Mount Royal University Student Named Calgary's EO Entrepreneur of the Year for the 5th Consecutive Year
Tarandeep Singh Kainth Co-Founder of Sharyeo
By Emily Knight
If you ask most of us what we were doing in our spare time as a junior high and high school student, the answer would likely sound like a whole lot of nothing. Ask Tarandeep Singh Kainth on the other hand, and you will hear the impassioned stories of a serial entrepreneur, complete with failure, life lessons, and unwavering dedication.
Tarandeep got his first taste of entrepreneurship through watching his immigrant parents build a life for their family through tinkering and the pursuit of new ideas. Starting in junior high, what started as a bet between friends turned into Tarandeep's first experience building a viral following through social media. As a competition to see who could get the most likes on a facebook page, Tarandeep created a gaming page that attracted 27,500 followers in a few short months. Inspired by his entrepreneurial genes, on a family trip to India, he saw an opportunity to bring back low-cost replica designer goods to re-sell in Canada, always selling them honestly as replicas, through Facebook. Selling online offered him sales experience and a healthy dose of risk management after being robbed two times. Talk about resiliency!
In his first year of university, beginning his business degree at the University of Calgary, Tarandeep continued to follow his entrepreneurial intuition and invested in Aura's stock. That investment paid off and equipt him with the resources to start to explore ideas. In his first entrepreneurship class Tarandeep was able to funnel all of his growing innovative energy and real-world experience into a real startup idea. The idea for Sharyeo was born, a platform that connects individuals with un-used and under-used items sitting in their homes with individuals who need these items on a use-to-use basis. Sharyeo currently has 300 items for rent on their platform and in August 2018, Tarandeep and his co-founder Ravdeep Sekhon brought Sharyeo to Futurepreneur and were granted a startup loan of $45,000.
Looking for additional support and community, Tarandeep attended the Mount Royal JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition in April of 2017. The excitement of the room, the display of support of student entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to learn more about the program inspired him to transfer to Mount Royal University for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program. Through the Insitute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Tarandeep has been working with Alumni Mentor Derek Rucki.
On November 13th, 2018, Tarandeep shared his story with a panel of 4 esteemed judges and was named Calgary's EO Entrepreneur of the Year.
Tarandeep is the fifth Mount Royal student to be given the honoured title Calgary's EO Entrepreneur of the Year in the past five consecutive years. His predecessors include Ryan Wenger, the Founder of Barrow Espresso, Derek Rucki, the Founder of TLink Golf, Paul Shumlich, the Founder of Deepwater Farms, and Ozzy Lang, the Founder of Green Cup. This is a true testament to the fact that Mount Royal has created a platform for the next generation of successful entrepreneurs to launch themselves and their business into the world.
In the new year, Tarandeep will be travelling to Victoria, British Columbia to compete at the EO's national pitch competition. He also won $3,500 to put towards his venture. A humble reward for the hard work and impressive vision.
Mount Royal University offers an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Minor to students from across Mount Royal. The perfect complimentary program to any degree across campus. Recognizing the demand and success of the students in the program, the school launched a concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for students in the BBA program. Students like Tarandeep, Ryan, Derek, Paul, and Ozzy can also seek additional help outside of the classroom to accelerate their growth. Students have access to mentorship, funding, and a supportive community through the extracurricular program, the LaunchPad Founders Circle.