July 15, 2010

Where have you been to for Summerlicious?

Even though I’ve lived in Toronto all my life, I’m ashamed to say I’ve only partaked in Summerlicious festivities twice. Once at Fred’s Not Here and most recently, Little Anthony’s Italian Ristorante. What I love most about this event is that it brings people together, gives a reason for people to reconnect with old friends and is an excuse to try out a new restaurant that you’ve never been to before. From what I remember, Fred’s Not Here had good food, but the tables were tight and we were knocking elbows with our fellow neighbours. From the outside, Little Anthony didn’t look like much but once inside, it was a pleasant surprise. The floor to ceiling windows brightened up the entire restaurant and for the 1.5 – 2 hours while you’re inside, you don’t feel as if you’re in Toronto. The food was good; they even have the option of ordering smaller portions of all their entrees (if you’re not ordering from the prix-fixe menu) which is so key for someone trying to develop healthy eating habits!

Little Anthony’s Italian Ristorante – Taken from my smartphone

With over 150 amazing restaurants to choose from, I found it a bit hard to figure out which restaurants I wanted to go to so I decided to turn to the power of social media and ask for recommendations. According to my friends, this is the narrowed down list of must try restaurants:

  • Café Moroc (The Bar at Sultan’s Tent)
  • North 44
  • Canoe
  • Sassafraz
  • Toula
  • Bistro 990
  • Biff’s Bistro
  • Jump
  • Brassaii
  • The Pan on Danforth

Super excited to check out Boiler House next week in Distillery District; have heard many amazing things. The last time I went to Distillery, it was closed for a private wedding reception to a gorgeous couple. Also just got corrected that Sultan’s Tent (Café Moroc) and Pan on Danforth is open for summerlicious. Thanks @jackboeuf & @jbalendran. I’ve booked Cafe Moroc for next week! Woohoo!

Where have you been to Summerlicious? Are there any other recommendations you would add to my list?

July 6, 2010

CYBF G20 Youth Entrepreneur Summit Addresses International Challenges

On June 21st- 22nd, I was fortunate to have been invited to attend the first ever G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit hosted by Canadian Youth Business Foundation as Canadian representatives of an influential entrepreneurial organization, Impact Entrepreneurship Group.

CYBF has had an astounding success rate of 93% of starting businesses, with a new business starting every 14.5 hours. There were over 200 international delegates in attendance with students from all 20 participating countries in the G20 summit. Over the two days, Alex Shipillo, Impact’s National President joined by Ray Cao, Impact’s 2008 President, Vino Jeyapalan, the 2010 Impact National Conference Chair and I attended keynote sessions, exchanged ideas with the delegates, and had the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs in this space from around the globe. The goal of the discussion points was formed into a 5 point communique that was delivered to the G20 Business Summit.

The points on the communique were:

1) Access to Funding
2) Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture
3) Coordination among Organizations
4) Education and Training
5) Taxation and Regulation

Eric Boyko, one of the most inspiring keynote speeches

A few of my favourite quotes taken from the summit include:

  • “You have to be able to look past the people who will tell you that you’re going to fail”. – Wes Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc.
  • “Learn to enjoy every moment of the process. Believe in your vision, have a strong conviction, surround yourself with excellent people”. -Tara Renaud, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thermo-Trans
    (who’s also a mother of 7 and with her husband as her partner in business)
  • “Difference between winners & losers is the time of recovery”. – Eric Boyko, Co-founder and President, Stingray Digital
  • “Entrepreneur values: Vision. Delegation. Respect shareholders. PMA – positive mental attitude. Selling”. – Eric Boyko, Co-founder and President, Stingray Digital
  • Tom Jenkins compares being an entrepreneur in a fast paced organization to an ice cream cone in July. You gotta act fast.
  • “Business is not something you do to make a living, it’s something you do to make a life”. – Sophia Aggelonitis, Minister of Consumer Services

The CYBF summit was an amazing experience to be part of. Canada is now on the map as one of the four founding countries of the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alilance along with Italy, Republic of Korea, and France. It was also officially announced the next summit will be taking place in Nice, France in June 2011. I’m so grateful to have been part of this experience and I had met so many amazing people with such unique stories and backgrounds. Thank you to CYBFCanada for being our gracious host!

Networking at MaRS. Can you spot me in the crowd?

If you were unable to attend, the entire event was on live stream and it appears that there will be a web archive coming soon on their website. For a transcript of the tweeting that took place, click here.

Till the next one!

Source: All pictures were taken from CYBF Canada’s photostream.

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