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39 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,June 6,2019 insidehalton.com •Must present this coupon to receive this offer. No other discounts apply.•See store for complete details 427 Speers Road, Oakville•Offer ends August 31, 2019 SAVE at TheMillionaire's DaughterOakville (only) 10%Off 1200 Speers Rd., Unit 12, Oakville, Ont. L6L 2X4 (905) 845 - 1408 | Fax (905) 845 - 5931 | ricky@rickywong.ca Ricky Wong CPA, CA, MBA, B. Eng Ricky WongRicky Wong DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONONONONONDDD DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONONONONONDDD Voted Best Accountant by Oakville Beaver Readers for 11 Consecutive Years For more information please check our website www.rickywong.ca •Accounting •Auditing • Taxation How cool would it be if you could chew gum and clean your teeth at the same time? Oakville's Max Paras- chiv is one step closer to bringing that concept to fruition after his pitchfruition after his pitchf won the sixth annual Py- thons' Pit competition, launched by the Rotary Clubs of Halton to promote entrepreneurship among area youth. "I chose to enter Py- thons' Pit because I had my Feel Fresh idea for about a year, and this al- lowed me to finally pursue the idea to see if I could turn it into a reality," said the Grade 10 student at Ab- bey Park High School. Feel Fresh is a pack of 15 pieces of regular chewing gum infused with layers of edible and natural tooth- paste, allowing for a more convenient way of clean- ing your teeth, Paraschiv said. The 16-year-old entre- preneur was pitted against two other finalists May 15 at the Burlington Perform- ing Arts Centre: Max Ruthmann and Shahwali Nadeem, both 16 and in Grade 11 at Abbey Park. In front of a panel of judges (also known as Py- thons) and a live audience, finalists were given threefinalists were given threef minutes to make their pitch, demonstrating the originality, feasibility and marketability of their business or service. "During my pitch, I was concentrated in delivering it with confidence. I knew that I believed in the idea and I just needed to show this to the Pythons with my passion and confi- dence. Along with the idea itself, I believe that this is how I won the contest," said Paraschiv, who hopes to patent his idea with the $3,500 he won. "From this experience, I learned how to deliver an efficient business pitch, as well as how to present in front of a large group offront of a large group off people." Ruthmann, who placed second, entered the com- petition to showcase the business that he's been op- erating since 2016. Wolf- pack Outdoor Services is a completely electric prop- erty maintenance compa- ny providing basic land- scaping services such as lawn mowing, mulching, debris cleanup and more. "I've always found ways to make money without having to get a 'real' job," said Ruthmann. To help his business standout and to reduce pollution, the young entre- preneur chose to use cord- less electric equipment as opposed to gas-powered. "Global pollution is a massive concern nowa- days and I thought this was the best way I could make an impact," said Ruthmann, who expects his business to grow an- other 50 per cent this year. Family and mentors provided by the competi- tion helped him fine tune his pitch. "I learned how to sell myself and how to get com- fortable in situationsfortable in situationsf where I used to struggle so much in," said Ruthmann. "My first time presenting my speech was to two men- tors. That first time was the hardest pitch out of them all, even harder than the live show because I wasn't used to it. Over time I became more comfort- able with it, so it was way easier and it just flowed." Nadeem came in third place with his cart for blue and green bins and gar- bage bags, "allowing you to push all of your trash out at once." "I was stuck with the chore to take out the trash in my family and that is where I came up with the idea," said Nadeem. He really enjoyed the experience and also the working environment with other candidates, he added. "One thing that I took in from Pythons' Pit was thatfrom Pythons' Pit was thatf if you're really passionate about your product, you should keep trying and keep putting your money into (it) and putting your time into it, because even- tually you will succeed and you will end up cross- ing that finish line." Each of the eight origi- nal participants filmed a 15-minute Pythons' Pit epi- sode which will become a YouTube series this fall.YouTube series this fall.Y This year's Pythons were Michael Lemmer, founder and president offounder and president off ML6 Search and Talent Advisory; Dr. Agatha Bis, holistic and cosmetic den- tist and owner of Smiles by Bis; Clinton Howell, own- er of H2 Systems Inc and a realtor; and Glenn At- tridge; president of At- tridge Transportation Inc and Attridge Coach Lines Inc. YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR'S INVENTION WINS PYTHONS' PIT COMPETITION COMMUNITY Pythons' Pit judges and winners, from left to right, back row, Clinton Howell, Michael Lemmer, Dr. Agatha Bis, Glenn Attridge; from left to right, front row, Max Paraschiv (1st place), Max Ruthmann (2nd place) and Shahwali Nadeem (3rd place). Python's Pit photo