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Celebrating Student Innovation at the Longo Be Your Own Boss Event

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It was an inspiring evening of big ideas, bold ambition, and community celebration at Humber’s annual Longo Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) Video Pitch Competition on April 10, 2025. Hosted by the Longo Centre for Entrepreneurship and thanks to generous support from the Longo Family Foundation, the evening spotlighted student innovation and celebrated participants of the video pitch competition as well as the outstanding recipients of the Longo Family Scholarship Program in Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Gina Antonacci, Senior Vice President, Humber Polytechnic, shared the significance of the Longo Family’s continued partnership and how programs like the BYOB competition reflect Humber’s commitment to experiential education. “Thanks to the Longo family, we are helping small business leaders succeed and contribute to Canada’s economy – an endeavor that’s more important now than ever before,” she said. The evening culminated in the highly anticipated BYOB Competition awards ceremony. Finalists participated in a series of workshops, submitted essays, and created video pitches to showcase their business ideas. With support from faculty mentors and expert judges, their concepts came to life.

Humber student Nicholas Kobby Ndur-Osei Jr nabbed first place for his business pitch Content Elevation, which helps companies grow their business by providing just the right tools to use marketing content effectively. Placing second was Kenan Kaplan for his business initiative MedAddon. Thai Ngoc Linh Nguyen placed third for Mini March, and Amber May Stiles placed fourth for Orchid Parlor Beauty Salon.

For the high school competition, Gabriel Villalta placed first for his pitch idea, All the Wood Swimming Lessons, which offers private swimming lessons to the community, specifically helping adults and children feel comfortable in the water. Massimo Cariati placed second for Gaming Guardian, Jack Niceforo placed third for PloyNow, and Raffaele Bellini placed fourth with Healthy Hound Snax.

The Longo Family Foundation’s vision and generosity have made these scholarships and competitions possible, helping students turn their dreams into tangible ventures.

Congratulations to all of this year’s participants, scholarship recipients, and competition winners!