Click here to read the profiles of several StFX entrepreneurs embracing the power of purpose.
Organizers knew they had hit on something special, something intangible, when two high school students pitched the winning business idea for developing a clothing line for Muslim girls playing sports and their university peers pitched a host of ideas, from addressing food waste and insecurity to life-saving gear for fishermen.
“It was inspiring to see how passionate these young entrepreneurs were about starting a business to address a societal issue they cared about,” says Paula Brophy, one of the organizers of Impact X Summit on Entrepreneurship & Social Change, held for the first time at StFX in November 2024.
Ms. Brophy, who runs the StFX Discover Box at the Coady Institute that supports student entrepreneurs, was able to secure funding from the Nova Scotia Government’s Advanced Education Department to host this inaugural summit.
StFX faculty, staff, and students came together from across disciplines to organize Atlantic Canada’s first student pitch conference uniting social impact and entrepreneurship. They brought in additional partners, including the StFX Schwartz School of Business, StFX Alumni Association, Coady Institute, StFX Department of Education, and Sodexo. Impact X was able to offer $12,000 in prizes.
“Students pitched over 40 different social enterprise ventures to help solve real societal challenges. The judges were impressed by the students’ creativity, energy, and commitment to change in the pitch competition,” says co-founder Dr. Greg Hadley, StFX Chair of Entrepreneurship Education in the Faculty of Education.
Impact X brought together 75 university and high school students from across the Maritimes and Ontario to understand the power of innovation, collaboration and purpose-driven entrepreneurship—where positively impacting society is equally a goal as financial profits.
It also filled a gap.
“What was missing in the Maritime entrepreneurial ecosystem for students was a social impact event and we felt we were in the best position to organize that,” says co-founder and StFX Schwartz School of Business professor Dr. Neil Maltby.
“There is no better place to host a summit on social entrepreneurship than at StFX, given our history and commitment to social justice,” says Dr. Maltby, who notes StFX’s long-standing commitment to social change through the work of the Coady Institute as well as its pioneering experiential learning-based programs.
UNIQUE INVOLVEMENTS
Along with Ms. Brophy, Dr. Maltby, and Dr. Hadley, Impact X co-founders included StFX Entrepreneur in Residence Alex Dorward, business faculty Dr. Abede Mack, Advancement staff member Alexis MacDonald, event coordinator Leah Chisholm, and students Erica Cameron, Isaac Heirlihy, and Inka Mittler.
“What was especially unique about this conference was that it included students in all aspects of its planning,” says Ms. MacDonald. Their involvement on the organizing committee was integral and included hiring a student-led organization to run its social media campaign. It was the students, she says, who emphasized that other pitch competitions they’d attended focused mainly on pitching and didn’t necessarily include workshops, learning and community building.
MUCH IMPACT
“In designing Impact X, we wanted to add in educational offerings to encourage more networking and learning amongst the participants. We succeeded on this front,” she says.
Among highlights were Tareq Hadhad, CEO of Peace by Chocolate, who received a standing ovation kicking off the summit by sharing his entrepreneurial journey, and a powerful keynote by Coady graduate Mallory Yanghwe, who was recently named Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year for Indigenous Box Inc.
Ms. MacDonald says another remarkable part of the event was seeing its impact on other regional universities and high schools. St. Thomas University faculty Heather MacDonald in fact based her entrepreneurship class around the event and took a busload of students to StFX to compete in it. Amy Andrews at UPEI rented a van to take students to Antigonish. Two groups of Ontario high students and teachers flew in to attend.
It also greatly impacted students.
"I can't get over how much Impact X boosted my daughter Mica's confidence,” says StFX grad Flora Murphy whose Grade 11 daughter Mica Gomes began her Impact X journey with enthusiasm and ideas, but also with some trepidation about attending a pitch competition with university students. “After the two days, she emerged with new skills and a strong belief that, with the right strategies and planning, she could create opportunities for herself and have a real impact in her community. As Mica begins to make plans to go on to university, she does so with a newfound insight into herself, her potential, and excitement about being creative with her peers.”
Ms. Gomes, 16, says the experience opened her mind to new possibilities and new places. “It shifted my view of my future, in a really positive way.”
High school student Teddy Gingras from St. Michael's College in Toronto, ON fell in love with the StFX campus during the Impact X Summit and even confirmed his acceptance on the spot.
DYNAMIC ENTRPRENEURIAL SYSTEM
The event was also the latest collaboration between StFX campus partners building a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem.
StFX’s history of teaching entrepreneurship in the Schwartz School stretches back into the 1990s, then championed by Dr. Monica Lent, Dr. Maltby says. It officially became a stream in the business school in 2015.
The program collaborates with Discover Box at the Coady Institute, the program led by Ms. Brophy, who’s been at the forefront of student entrepreneurship for over a decade; with Dr. Hadley in the Faculty of Education, who focuses on equipping B.Ed. students with the tools they need to mentor budding entrepreneurs after they become teachers; Dr. Abede Mack, who teaches entrepreneurship in the Schwartz School; and Alex Dorward, Entrepreneur in Residence, who was also the driving force behind the launch of an annual $5,000 Social Entrepreneurship Fund financed by alumni. The inaugural recipient was Ms. Mittler.
Additionally, Dr. Maltby says students benefit from one-on-mentoring and support for new venture development and participate in student pitch events, workshops, and external competition preparation. They receive fundraising support and have opportunities like the Wallace Family internships, and student societies like Enactus, which advances social entrepreneurship projects.
Now there’s Impact X, already confirmed to return this November, where organizers say it will continue to bring focus to entrepreneurship and social change, hallmarks common among StFX alumni entrepreneurs.
Here, StFX entrepreneurs share their stories; including on embracing the power of purpose
