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Calgary Herald

Parker: Calgary startup Hatchloom educating next generation of entrepreneurs

Article content The word 'entrepreneur' is bandied around a lot by people trying to describe what they do, covering a lot of bases but often not scoring many runs. Article content According to most dictionaries, the word is defined by illustrating an original idea and assuming risk, while being able to organize and manage. Article content A good example of a successful entrepreneur is Kelly Choi, who always seems to find solutions to things she believes need fixing — busy with new ideas that she is able to make work. Article content Article content Article content The plan was to enter law school, but things changed dramatically after visiting her sister in Calgary. It was 15 years ago in February — the city was enjoying chinook weather conditions and Choi remembers the two of them sitting in the sun on the patio at the Ship and Anchor on 17 th Avenue, having a 'wow' experience. She moved to Calgary the following week. Article content Her first job was in communications with a major oil company, but she became restless and started Blacksheep, a marketing company that specialized in serving her keen interest in commercial real estate firms and developers. Believing that one never stops learning, she earned an MBA at Queen's/Cornell. Article content Article content Always keeping her creative mind buzzing, Choi identified a gap in the current education space in supporting naturally creative minds. Article content 'We have Kumon and Mathnasium to support kids looking to shore up their math skills, STEM programs being offered at various summer camps around the city and, of course, a plethora of extracurricular activities around athletics,' she says. 'But nothing to really to support kids who are business curious.' Article content Along with Eva Sirvent Milbrat, they co-founded Hatchloom as a forward-thinking Canadian ed-tech startup dedicated to entrepreneurship education.