After completing a survey that included input from 507 small businesses, Intuit Quickbooks Canada found that 44 percent of Canadian entrepreneurs have faced rejection from an investor. Considering failure is part of the process of entrepreneurship, that isn’t exactly a surprise — what’s surprising are the factors that may be playing into it.
QuickBooks Canada said that a lack of financial literacy is a leading cause for business failure, and also possibly the reason that businesses struggle to get funding. The survey found that some entrepreneurs don’t plan on bringing key indicators of their businesses health to their pitch sessions, like a business plan (35 percent), income statement (49 percent) and a cash flow statement (68 percent). One in 10 entrepreneurs currently seeking investment don’t plan to prepare anything for their investment pitch.
“Without financial literacy skills, entrepreneurs aren’t able to make the right decisions to fuel their own success,” said Jeff Cates, president of Intuit Canada.
The study’s findings were the impetus for QuickBooks to launch its Startup Foundations program. Collaborating with Startup Canada, SociaLIGHT, Launch Academy, Notman House, and the DMZ, the organizations want educate 10,000 startups over the next year to help them improve their basic financial management skills.
“Startup Foundations is designed to address this skills gap and will make a significant contribution to raising financial literacy among Canada’s entrepreneurs, connecting new business owners to the right research, education, tools and advisors they need for success,” said Cates. “We’re pleased to collaborate with other leaders in the ecosystem to bring us one step further in our efforts to make a positive impact on the Canadian startup community.”
Entrepreneurs who sign up for the Startup Foundations program can get a one-year subscription to QuickBooks online for free. Entrepreneurs can also sign up for live events taking place across Canada tackling ways to manage cash flow and track business finances day-to-day.
“Financial literacy is fundamental to the sustainability and scalability of young companies, and Startup Foundations is an important initiative to increase the number of successful new businesses in Canada,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and co-founder of Startup Canada. “Since 2012, Startup Canada and QuickBooks Canada have together provided financial literacy training to over 3,000 entrepreneurs. We are committed to continuing this work working with SociaLIGHT, Launch Academy, Notman House and Ryerson University’s DMZ to expand the reach of this curriculum to an additional 10,000 entrepreneurs.”
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