The Founder Institute, fresh off of a Montreal chapter launch, is making a push for Toronto. In a blog post last week the organization, which provides a four-month startup accelerator program, said it’s “testing” a new chapter launch in Toronto for Summer 2014, through an “exploratory semester”.
Chances are the program will happen in Toronto no matter what, and this is to try and get the word out. In fact, Founder Institute has already chosen who will lead the Toronto chapter: Leading the Kamal Hassan, CEO of entrepreneurial management platform VentureLynx, Ilona Hassan, a fashion entrepreneur and communication specialist, and Sunil Sharma, the former cofounder of Extreme Startups, and current entrepreneur-in-residence at Communitech.
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 61 cities and 33 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,116 companies, which have created over 10,000 new jobs. The company’s mission is to “Globalize Silicon Valley” and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
The new release said that “in order to test demand in Toronto,” the Founder Institute will host several free startup events;
- Making the Leap from Employee to Entrepreneur
2014-04-07, 06:30 PM
- Founder Institute Information Session
2014-04-14, 06:30 PM
“Toronto has a thriving entrepreneurship scene, but not enough billion dollar companies being formed as a result,” Kamal Hassan. “We want to help change that by giving new entrepreneurs all the training and support they need to be recognized as successful on a worldwide basis.”
Other successful entrepreneurs who have pledged their support to mentor founders in a Toronto Founder Institute program include:
- Adeo Ressi: Founder/CEO, Founder Institute
- Ali Asaria: CEO, Tulip Retail
- Ameet Shah: Studio Director, Zynga Toronto
- Andrew D’Souza: President, Bionym
- Ariel Garten: CEO, InteraXon
- Chris Ye: Co-Founder, Uken Games
- Farhan Thawar: VP Engineering, Pivotal Labs
- Haroon Mirza: Entrepreneur in Residence, OMERS Ventures
- Michael De Monte: Co-Founder, ScribbleLive
- Wendy Robertson: Partner, Mediagenic