Melissa Vong

Biography

Melissa Vong is a Commerce student in the Entrepreneurship Concentration offered by the Sprott School of Business and an entrepreneur who generates more than $90,000 in revenue each year.

Vong started Quint Beauty, her first company, in 2012 while a high school student. In 2013, she was a runner-up for Youth Entrepreneur of the Year as part of the Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards. She was also named Most Well-Rounded Youth.

In 2013, Vong co-founded Abyond Travel Inc. through the Province of Ontario’s Summer Company program. Abyond is a group tour travel company that provides custom itineraries and full experience trips. The company takes sightseeing to a new level with challenges, fun facts and photo scavenger hunts at each landmark.

Vong joined Carleton University’s Lead to Win program, which assists companies with high growth potential. She received a green light from Lead to Win this year and was awarded a Wes Nicol Internship grant to help her grow her business.

“Carleton has opened up many new experiences and opportunities for me that I don’t think I could have gotten anywhere else,” she says. “Not only has Carleton helped me grow academically, but it also helped me learn tangible real-world habits to be successful and I think that’s greatest source of knowledge.”

She directs the Carleton University Student Association’s Entrepreneurship Service Centre for Students, called Hatch, which helps students with their startups.

Vong has been a youth worker since 2011 with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGCO), where she created a Youth Council for kids aged nine to 14. She was BGCO’s Female Achiever of the Year, winning the Phyllis Throop Award in 2012, the Regional Scholarship in 2013 and the Leaders4Life Scholarship. She was also a BGCO valedictorian.

In 2013, Vong volunteered as part of a residential project in Costa Rica. She received the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award for her work there.

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