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Young entrepreneur gets experience creating startup by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 5 | Thursday, February 18, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville teen Yamini Belmonn was among 33 budding entrepreneurs from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who got to experience what it was like to create a startup. The White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) Grade 9 student recently took part in ZerotoStartup, a new joint initiative between Toronto's Ryerson University and electronics manufacturer Celestica, that provides youths aged 12-17 years with an experiential foundation in technology and exposure to entrepreneurship. Over 13 weeks, program participants gathered at Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation and were tasked with using technology to solve reallife issues the City of Toronto faces. In teams, they brainstormed, designed and developed a product before presenting their solutions to a panel of judges at Ryerson University. Belmonn said she was teamed with five other youths who designed an app called EZPark that aimed to make parking in Toronto easier. She said the idea stemmed from the difficulty her family faces with parking on every visit to Toronto. "We have trouble finding parking a lot," she told the Oakville Beaver, noting it was something she faced as recently as attending the ZerotoStartup program. "I did a little a research and I found a lot of traffic is caused by people create success," the youth added. Belmonn, along with other program participants, were given the option to continue developing their product and receive mentorship from non-profit STEAMLabs, DMZ business incubator at Ryerson University and opportunities to work with the City of Toronto. Belmonn said she and her other teammates decided to put their idea on hold for now. Meanwhile another ZerotoStartup session is about to begin Feb. 6-May 14. Post's Corners Public School Grade 8 student Puneet Parhar will be participating after her parents saw an ad for it on Facebook and decided to explore the opportunity they thought was a perfect fit for her. Parhar, 13, said while growing up she was always pretending to create her own business, anything from a hotel to travel agency. She noted she's looking forward to learning new skills like thinking more independently, meeting new people and learning how to be an entrepreneur. "I'm excited to exchange thoughts and ideas with other people and try to create solutions," she said. Visit www.zerotostartup.org for more. Yamini Belmonn circling around trying to find parking." EZPark would allow drivers to see parking availability, make reservations and extend parking by paying online, Belmonn said, noting her team created a prototype of the app that showed how it would work. She said it was a good opportunity to experience how to create a startup and work with others to make a successful pitch. "The experience was amazing," she said. "I learned so many new things like programming and connecting hardware to software." "If you want to start up a business, teamwork is essential because everyone has their own little part and all these little parts come together to INJURED? I Can Help! YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY UNLESS I GET YOU MONEY My team of experienced lawyers can help you with: · Car accidents · Slip and Falls · Disability Claims (Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, CPP) · Wrongful Dismissal OFFICES IN OAKVILLE AND TORONTO For a free consultation call: Oakville: 905.842.2022 or Toronto: 416.351.9222 email: sspadafora@slspc.ca PLATINUM Sam Spadafora Injury and Employment Law ALL YOU CAN EAT Lunch or Dinner 10% off Dinner* Dine in & cAsh onlY *With this AD Dine in for All You cAn eAt 280 North Service Road W. @ Dorval, Oakville 905.338.6228 7 DAYS A WEEk www.august8.ca