By Maisha Hasan
“How will you know if you never try?” — this is the motto businesspeople and entrepreneurs alike carry within, and young students should as well, with the annual Pythons’ Pit contest.
Local youth-empowerment organization Dare to be You(th) (DTBY) is sponsoring an event run by Pythons’ Pit. Pythons’ Pit provides a space for Canadian students to pursue their entrepreneurial goals and concepts with a panel of seasoned judges to listen to them. Students will be given the opportunity to gain advice from business professionals and also be given the chance to win $1000. All one has to do is submit a three-minute video pitch.
The pitches must not go over three minutes and are only accepted in video format. It is completely free to apply: upload your video into Dropbox and submit the Dropbox link to info@cm2media.ca with your name in the email or message, or send the video to the Pythons through the Pythons’ Pit Facebook account (via Facebook Messenger) or Instagram (direct message). Your video must answer the following questions: the name of your world-changing idea (it can be a business or a social enterprise idea), how you came up with it, what problem it solves, and why are you entering the Python’s Pit contest.
Shannon Tobin, the executive director of DTBY, and Kassia Vrhovnik, a DTBY student ambassador, believe in the importance of youth outreach, as well as encouraging young entrepreneurs. DTBY’s main goal, after all, is to empower youth to be themselves — “unapologetically…and to empower them to make their mark and achieve the life they genuinely want to live.” Inspiring leadership workshops, financial literacy seminars, and linking youth to community are all part of how DTBY aims to reach their goal. And, of course, the Python’s Pit entrepreneurship contest, to foster drive, self-motivation, and big ideas.
“Dare to Be Youth takes these big impact ideas, whether that be a business idea or social enterprise, and lean on our community to become mentors to young leaders and their potential teams,” says Tobin.
“With Python’s Pit, you actually get to see young people put their ideas into action and a try is better than nothing at all,” says Vrhovnik, encouraging young people to take a chance.
Overall, this is an exciting opportunity for high school students to be given an outlet for their ideas and gain input and investments towards their future. Students can submit their applications until October 5, 2023. Winners present on Sunday, November 5 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, for the DTBY’s Youth Inspire Community Day event. Even if you do not win, it is a great opportunity to come to this event and hear great speakers. Last year’s event saw hundreds of high school students, who visited booths featuring local organizations that cater to youth, hear keynote speakers like Waabs Altiman, Leena Sharma Seth, and Olympian Miranda Ayim, and learn about development opportunities available to them. Visit Dare To Be Youth and Pythons’ Pit for more information on Youth Inspire Community Day 2023 and the entrepreneurship contest.
