Pitching in: Donating $11-million to support Canada's next generation of entrepreneurs
The organizers: Tim Price, Frances Price, Reza Satchu and Marion Annau
The pitch: Donating $11-million
The cause: NEXT Canada
Tim Price has more than 40 years of experience in the business world, but he still remembers being impressed by the group of young entrepreneurs he met seven years ago.
Mr. Price, who is chair of Brookfield Funds of Brookfield Corp., was attending an event at NEXT Canada, a Toronto-based charity that provides a range of programs to support entrepreneurs. During the event, the budding businesspeople had just four minutes each to describe their idea and their strategy to make it work. And then they faced feedback from the audience.
'I started to write down the names of the 12 that were presenting,' Mr. Price recalled. 'And I quickly couldn't tell one for each other, but the feeling I got was that these kids have in themselves the strength to carry on whatever they're going to face. Because they're going to be beaten down time and time again, and they're going to have problems, but they're going to be supported here so they know they get a feeling for what they can do.'
Mr. Price was so taken by NEXT that he joined the board of directors and became a financial supporter. He and his wife, Frances, recently pledged $10-million over the next ten years. Their gift prompted one of NEXT's co-founders, Reza Satchu, and his partner, Marion Annau, to donate $1-million.
Mr. Satchu, who has founded several ventures and teaches at Harvard Business School, said the objective of NEXT is to provide instruction, mentorship and opportunities for Canada's brightest innovators. 'The first thing we wanted to do was make sure this was the most rigorous, demanding, program in the country,' he said.
NEXT has three branches aimed at young entrepreneurs, company founders and start ups that use artificial intelligence. All three are 'very competitive with high accountability, high standards, high expectations,' said Mr. Satchu.
Mr. Price said he still gets a thrill when he attends NEXT's events and listens to the pitches. 'It's just so exciting to be part of this,' he said. 'There's no government involved. It's all philanthropy. It's all the kids and how they react. Everything is so damn positive.'
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