Participants in Brock LINC’s NAVIGATE program recently showcased skills they’ve acquired to steer the entrepreneur ship.

The inaugural session of the program, which explores how to navigate the early stages of starting a business, wrapped Wednesday, April 5 with a student and community pitch competition. The event saw three winning participants later recognized at a Brock LINC Up! networking event later that day.

Brock Master of Science in Management student Milad Nourvand won the $5,000 Dobson Entrepreneurial Excellence Prize for his pitch on CareCanada, his artificial intelligence-powered search engine that guides patients to the appropriate health-care professionals.

He was honoured to receive the honour, which prompted him to reflect on his time with NAVIGATE and the skills he has acquired that have helped him to find success.

Nourvand says the program encouraged him to focus on a key challenge that many entrepreneurs struggle with: talking to customers.

“It’s easy to focus on other tasks and avoid it. However, the program and mentors pushed us to engage with users regularly,” he says. “Being part of a community of like-minded individuals who were all committed to talking with users each week helped to normalize and reinforce this essential practice.”

Alana Perri (BA ’13) won the $2,500 NAVIGATE Community Award for Purple Carrots Drama Studio, which provides arts-based programs and services for youth with diverse physical and neuro abilities.

“I was feeling stuck as an entrepreneur. I was so aware of the fact that there was a lot of information that I didn’t know, and I signed up for NAVIGATE to help me learn a thing or two,” says Perri. “This program gave me the tools and resources I needed to help get my business out of pandemic survival mode and into thriving mode. To say that I am in a totally different place now than I was in January is an understatement.”

Gurprince Attlas, a Brock Master of Arts student in Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience, won the $1,000 OSSTF Student Entrepreneurship Award for her custom greeting card business, Diverse Expressions, which celebrates diversity one card at a time.

“This program helped me take something that was an idea in the back of my head and turn it into a real business that I’m now launching,” says Attlas. “There were a lot of ups and downs but working in small groups with the mentors and having support and encouragement throughout is what really makes this experience unique.”

The judges for the student and community pitches featured seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and members from other entrepreneurial support organizations.

Sharon Green, Co-founder and CEO of Intuitive Shipping, was taken aback by the calibre of the student pitches.

“I am floored at how good these pitches were,” says Green. “I’ve done my fair share of pitch competitions, and these students were better prepared than most pitches I’ve seen. I can’t believe this was their first time pitching.”

The NAVIGATE program will return from May to July.

Meetings take place in person every Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Brock LINC.  There is no cost to participate in the program, but enrolment is capped to ensure personalized feedback and mentorship.  Applications are open until Sunday, April 23 on the Brock LINC website.

While NAVIGATE is primarily intended for students, Brock alumni and Niagara community members are also invited to participate, however they are not eligible to pitch for the Dobson Entrepreneurial Excellence Prize.

All participants who complete the program are eligible to receive a certificate of completion, and students who complete the program will get credit towards the Innovative and Creative Thinking domain in the Campus Wide Co-Curriculum.