Skip to main content Skip to local navigation

Entrepreneurial Alumni Speaker Series @Home explores the power of purpose

Jennifer Huggins

Jennifer Huggins. Photo Credit: Vincent Dayrit

LaunchYU has partnered with York University's Division of Advancement to present an at at-home edition of the LaunchYU Entrepreneurial Alumni Speaker Series.

Each part of the series will aim to capture the real stories, challenges, successes and failures that top York University alumni entrepreneurs have encountered in their journeys.

The Entrepreneurial Alumni Speaker Series @Home talks are meant to inspire, motivate and educate students, alumni and community members, on the realities of entrepreneurship in today’s world.

The format has proven well so far, with the first event in the series receiving a positive response from attendees who heard about serial entrepreneur Richard Reiner’s five successful (and a few unsuccessful) tech startups. Attendees were encouraged to join the conversation, not only through a Q-and-A segment, but also through the addition of an Entrepreneurs Panel where pre-selected audience members were given the opportunity to engage with the speaker live during the event.

The second event in the series on Aug. 6 will feature a presentation on “the power of purpose” by Jennifer Huggins, CEO of Fight to End Cancer. The free event will begin at 12 p.m. on Zoom.

Huggins owns and operates Kingsway Boxing Club in Toronto. As a three-star international boxing referee and judge with AIBA International Boxing Association, she understands her sport from the inside out. In addition to being a Canadian National Coach at her gym, Jennifer is heavily involved in the community, and still manages to find time to travel the world performing with a world-class magician. Her business and personal motto is that “variety is the spice of life.”

In her talk, Huggins will discuss how growing up with anaphylaxis has put a unique spin on the perspective that she has moved forward in relationships, business and life. Since birth, she has battled with severe asthma, food allergies and sports injuries that have been misdiagnosed by professionals, misunderstood by her peers and landed her in intensive care units countless times.

Those interested in asking questions and engaging with the speaker during the event can email launchyu@yorku.ca and apply by July 27 at 5 p.m. Panelists must be willing to have their camera turned on while asking their question.

The series will conclude with a presentation on Aug. 20 with Abtin Masseratagah, the CEO and founder of Northrn Mo.

To learn more about the LaunchYU Entrepreneurial Alumni Speaker Series @Home series or to register, visit https://launchyu.ca/event/entrepreneurial-alumni-speaker-series-home-jennifer-huggins/?instance_id=7.