MBET

My name is Ernest and I am currently enrolled in the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program.

I was enrolled in the Arts and Business program at the University of Waterloo where I majored in Communication Studies and did a minor in Economics. My passion for entrepreneurship was cultivated in one of the entrepreneurship courses I took for my program during my undergrad program, which is why I chose to pursue MBET. This course exposed me to the multitude of entrepreneurial resources that are available to students at Waterloo, and I got to see firsthand the numerous entrepreneurial achievements of Waterloo students. I was inspired.

Hi everyone, my name is Jenni Lien and I’m part of the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) 2023 cohort.

When I tell pastors and ministry leaders that I’m building a Christian business in a secular business school, I often get surprised responses. But for me, it’s been a very natural process. I was clear that I wanted to build a business targeted at Christian women in my MBET application, and also in class introductions, projects, and in my application for other on-campus opportunities. All I’ve felt is respect and support from my professors and peers.

I come from India, a country with a vast population, 48% of our population consists of women. However, I have always sensed inequality between genders. I am a humanist, and I believe in equality for all.

I decided to further my education in the field and opted for my master's program at the University of Waterloo. I have been in love with Canada since the first time I visited. I knew I had a connection with the country; it felt like home. I transferred to the University of Waterloo after completing my Bachelors in Business Administration from a leading institute in India to meet the education requirements for me to be eligible to apply for MBET.

Entrepreneurship, to put it simply, is the act of building a business. Naively, I believed being an entrepreneur was essentially about creating a financially stable company from the bottom up, establishing yourself in the industry similar to the likes of some current influential minds - Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla).

The skills taught in the traditional learning system are unfortunatelynot enough to help individuals with cognitive disability gain independence. This is a problem that millions of families agonize over, and most of them are forced to cut down or quit work to ensure their loved ones gain the skills that they need. These cutbacks cost families an average of 20 thousand dollars in lost wages and therapy fees. The problem lies on the lack of affordable, effective, and easy to access educational resources.

Young entrepreneurs often seek a Mentor, but what they should be looking for is a Tormentor.Anyone going through the rigors of entrepreneurship needs to have an experienced individual that will guide them through the ups and downs of trying to start a successful business. They need someone that will cheer them on and keep them going, and draw on their own knowledge and experience to help guide the entrepreneur to success.

However, for most entrepreneurs, whose business idea may be the worst thing since the one-touch pizza ordering fridge magnet, having a Tormentor is much more important.

The pressure to find the perfect gifts for friends and family during the holiday season can be intense. It's easy to go to the closest shopping centre or the biggest online retailer for super-saver discounts, but you never really know where the money from your purchase will end up. The dollars that you spend during the holidays can add up quickly, and can have an impact that extends far beyond the retailer's pocket—depending on where you choose to shop.

Here are four startups that are making the world a better place with every purchase.

The month of November is usually cold and grey, and most Canadians are still in denial of winter's arrival. Thankfully, there is a month-long charitable event keeps spirits lifted: Movember.

Movember is an initiative that was started in 2003 by two Australian men and a group of 30 friends, and has now grown to over 4 million participants around the world.

The goal is simple: help accelerate healthcare outcomes for men living with prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues.

Jim Robeson is a 2013 alumnus of the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program. While in MBET, Jim built his company, PiinPoint, an online platform that enables businesses to find the best location for expansion. Now, just over a year after graduating from the program, PiinPoint has proven to be a game-changer for business owners. Conrad's Marketing and Communication's Manager, Amanda Watkins, sat down with Jim to catch up, and to talk to him about his experiences as a student in the MBET program.

In September, I participated in Hack the North with my Suncayr co-founders, Derek Jouppi and Andrew Martinko, and our classmate Dave Badami. Hack the North is Canada's largest international hackathon, where students come together for 36 hours to collaboratively code a unique solution to a problem from scratch. For those familiar with Suncayr’s technology (a marker ink that tells you when to reapply sunscreen), you may be wondering what on earth we were doing at a hackathon. For us, it was all about networking. We found out that Sam Altman, the president of Y Combinator, was going to be there, so we knew that we had to go too.