Beedie entrepreneur marks launch of social venture with award
A Beedie School of Business alumna has parlayed an initial $30,000 advance from a prestigious entrepreneurial leadership program into a new business venture – and has subsequently seen the business voted best launch product at a renowned education conference.
Jessica Fan’s business Penyo Pal, an app that teaches children to speak Mandarin, beat off stiff competition from 31 other entrants to be named Best Overall 1.0 Startup at the Launch EDU conference.
The two-day, education-focused conference was held at Microsoft’s campus in Mountain View, California from 12-13 June. Penyo Pal was not only the sole Canadian venture selected to present at the conference, but was also the youngest company presenting, and boasted the youngest company founders of all entrants.
Fan last year joined the ranks of The Next 36, a program which seeks the most promising undergraduate students around the country and transforms them into high impact entrepreneurial leaders. She has since used the experience and support gained from the program to develop Penyo Pal in conjunction with her co-founders and fellow Next 36 members, Jane Wu, Rafal Dittwald and Ryan Wagner.
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