Keerat Gill / en Through entrepreneurship and mentorship, 老司机直播 grad leaves a mark on his community /news/through-entrepreneurship-and-mentorship-u-t-grad-leaves-mark-his-community <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Through entrepreneurship and mentorship, 老司机直播 grad leaves a mark on his community</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/Michael-Owusu-portrait-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=7o2Uoa-H 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-03/Michael-Owusu-portrait-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=-IfGWKOW 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-03/Michael-Owusu-portrait-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=pnln69sv 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/Michael-Owusu-portrait-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=7o2Uoa-H" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-03-04T12:17:48-05:00" title="Monday, March 4, 2024 - 12:17" class="datetime">Mon, 03/04/2024 - 12:17</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Michael Owusu, who graduated from 老司机直播 Mississauga's Digital Enterprise Management program, is creating an app that can streamline the process of drafting wills (supplied photo)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/keerat-gill" hreflang="en">Keerat Gill</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-secondary-author-reporter field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/carla-demarco" hreflang="en">Carla DeMarco</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/icube" hreflang="en">ICUBE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">老司机直播 Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">'It's about finding the opportunities and support'</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Michael Owusu</strong> was years into a career with the Bank of Montreal when a chance conversation with a client prompted him to reconsider his future.</p> <p>鈥淚 thought to myself, 鈥業f I鈥檓 not really enjoying my job or if I鈥檓 not really seeing opportunities, if I go back to school for four or five years 鈥 in reality, what are four or five years in the grand scheme of my life?鈥欌 says Owusu, who earned an associate degree in broadcast journalism from Sheridan College. 鈥淭hat realization put me on the trajectory of enrolling back in school.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>In 2018, Owusu enrolled at the University of Toronto Mississauga as a mature student in the Digital Enterprise Management (DEM) program. It was during the program's fourth-year technological entrepreneurship class that he came up with the idea for <a href="https://pitch.com/public/b8067d56-651f-4b94-9974-cf6bdb0236ad/1faa0bac-ca34-4b95-97d7-fc009ffb5a6c">Willify 鈥 an app that can streamline the process of drafting a will</a>.</p> <p>Owusu says there are significant barriers to drafting a will, particularly for young people and members of marginalized communities. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge unmet need for will-drafting. Given my previous work in banking and government, I鈥檝e seen how not having a will can be so detrimental to people鈥檚 lives, no matter their age.鈥</p> <p>In January 2023, Willify was accepted into the early-stage program at ICUBE, 老司机直播 Mississauga鈥檚 social entrepreneurship accelerator and incubator. The following month, the company placed among the top five finalists out of 40 competing startups at the <a href="https://icubeutm.ca/sauga-pitch/">Sauga Start-up Pitch Competition</a>.</p> <p>Owusu, who graduated from the DEM program in spring 2023, now works at the Canada Revenue Agency as a coaching specialist in learning and development. Meanwhile, he continues to work on Willify, with an ambitious goal in mind 鈥 helping one million users in Canada draft a will using the application.</p> <p>Owusu credits ICUBE with helping him expand his knowledge of design and prototyping, which helped him realize his ideas for Willify. The experience also reinforced his entrepreneurial aspirations. 鈥淚f you have an idea, if you want to do something, you can make it happen. It's about finding the opportunities and support,鈥 he says.</p> <p>Owusu is also keen to provide support to others, particularly those who are at the beginning of their academic and career journeys. While at 老司机直播 Mississauga, he got involved with the <a href="https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/iccit/student-resources/iccit-student-mentorship-program">Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (ICCIT) Student Mentorship Program.</a> 鈥淚 wanted to get involved in ICCIT because I had real-world professional experience, and I wanted to share that with other students in DEM,鈥 says Owusu, adding that witnessing their development first-hand was very rewarding.&nbsp;</p> <p>For Owusu, the human aspect of connecting with people and aiding their progress is hugely satisfying, and something he enjoys in his job with the CRA. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 training someone new to the learning development community and seeing them experience that 鈥榓ha鈥 moment or coaching someone and having them significantly improve throughout the session 鈥 it鈥檚 a great thing to see and a great place to be.鈥&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:17:48 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 306541 at