Looking back just five years ago, the Canadian startup community wasn’t as strong and as vocal as it is today — there weren’t as many community resources, networks, and of course, a support network.
But with both local tech meetups and large conferences taking place across Canada at any given time, there is now a wealth of resources available to anyone curious about the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. And WeTeachStartup, a new initiative launched by entrepreneur Qasim Virjee, is the latest event giving entrepreneurs a crash course on evolving their startup idea.
Between May 27 and 28, WeTeachStartup is hosting a jam-packed weekend in Toronto featuring keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions with guests from Real Ventures and HIGHLINE. During the weekend, attendees will learn the basics of launching their company, including sources of finance, business modelling and validation, the entrepreneurial journey, and the best ways to pitch.
Virjee, who has 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur commercializing internet-based technologies and advising at least 300 startups, founded the program based on his experience. Virjee also ran IBM’s Entrepreneur Program in Canada for the past few years. “I founded WeTeachStartup to distill knowledge and methods for early stage startup success from my experience and that of my global network to create programming and tools which empower anyone who wants to translate an idea into a venture,” he said. “Our two-day bootcamp gives people a uniquely high touch deep dive into tech entrepreneurialism plus connects them with inspiring first hand stories from the trenches.” Virjee hopes to expand the bootcamp to other cities across Canada.
The bootcamp is accepting 75 entrepreneurs, while at least 150 startup founders, CTOs, and venture capitalists will attend the exclusive networking event. BetaKit readers get a 50 percent off tickets by using the promo code BetaKit.
Tickets for the event are available here.