Next stop for Junior Dragon’s Den—Cranbrook’s Key City Theatre

Teams from Cranbrook and Sparwood will be vying to move on to the championship.

You are invited to attend Cranbrook's first ever Junior Dragons Den business competition being held at the Key City Theatre at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 28th. — Photo courtesy Kootenay Business

You are invited to attend Cranbrook's first ever Junior Dragons Den business competition being held at the Key City Theatre at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 28th.  Teams from Cranbrook and Sparwood will be vying to move on to the championship.

There will be two competing divisions in Cranbrook:  Junior (Grades 8-10) and College/University—a total of four teams will present their concepts.  The public is invited to come and cheer on these young entrepreneurs as they compete to go to finals in Trail in early May.

Following the airing of a short promotional video which has been produced for the competition, highlighting their business or business concept, each competing team will pitch their ideas to a panel of local dragons (AKA ‘the judges’) in front of a live audience.

As a member of the audience you can also vote for your favourite entrepreneurial presentation and the best Junior Dragon Den business idea.

Here's a summary of the earlier qualifying round held in Trail:

The third West Kootenay-Boundary Junior Dragons Den business competition took place April 21st at the Charles Bailey Theatre in Trail. The event saw 14 youth businesses from Grand Forks to Nakusp, vying for dominance as they pitched their wares to a panel of local dragons (AKA ‘the judges’) in front of a live audience.

Competing in three different divisions, Junior (Grades 8-10), Senior (Grades 11-12) and College/University, competitors had 2 minutes to pitch to the judges, following the airing of a short promotional video which had been produced for the competition, highlighting their business or business concept.

“This year’s regional championship was very fast paced, and all competitors did very well,” stated Don Freschi, GM at CFDC Greater Trail. “And although we had some minor technical issues, which were quickly resolved, all competitors rose to the challenge, representing themselves, their businesses, communities and schools flawlessly." stated Freschi.

The West Kootenay Boundary competition is now one of three regional qualifying competitions, all of which ladder into the Kootenay wide Junior Dragons Den Championship, which takes place May 7th, back at the Charles Bailey theatre, as part of Trail’s Silver City Days celebration.

The winners from the West Kootenay Boundary were:

Junior division (Grade 8-10)

1st- Will Watt, Firestove, Stanley Humphries Secondary
2nd place- Aaron Finke, Peter Grant, Avadrone, J.L. Crowe Secondary
3rd place - Emily Stewart, Critter Care, Grand Forks Secondary

Senior Division (Grade 11-12)

1st place - Sam Zerrath, Cailan McQuair, Brianna McCoy, Bill Gao, EZ Light Tinder Blocks, Nakusp Secondary
2nd place - Rennee Goodman, Abby Boswell, Cameron Olsen, Bryce Friedenberger, Rolly blade Tri-Flasher, Nakusp Secondary
3rd place - Vanessa Ford, Simply Fresh, Stanley Humphries Secondary

College/ University Division

1st place - Jesse Chan, Stay Wrapped Guitar Products, Selkirk College
2nd place - Maxwell Nicholson, Craft Crate, University of Victoria
3rd place - Catherine Musgrave, Scholarshare, University of Victoria

The prize money awarded to the winners must be used to expand an existing business, launch a new business, or go toward tuition for post secondary education. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finalists from all divisions automatically advance to compete in the Junior Dragons Den Kootenay Championships, May 7th at the Charles Bailey Theatre.

Cranbrook's first ever Junior Dragons Den business competition (a regional qualifying event) is being held at the Key City Theatre at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 28th. Don't miss it.