Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis Institute is searching for promising Canadian tech companies to join the fifth cohort of its ScaleUp Program. The institute is partnering with innovation centres across Canada to identify the companies best positioned to benefit from the program.
“The time is right for Canadian tech entrepreneurs to take the world stage. We’re doing everything we can to make that happen.”
The ScaleUp Program provides each of its companies with the equivalent of $100,000 in programming and mentorship. The program aims to help companies build the scalable and repeatable processes in order to sustain growth. Program workshops take place in six cities across North America, over the course of six months. In addition to programming, every company receives a full year of mentorship from industry experts, investors, and founders.
“The Lazaridis ScaleUp Program helps high-potential entrepreneurs grow their companies to globally competitive size. No two companies follow the same path to scale; founders and their teams need customized support,” said Kim Morouney, managing director of the Lazaridis Institute. “We provide that support through our expert ecosystem—a network of people responsible for the success of companies like Uber, Shopify, SurveyMonkey, Fitbit, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Nest, Apple, PointClickCare, Facebook, Yelp, Canada Goose, Adobe, Eventbrite, and dozens more.”
From May through June, the Lazaridis Institute will tour in 14 Canadian cities, hosting information sessions and providing companies with the opportunity to talk to mentors from the expert network. The experts in the Lazaridis network will take part in a series of workshops designed to help founders scale.
RELATED: Lazaridis Institute chooses only women-led tech companies for 2019 ScaleUp Program
The workshops will focus on finances and funding, product, sales and marketing, people, leadership, metrics, and global growth. According to Morouney, seven companies have returned between $10 million and $100 million, on the program’s $100,000 investment, an average of $29 million in under two years.
“This tour is our opportunity to connect with tech ecosystems across the nation. We partner with innovation centres to support local companies, share resources, and figure out how to work together to make entrepreneurs globally competitive,” said Morouney. “The time is right for Canadian tech entrepreneurs to take the world stage. We’re doing everything we can to make that happen.”
Image courtesy Lazaridas Institute