Empowering others begins with strong, visioned individuals – Emily Bland is all that and more. By educating and employing at risk and homeless youth to create inexpensive hydroponics systems, Emily has been able to influence change in the way society consumes food. Emily was kind enough to share her inspiring project ‘Sucseed’ and how Pitch101 helped in its development:

“I went through the Pitch101 program in St. John’s, NL. The idea that I pitched was Project ‘Sucseed’, a project that today is run through a volunteer group called Enactus Memorial. ‘Sucseed’ employs at risk and homeless youth to build hydroponic systems made of environmentally friendly material. These systems are then sold to classrooms with an educational session, start-up co-operatives in northern rural communities, the general public and community groups like food banks and retirement homes. These systems cost less than $2 a week to operate, use 90% less water then traditional agriculture and can fit in the corner of your home.

Pitch 101 taught me the importance of learning to communicate ideas in a concise way and the importance of being confident in your idea. It isn’t every day that you have the opportunity to speak in front of top capital investors and have them provide you with feedback. Pitch 101 is helping to build a generation of more confident entrepreneurs.”