The Youngest entrepreneurs in the Glebe are open for business
The Youngest entrepreneurs in the Glebe are open for business
By Leslie Siu
A young entrepreneur’s lab attracts a certain kind of kid.
On Day One, I asked every kid the same question: “Why are you here?” Not to break the ice, but to find out if they already knew what problem they wanted to solve.
They did.
What struck me wasn’t just that they had ideas; it was how closely they were paying attention to their neighbourhood, community and the small gaps and unmet needs hiding in plain sight on Glebe streets. The businesses they built didn’t come from a textbook; they came from looking around and thinking someone should do something about that. Why not me?
This spring, five of them are about to find out if they were right.
Young Entrepreneurs Lab is a 14-week program run through GNAG (Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group), where students in Grades 6 through 9 build real businesses from scratch. We run through ideation, branding, prototyping, pitching, marketing and launch strategy. The course wraps with a community pitch event in front of local leaders, and on May 23, all five businesses will sell to the public for the first time at the Great Glebe Garage Sale.
Special thanks to GNAG’s Erica Nowlan, youth programs manager, and Paul O’Donnell, director of recreation, for their support in making this program possible.
Trapdoor Comic Books
Henry and Harison, Grade 6, Mutchmor
Henry and Harison didn’t just want to sell comic books, they wanted to curate them. Two self-described aficionados who grew up loving the medium, they spent weeks handpicking what they thought the Glebe neighbourhood would want to read.
The business idea came from something simpler though: kids their age glued to screens. Comic books, they figured, were the perfect fix. Something you hold in your hands, something that pulls you in without a battery.
Trapdoor Comic Books was born from that conviction.
YouTube: @bigbeaver
Mermaid Tears
Parker, Grade 6, Mutchmor
Did you know that sea glass is sometimes called mermaid tears?
The ocean takes a broken piece of glass, tumbles it until it is smooth and frosted, then washes it onto the beach as something beautiful. No two pieces are the same — different colours, shapes and sizes, each one carrying its own quiet history.
Parker’s jewellery line, Mermaid Tears, is built around that idea. Every piece is unique, and every piece is meant to make the person wearing it feel connected to the ocean, like they are carrying a small piece of it with them.
Contact: glebemermaidtears@gmail.com
Cloud Candy
Ella, Grade 9, Lisgar
Cotton candy has been around since the late 1800s, spun fresh at fairs and handed to you on the spot. Ella noticed that somewhere along the way, that magic got lost, replaced by stale puffs in plastic tubs sitting on store shelves for months.
But she also noticed something else: the look on a child’s face when they watch it being made in front of them. That wonder, she says, is exactly what it must have felt like the first time, back in 1897.
Cloud Candy brings that back, with fresh-spun flavours like candy cane, maple syrup and seasonal combinations Ella has been quietly perfecting all winter. Her sights are already set beyond the Garage Sale, looking toward birthdays, festivals and other events.
Cotton candy the way it was always meant to be, but with a fresh and unique twist.
Instagram: @cloudcandyottawa
Email: cloudcandyottawa@gmail.com
Yard Rats
Patrick and Nicolas, Grade 6, Mutchmor
Patrick and Nico have been doing yard work for friends and family for a while now. This winter they decided to make it official.
Yard Rats offers seasonal yard services to neighbours across the Glebe, and their pitch is straightforward: reliable, community-minded, run by two kids who want to do good work.
They’re also honest about the other motivation. Last summer they were bored, as they are getting a little old for most camps, so they wanted their first real job to mean something to the neighbourhood they grew up in.
To book Yard Rats: glebeyardrats@gmail.com
Helping Hands
Kempton, Grade 8
If you’ve met Kempton, you understand why he started a nonprofit. He is the kind of person who holds the door open without thinking about it, who makes every conversation feel like the most interesting one you’ve had all day.
He looked around his neighbourhood and saw two groups of people who needed each other: on one hand, residents and local charities who needed volunteers; on the other, high school students looking to complete their mandatory 40 hours of community service.
Helping Hands connects them. It’s a free service that matches neighbours and organizations in need with local volunteers who want to give back.
To connect with Helping Hands:
kempton.rd.leslie@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/kempton-leslie-79b069402
What struck me most wasn’t the businesses, it was the kids themselves.
They showed up every week laughing, debating and pushing each other’s ideas further. One of my favourite things about the Glebe is how it shows up for itself. What I watched this winter was that same spirit, just smaller and louder and funnier.
Seven kids who looked at their neighbourhood and decided it needed a comic book shop, a jewellery line, fresh cotton candy, a yard service and a nonprofit.
Glebe kids, rooting for Glebe kids.
Feels like the neighbourhood is going to be just fine.
Leslie Siu is a Clio Award-winning chief marketing officer and serial entrepreneur who calls the Glebe home after living in New York for two decades. She runs Young Entrepreneurs Lab through GNAG, where she wanted to invest in the community she moved back for.
Look for these young entrepreneurs selling their wares at the Great Glebe Garage Sale on May 23. From left: Patrick, Parker, Harison, Henry, Kempton and Nicolas. Missing: Ella. Photo: Leslie Siu.