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Nanotechnology engineering (NE) alumnus Holden Beggs was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his start-up .

This start-up was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beggs and business partner Jackson Mills saw a troubling trend,many students were losing their co-op jobs and having difficulty getting post-graduation employment during the pandemic.

Without access to jobs, students found themselves stuck in a cycle—unable to gain experience, but unable to get a job without it. Yet at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ there is a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem.

During his Capstone experience, Beggs realized entrepreneurship would be a good substitute for getting industry experience.

The infrastructure to create a new start-up was there for the students, however many of them did not know how to start an entrepreneurial journey.

“We could see that many students were stuck and unsure of how to even begin their entrepreneurial journey. They needed direction on how to take that first step,” said Beggs. “The Zero Experience was born out of the desire to fill this gap—providing students with workshops, tools, and resources to help them discover what they want to do with their lives.”

The Zero Experience is an educational program that teaches students how to get started and gives them tools to look at career development through a different lens. Being recognized by the Forbes 30 under 30 list came as a surprise. The success of the Zero Experience is rooted in its commitment to helping students to take control of their own journey and apply themselves in meaningful ways.

“At the Zero Experience, we use a different set of metrics: Are our students better enjoying the place they are in life and better equipped to take that next step? That is a set of metrics and a set of successes that we're very proud of, and we did not expect to be recognizable by something as prestigious as the Forbes 30 Under 30 List. That really took us by surprise. It's a lovely compliment.”

The Zero experience is now a thriving educational program that reaches thousands of students and provides a structured approach for students to explore entrepreneurship and career development. The Zero Experience quickly expanded to other universities across North America.

Beggs was initially interested in the NE program as it allowed him to touch on many disciplines. In his undergraduate journey, he worked in a variety of places, from wet labs to semiconductor labs to software development. That exploratory versatility was something he brought to the Zero Experience.

Beggs chose to pursue a degree in NE because the technical implications fascinated him.

“I thought with NE I could be a jack of all trades. The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ has such a phenomenal engineering program.”

Beggs and Mills are looking forward to teaching more students. They are talking to universities and industrial partners to ensure that there are tie-ins where students can get jobs after they graduate.

“There are so many problems in the world that are not built an app that I think everyone should see a place for themselves.”