YSBEC Success Stories

NewMakeIt is a facility that provides innovators, entrepreneurs and creative professionals with the tools and technology to turn ideas into reality. Watch to learn how the YSBEC helped them launch this creative business! Did this story inspire you? Do you…

Christine Moran spent her whole life helping others. After moving to Newmarket from Orillia over 25 years ago, she dedicated her life to raising her two children. But shortly after moving to Newmarket, her youngest child was diagnosed with Autism.…

Some people have a love for music and are lucky enough to make a career out of it. Others do the same for art and design. Stella Grinfeld has at one point or another done all three. From her education…

It’s not where you’ve been, it’s where you end up. This rings true for Corey McCusker, owner of Muttz with Mannerz, based out of Whitchurch-Stouffville. After a 13-year career in finance, she was ready for a change. “I had a successful…

“I really enjoy fixing things and addressing the needs of customers,” says Moore, an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) mechanic who launched Integra Mechanical and Air Ltd. in 2013. But what hasn’t come so intuitively to him is handling the organizational and administrative side of running a business.

Julian Roach has every reason to be confident. A registered physiotherapist, he has treated more than 18,000 patients in England, Finland and Canada. He’s also an adjunct lecturer and clinical educator for the University of Toronto and served as a lead…

Ziggy Talaska is only 25, but he’s worked in the trades for a decade. At age 15, he was framing drywall and building decks. By age 18, he was coordinating jobs for another contractor. “I grew up seeing my dad…

Kirsten Martin and Anne-Marie Gabrini don’t, typically, book private jets or plan lavish parties for their clients. Rather, as partners in K+A Personal Concierge in Aurora, they’re more apt to help clients with ordinary tasks such as grocery shopping or finding a good electrician.

Should you — and how do you — turn a hobby into a business? Those questions dogged Julia Brown when she was at university. In her freshman year, she started roasting and blending almonds into nut butter for fun. By…

For Dash Bylykbashi, it’s easy to throw himself into his work. When he’s DJing a wedding, he moves and grooves right along with the guests. “I really get into it. I’m dancing the whole time,” he says. “That’s the reason people…

After a 20-year banking career, Anu Bidani had a decision to make: She could continue in the corporate world or she could channel her passion for technology and innovation into her own business. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart,” she says,…

When clients walk in the door of Nicole Weston’s office they are greeted by a chalkboard sign that reads “Welcome. What you focus on expands.” Weston knows all about focus. A lifestyle coach and counsellor, she’s intent on building her…

When business economics grad Rachael Senjule launched Love Lakeri, a clothing accessories business, she was pretty confident she could manage the financial side of the venture. It was the marketing side she wasn’t so sure about.

Certified financial planners Marlene Falcon and Thuy Lam are in the habit of providing advice and information. But as small business partners, they’re just as open to receiving guidance as they are at offering it.

In high school, Paul Pires drove a forklift truck part-time. By age 19, he was training co-workers on a variety of lift trucks. And now, at 40, he’s launched OHSpros a company that specializes in province-specific online forklift training and health…

With a degree in kinesiology and four years at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Dr. Judith McCann is proud of the education she’s earned. She just wishes she’d had more of a grounding in business while in school. “I received some…