After two years of incubating startups and not-for-profit organizations, The York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) has opened a campus dedicated entirely to helping high-potential ventures grow.
The 80,000 square foot facility, which will be open to any startup regardless of industry, will include commercial, industrial, office, educational, TV studio, and theatre spaces. Startups will also have access to subject matter experts, a broad investor base, one-on-one goal setting, and ongoing educational sessions. Upon acceptance, one-year goals are set and for each team and reviewed on an ongoing basis with program advisors. Startups aren’t required to give up any equity during the program, and while startups in the accelerator have access to YEDI’s investor network, the program itself doesn’t actually provide seed funding.
Early stage startups that are interested in working with YEDI can still apply for its incubator program, a free 12-week program that includes lectures from Schulich Executive Education Centre instructors and mentorship. At the end of the incubator, entrepreneurs have a professionally developed business plan, an executive summary, and a business model. YEDI also provides free use of the space for organizations or Meetup groups that want to give startup talks and seminars, so long as YEDI members are invited to attend.
For applications to the accelerator program — which is open to both for-profit and not-for-profit businesses — check out the accelerator website here.
