13-year-old girl makes finals for a business pitch competition in the Sault

Elliot Lake girl makes finals in pitch competition Millworks' Bridges to Better Business Pitch competition finalists include a 13-year-old entrepreneur who runs reading service BookBuds.

SAULT STE. MARIE — The 4th annual Bridge to Better Business Pitch Competition started with nearly twenty applications.

The committee whittling it down to five and then judges and public voters picked the top two.

Now those entrepreneurs will be pitching their businesses live in person on Thursday, Oct.22.

"The idea behind the pitch competition is to instigate that entrepreneurship feeling in the community," said Harleen Puaar Shukla, manager of Enterprise Services/Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship.

The final two are very different entrepreneurs.

Both of their ideas were influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One, is an experienced businessman who has entrepreneurship in his blood.

The other, a 13-year-old girl who started her own business to begin saving for university.

Emlyn Goulding runs BookBuds, an online tutoring company that helps students from kindergarten to grade 6 learn or strengthen their reading skills.

"I read with them and basically it's a different experience because I'm so young. It's not like a teacher or adult, it's more of a peer to peer relationship," said Goulding.

"Kids are more comfortable learning with me because of it."

Tony Cavaliere is the other finalist. He runs Kappative Studios. His pitch will be for his new online marketplace platform that allows local businesses to sell their product online.

"What we found is a lot of small businesses just really don’t have the technological know how to launch, operate and market their own website and online store," said Cavaliere.

The winner will receive $15,000 in prizes while second place will go home with $5,000 worth of prizes to help their business.