Sacred Heart Student Receives Startup Canada’s 2015 Award for
Young Entrepreneur of the
Year
For
Immediate Release: November 26, 2015 Halifax, NS - A Grade 12 Student from Sacred Heart School of Halifax
has been named Canada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Alex Gillis, age
17, is the national winner of the Startup Canada Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Award, and will be honoured at an upcoming red carpet ceremony at the CN Tower
in Toronto on Dec. 1.
"I think entrepreneurship should be a part of everyone's
education," says Sacred Heart student, Alex Gillis. “Winning this award is
a real honour.”
“I'm pleased and proud and not in the least surprised to see Alex
achieve this well-deserved national award,” says Principal Robert Marchand.
“Like many of our Sacred Heart students, Alex has seen the lessons from
his classroom can extend beyond the walls of the school." Gillis
enrolled at Fountain Academy of the Sacred Heart School in Grade 7 when the
boys’ high division of the school was just in its 5th year. He credits
their Business & Management course and Experiential Learning program for
spurring his business interest and ability.
Gillis, co-founder of Bitness, started the tech
company in 2014 after paying attention to a business need. Noticing the
apparent over-staffing and marketing issues at a local coffee shop was the
first realization of how Alex Gillis could personally solve a large real-world
problem with technology. Gillis quickly realized that it would have to be a
passive solution for the store requiring no customer interaction in the data
collection process. Through his developed technology, using beacons to
passively record shoppers with smartphones and installing beacons throughout
the retail store to measure consumer flow through a store. Bitness
highlights opportune times for promotions and staff scheduling adjustments as
well as identifying high-traffic areas within the store. Bitness enables stores
to increase revenue while decreasing expenditures and access real-time reports of traffic and flow both crucial to making
sound business decisions.
Gillis, recipient of the Startup Canada award, finds himself in successful company. Other winners include: The Right Honourable Paul Martin, founder of the Capital for Aboriginal Prosperity and Entrepreneurship Fund; Communitech CEO Iain Klugman; Medicine Hat-based wedding accessories company Weddingstar; Vancouver’s Victory Square Labs; sustainable superfood producers Entomo Farms; industrial analytic app maker RtTech Software; Accel-Rx President Natalie Dakers and; Tom Fath, owner of The Fath Group.
“Congratulations to the winners of the 2015
Startup Canada Awards, each of whom embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and
who have exemplified excellence, integrity and exceptional impact through their
efforts, enterprises and ethos,” said Victoria Lennox, co-founder and CEO of
Startup Canada.
“Entrepreneurship is about human endeavour; it is
about unleashing human potential to advance our society, economy and humanity.
Canada was built by entrepreneurs and it is a privilege to have the opportunity
to celebrate and showcase these magnificent Canadians who have collectively
raised the tide for entrepreneurship and innovation.”
As the hallmark event celebrating and
distinguishing Canadian entrepreneurship, the Startup Canada Awards can be
likened to the Oscars for the entrepreneurship community. In its second year,
hundreds of nominations were submitted from across Canada.
About Sacred Heart School of Halifax
Sacred Heart, founded in 1849, offers an educational opportunity
that's second to none. It's the oldest continually operating private school in Halifax,
as well as the only Catholic school in Nova Scotia and offers co-ed Junior
Primary to Grade 6 and single-sex classes in Grades 7-12. With
approximately 500 students enrolled, Sacred Heart has a very favourable student
to faculty ratio, allowing for the most engaging educational experience
possible. The school is proud of the number of students who graduate from SHSH
to pursue post-secondary studies, as well as the $550,000 dollars of
scholarships and awards for post-secondary studies that were granted to Class
of 2015 students. Sacred Heart School of Halifax is part of the Sacred
Heart Network of over 120 other Sacred Heart schools around the world.
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is a grassroots network of entrepreneurs working
together to build an environment for entrepreneurship in Canada. Through online
platforms, grassroots Startup Communities and cross-sector initiatives, Startup
Canada is advancing entrepreneurial momentum and a culture of entrepreneurship,
as the voice of Canadian entrepreneurs. Learn more at StartupCan.ca.
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For more information contact:
Miriam Regan
Director of Advancement
Sacred Heart School of Halifax
902-422-4459
mregan@shsh.ca
