Queen's Entrepreneurs' Competition - QEC

The results are in. This year's Queen's Entrepreneurs' Competition was the best yet!

A partnership with Smith's Centre for Business Venturing, the student-run 34th annual QEC amassed an audience of 600 for its three-day event. It's flagship pitch competition also saw 15 teams compete for a record $150,000 in cash, in-kind prizes, and opportunities to jump-start their businesses.

The QEC team brought this year's event to new heights, innovating to increase audience engagement worldwide, the brand presence on university campuses & globally, and its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Check out its annual report for all that was accomplished in 2021-2022:http://theqec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/QEC-2021_2022-Annual-Report.pdf

The Kinnear New Venture Competition is now accepting applications!

It is open to all Smith undergraduate founders/co-founders who either have a company or are in the process of establishing a venture. They can have other co-founders who are not part of the Commerce program as part of their founding team.

The top venture will be awarded $10,000 that can be used towards creating or progressing the ongoing operations of the business.

Full details and guidelines are available at: https://smith.queensu.ca/centres/business-venturing/core-programs/kinnear-new-venture-competition.php

The call for applications is now open and closes on Friday, March 18, 2022!

Hello everyone! We are pleased to announce the release of the QEC 2021-2022 Annual Report. It has been a great year so far and we are excited to finally share everything the team has accomplished this year. Find the report on our website at theqec.com or click the following link:http://theqec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/QEC-2021_2022-Annual-Report.pdf

Thanks for a great year and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year at the QEC!

We are excited to announce Salonee Singh and Hunter MacKinnon as the incoming Co-Chairs for the 2022/2023 year!
These two exceptional individuals demonstrated outstanding dedication to the QEC and have grown to become amazing leaders. We are so excited to pass on the torch and are confident that Salonee and Hunter will lead the new QEC team to greater heights and make the 35th QEC the best one yet!

- Jake & Aarti, Co-Chairs 2021/2022

After an incredible weekend filled with amazing speakers, workshops, and pitches, we are proud to announce our top 3 winners of QEC 2022! 🏆

🥇 1st Place: Peko Produce
🥈 2nd place: Seedling Art Co.
🥉 3rd place: LocalStudent

Thank you to all the teams that participated this year in QEC 2022, this competition would not be what it is without such incredibly talented, young entrepreneurs. We hope to see everyone again for QEC 2023!🚀

And that's a wrap on the competition! Congratulations to our custom award winners for QEC 2022! 🎉👑

Thank you to all the teams that participated this year in QEC 2022, this competition would not be what it is without such incredibly talented, young entrepreneurs. We hope to see everyone again for QEC 2023!🥳

⭐ EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITY ⭐

Are you an international student living in Canada interested in entrepreneurship? The Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship is a 5-week program (2hr/week session) run by Venture Development Institute, that is structurally designed to help international students get the opportunity to:
- build a startup company in Canada
- raise over $250K in funding
- have paid internship opportunities and experience the startup environment
- access VDI mentors and successful entrepreneurs
- fast-track their permanent residency through the Startup Visa Program

You can find more details here: https://venturedevelopment.institute/fundamentals-of-entrepreneurship/?fbclid=IwAR0vcAXMLjz1uNbBgTTyxYOwmXV9S-N8diKN8zIp_-OG0O-cmkZHNkLk-Ao

Register for their program info session webinar here (January 17th, 4pm EST): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D6MbFVqeSlWsADxpvP3E1Q

Introducing the QEC 2022 Keynote and Panelist speaker lineup! We can't wait for what our amazing speakers have in store for us for the competition!

Thank you to Peter Willson, Executive Chairman at Willson International, for being our Platinum Partner for QEC 2022! The Platinum Partner is the lone provider of the Title Prize awarded to the team ranking first in this year's competition.

Thank you to Raakesh Bharathi, MFin, Founder and Managing Director of Venture Development Institute for being our Gold Partner for QEC 2022! The Gold Partner contributes to the prize pool awarded to our 2nd and 3rd placing teams.

Thank you to Michele Romanow, Anatoliy Melnichuk, Robert Janson, and Tom Kinnear for being our Silver Partners for QEC 2022! Our Silver Partners contribute to the prize pool awarded to our 2nd and 3rd placing teams.

Thank you to DDQIC for being our Bronze Partner for QEC 2022! The Bronze Partner is sponsoring the Innovation Award this year, which provides funding for the most innovative competitor at the QEC with a monetary contribution.