Skip to content

YELL Alumni @ #TradeTalks

On June 29th, the BC Chamber of Commerce hosted #TradeTalks, a one-day forum designed to help BC businesses step up their export game. Throughout the day, #TradeTalks brought together panels of professionals to have a conversation around exporting in B.C. and to share valuable insights on how to overcome challenges/harness the benefits associated international trade.

With help from the BC Chamber of Commerce, 3 of our YELL alumni got the opportunity to pitch and showcase their business during the day. We caught up with them to see what they’re up to and asked them these questions: 

  1. Give me a 1 sentence pitch of your business.
  2. What does export mean to your business right now?
  3. Biggest takeaway from #TradeTalks?

Here’s what they said. 

EMILY NAING

1) Swave is a technology company that aims to help stressed individuals maximize their sleep productivity through sounds that mimic brain waves.

2) Exporting is a door that allows Swave and the issues Swave is targeting to reach beyond the borders of our country. Exporting helps us spread awareness and allows our objectives to grow.

3) #TradeTalks was a powerful experience where I learned about the boundaries of my abilities – I have none. Exporting and becoming a member of international trade seems large, complex, and difficult, but anything is achievable with work and determination!

GEORGIY SEKRETARYUK

1) Cering is an emergency alert platform that focuses on the empowerment and safety of women through a line of wearable tech jewelry.

2) Right now, export is a long term goal that we are striving towards after our initial launch in Canada. To us, export is essential to growing our company beyond the domestic market and helping us achieve our mission statement around the globe. We are fortunate that Canada is a very well developed country, and even we have to deal with safety issues. However, we know that there are places around the world where women’s safety is a far more pressing issue, and our goal is to help those areas through export.

3) Biggest takeaway for myself would be that there are unlimited opportunities for you to pursue if you look beyond what you know. There will always be more that you don’t know, and it is important that you can recognize that and ask others for guidance. Then, the world is your oyster.

CRISTIAN MIHAILESCU

1) UP2U provides easy-to-access information and qualified support to high school students applying or transitioning into post-secondary through mediums they are already familiar with. 

2) Exporting means making our platform accessible to as many students as possible around the world by partnering with universities, colleges, and trade schools across the globe. It also means partnering with local institutions that already have a deep understanding of the post-secondary application process in order to support the students through it. It’s really about building our network of connections.

3) My biggest takeaway is realizing the massive scale of international trade, and that there are many similarities (i.e. business pain points) across borders as well. Being able to have a more grand perspective and realize the potential your company can have abroad is something that can completely change your future, and that’s exciting.