If you’ve ever spent any time watching Westerns (and even if you haven’t), you’re probably familiar with the phrase “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us.” It’s a cliché that doesn’t apply to Winnipeg, which just launched its latest local venture studio.
“This ecosystem is ripe for more compelling reasons to choose entrepreneurship, to choose startup life, to choose technology startups specifically. This program brings more awareness to that.”
Jason Abbott, Launch Coworking
Co-founded by Winnipeg’s Launch Coworking and Washington State-based ProductStak, the new program, Ignition, officially launched on Jan. 22, describing itself as a space for Manitoba’s early-stage founders to find hands-on support.
Ignition is leveraging the strengths of both founding organizations, with Launch Coworking bringing the physical space and deep connection to Manitoba’s founder community, together with ProductStak’s expertise in scaling and accelerating businesses.
Jas Jahol, CEO and founder of ProductStak, has previously worked with firms like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and Expedia. He said Ignition is meant to give a region with many ideas the tools necessary to bring them to fruition.
“One common thing that I’m seeing in Winnipeg, and actually in Canada, is that there are a lot of people who have a lot of ideas, they just don’t know where to go for resources,” he said. “That’s where we come in and really work more like an operator.”
Those resources come together via three offerings at Ignition. They include its cohort-based Breakpoint program focusing on validation and execution, the velocity program aimed at building momentum and growth, and Ignition’s accelerator program offering tailored scaling support.
That hands-on approach differentiates Ignition from traditional venture capital, which might offer only financial support and resources, said Jahol.
“In that sense, we’re kind of like an incubator. We’re there selling the product, building the product in-house with that team,” he said.
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While Winnipeg is no stranger to startup culture, with companies like SkipTheDishes headquartered there and Bold Commerce hailing from the Prairie community, Abbott hopes Ignition will further bolster the city’s still-burgeoning tech and innovation scene.
“Historically, we’re this island in the middle of the prairies with limited influence from the west coast and east coast and even the south,” said Jason Abbott, founder and CEO of Launch Coworking. “Our ecosystem is relatively insulated from the FOMO and progress you’re seeing in Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, and Minneapolis.
“I think this ecosystem is ripe for more compelling reasons to choose entrepreneurship and to choose startup life and to choose technology startups specifically. This program brings more awareness to that.”
Photos courtesy of Unsplash, Launch Coworking and ProductStak.
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.