advantage. 

With the crazy heat people would rather pay someone to do their landscaping, said Morris.

Centre Wellington District High School students Spencer Anderson and Luca Wycherley got crafty with their businesses. Anderson started Grain and Gorge offering handmade charcuterie boards and rings. Wycherley uses a 3D printer to make Dungeons and Dragons player kits and props for his business called Labyrinth Workshop.

Other handcrafted items come from businesses such as Maker’s Muse and FrancEl Studio. Tooba Dahi is going into Grade 11 at Guelph CVI and is spending her summer building Maker’s Muse. She enjoys crocheting and painting so when her friends and family kept asking her to make her things she thought it would make a good business idea. 

Elise Woodworth’s up-cycled apparel business was just starting back in April and now she’s had time to build up her inventory. She’s been a vendor at several markets since then. Her biggest challenge so far was building a website for FrancEl Studio. 

“I’m a marketing student, so I thought this was kind of like my time to shine. How can I demonstrate that I can market a product,” said Woodworth.

One of the skills Sophie Huc has learned from the Summer Company is promoting her business through social media to reach her audience. She started Shot by Soph to capture eventful moments with her camera. As a medical science student at Western University her freelance photography and videography business allows her to express her creativity.

“It extends beyond just the Summer Company program. This gave me the resources to kind of start this up, but I know it’s something that I can continue for as long as I want to, and that’s a very exciting opportunity,” said Huc.