YES Atlantic Seeks to Inspire Young Entrepreneurs
FREDERICTON–Entrepreneurs, students, mentors and business people gathered at the Pond-Deshpande Centre’s YES Atlantic conference to “change the story” of opportunities in Atlantic Canada.
The day started with an address from Pond-Deshpande Centre executive director Karina LeBlanc followed by a panel on “Changing the Story” in Atlantic Canada by chief culture officer of Opportunities NB, Dovico CEO Yves Doucet and Huddle’s Allan Gates.
Panelists echoed the thought that millennials are well-poised to make opportunities for themselves in Atlantic Canada and that it’s an ideal time to take advantage of the decline of traditional industries in the province by replacing them with new, innovative ones.
“We have to get our heads around the fact that those industrial jobs that sustained us are gone,” said Gates during the panel. “People are creating their own jobs. The job you want may not exist in New Brunswick right now so go out and create it.”
“There’s a revolution going on,” Doucet said. “You guys don’t stand for unfairness anymore. You don’t stand for greed anymore, and for leaders that don’t lead you somewhere with purpose.”
Conference attendees split up for different breakout sessions by Atlantic Centre for Creativity’s Mary Baltherwick, TME UNB’s Dhirendra Shukla, Hotspot CEO Philip Curley, Smart Skin CEO Kumaran Thillainadarajah, Lulujo CEO Dawn Pottier and Resson Aerospace CEO Peter Goggin.
Sarah Alston, a logistics organizer at the conference said she hopes that young people walk away with a changed opinion of what can be accomplished in the province and are inspired to make a difference.
“The conversation is largely negative in New Brunswick surrounding businesses,” she said. “We want to show with YES Atlantic that there is a future here, there are a lot of good things happening in New Brunswick, basically to change the conversation and make it a positive one.”
Vincent-Luc Brouillard is a student ambassador alumnus from Paquetville who works to promote entrepreneurship to Francophones and create bridges between the French and English communities in New Brunswick.
He says he learns from the experiences and specific situations of panelists and speakers at the conference and applies them to his own endeavours.
“Everyone has different experiences and sometimes they have highlights or life lessons they’ve learned and sometimes those little details can make a difference in whatever project you’re working on or business you’re in,” he said.
YES Atlantic events continue throughout the day Friday and early in the day Saturday, including a screening of the documentary “The Millennial Dream” Friday afternoon.