Have a business idea? Get it off the ground with eCo-op.
Posted on Wednesday, June 16th, 2021
Entrepreneurship Co-op (eCo-op) is an initiative that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to spend their co-op work term working full-time on their business idea under the guidance of an industry mentor. eCo-op students are the owners of their company and are considered entrepreneurs working towards making their start-up dream a reality.
Chris Hing had been working for several years before enrolling in the eCo-op program at Algonquin College.
“There is no better way to learn an industry than to start your own business”.
– Chris Hing on eCo-op.
Chris believes that eCo-op allows students to further the skills they are learning in class by offering real-life challenges and the opportunity to develop problem-solving as a skill. According to Chris: “becoming an expert in one area will teach you how to become an expert in others, and learning how to solve problems is more important than any single solution.” Chris adds to this that, “the most powerful skill one can have is the ability to self-educate, and the only way to know if you’re capable of self-education is to try”.
Of the many benefits of eCo-op, Chris has been receiving the support he needs from two classmates: Aleksandr Anseev and Anoop Sidhu. They are working on Chris’s project for their eCo-op credits. Students often choose to work together and collaborate on a project during their eCo-op work term. Together, Chris and his team are turning his business idea into a marketable solution.
The Project:
Chris and his team have been hard at work developing software and are awaiting patent approval, which they are hopeful will come through by the end of the year. It is for this reason that Chris describes his project without giving away any specifics. “What I can say is I noticed a simple SAAS solution to a problem that has been plaguing companies for as long as the internet has existed. I can say we now have a working prototype, and hopefully, we will be ready to go public once our program has concluded.” Chris will be graduating in December 2021.
The Algonquin College Co-op Department is currently accepting a limited number of eCo-op applications for the Fall 2021 term. If eCo-op seems like the right fit for you, you can apply by filling out this form by July 5th:
https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/student-entrepreneurship-co-op-application/
Want more information? The Co-op office is hosting an information session on June 24th, at 11 am. You can sign up here:
https://algonquincollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIucO2hpzsjGNDLeUMfiCeJ9yzsHbRLY9OH
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