Meet Hudson Lightfoot, the 16-year-old Orillia teen who started window cleaning with a bucket and squeegee at 13 (Image Credit: OrilliaMatters)
At 16, Hudson Lightfoot is balancing high school with a business he started when he was just 13. Lightfoot has built a client base of 125 customers, hired his first employees and received a $3,000 grant through Ontario’s Summer Company programme, according to OrilliaMatters. Marchmont Window Cleaning’s website describes the company as a student-owned, locally operated business established in 2023. Lightfoot told OrilliaMatters that he started the business at 13 with a bucket and squeegee. OrilliaMatters reports that Lightfoot received a $3,000 grant this summer through the Summer Company Program administered locally through the Small Business Centre of Barrie, Simcoe County and Orillia. Ontario’s official programme information says successful applicants can receive up to $3,000, with the money divided between start-up support and completion of programme requirements. His LinkedIn profile also identifies him as a 2026 Summer Company Grant Recipient and lists the Government of Ontario among his honours and awards.
Lightfoot told OrilliaMatters that he used the grant to register and insure the business, buy marketing materials and purchase additional equipment. What began as a simple window-cleaning operation in Orillia has since grown into Marchmont Window Cleaning, a student-owned business serving customers across the area. At the time, the operation was a small venture run by a teenager looking to earn money while learning how to manage a business. He reinvested his first summer’s earnings into the company. OrilliaMatters reports that Lightfoot used the money to purchase a water-purification hose system, allowing him to clean windows as high as four storeys without relying on traditional ladder work. Another step came through Ontario’s Summer Company programme. The provincial programme provides eligible student entrepreneurs with financial support and business guidance. Those investments allowed him to expand the operation and bring in his first employees.