Entrepreneurship: The Challenge

This is a structure-based conversation that will briefly describe the basic company stages.  This is important to know as different stages come with different levels of risks, resources and  needs.  Most importantly, each stage comes with different expectations from investors.

Although each company goes through its own unique growth path, the trajectory typically follows these transitional stages:

1. Concept
2. Seed/ Early-Stage Startup
3. Growth and Expansion
4. Later-Stage Company

The conversation will focus on addressing the challenges that come from transitioning from “Concept” to “Seed/Early-Stage Startup” and then sustaining enough of growth to expand the company.

The first two stages, “Concept” and “Seed/Early-Stage Startup” are the most high-risk.  During these stages, gaining validation is key in order to accrue funding.  How does one go about doing this?

The conversation will illustrate the different types of venture capitalists and how to navigate the challenge of pitching in a highly competitive environment.  The goal is to illuminate certain issues that aspiring entrepreneurs should have in mind as a rough roadmap of what to expect on their entrepreneurial journey.

Attendees should come prepared with any questions they may have about validating a concept, pitching, incorporation, accruing funding and sustaining growth.

Panelists:

Julia Johnston, Zoomer Media Inc.

 
Calling all dreamers, visionaries, designers, developers, hackers and changemakers! 

Think you have an idea that could become the next best thing? Looking for a team to bring it to reality? In need to resources and connections to build your own business? Well, look no further!

The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and Nspire Innovation Network are proud to present Accelerator Weekend: the University of Toronto’s premiere 27-hour business-model competition.

All students are invited to join this challenge that brings together multidisciplinary teams who, with guidance from succesful entrepreneurs and technical mentors, develop a business canvas around an idea and pitch to a panel of judges.

Apply now, and discover the entrepreneur in you!

What is in it for you?

Accelerator Weekend is not just a one-stop, pitch competition weekend where only the winners walk away with $2000: it is an experiential learning platform where you can get a taste for what entrepreneurship looks and feels like, and really discover if it is the right thing for you.

1. Meet and work with new people with diverse skills and from various backgrounds
2. Mentorship in the development of your business model from peer and professionals with experience in entrepreneurship
3. Networking and collaboration with individuals from a variety of professional fields (IP law, marketing, consulting, finance)
4. Access to Nspire’s network of connections and resources, and a direct route into
   the Hatchery – your incubator on campus!
5. Two post-event activites you’re automatically entitled to:
   1. Tour of the TELUS Innovation Centre, where you can explore vairous communication and machine-to-machine technologies
   2. Hands-on field trip to SickKids Hospital, where you have the opportunity to meet with researchers and determine solutions to problems they are facing.

For more information and to apply, visit: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/accelerator-weekend-tickets-14346353329

NASA, ETRI and the University of Pennsylvania have unlocked their patent portfolio to allow creative minds globally to invent and design new products using their technologies – ranging from new robotics, to materials, electronics and structural components and more.

They’ve placed half a billion dollars’ worth of technology onto Marblar (http://www.marblar.com/) a product development platform to serve as inspiration for you to create new products.

In an added twist, Samsung Innovation will be developing the most promising ideas into their next products and are offering 10% of the royalties for any they take into development.

This is your opportunity to not only create Samsung’s next product, but to use NASA technology while doing it.

Learn more and submit your concept at Marblar.com

You could use these ideas to apply to the Hatchery!

Join us to learn all you ever wanted to know about how to get involved at the Hatchery! Our Executive Director, Joseph Orozco will be present to answer all questions and provide guidance.

Join us for our ongoing Hatchery Idea Market session at Bahen Centre, Room 7180, on Wednesday 4-6PM.

This weeks topic is Money and Start-ups and will be led by David Tomljenovic, MBA, serial entrepreneur and investor.

Yesterday, the Hatchery hosted the first Idea Market session for fall 2013. With an attendance of over 20 students, alumni, and professionals interested in entrepreneurship, a successful inception for the community was achieved. Representatives from Elsie, the women engineering alumni group of University of Toronto as well as from Women in Science & Engineering were present to kick off the Hatchery Female Circle.

The Hatchery’s Idea Market sessions will continue throughout the fall, every Wednesday from 4-6PM.

The Hatchery will be kicking off its Idea Market series next week on October 2, 4-6PM in BA7180.

The Idea Market aims to invite all those interested in the activities and projects undertaken at the Hatchery to help explore their entrepreneurial spirits. The Hatchery team and staff will be there to serve a basic introduction to its inner workings and answer any questions you have about the programs and entrepreneurship in general. Students from a variety of disciplines will also be present to network with their ideas and meet like-minded budding entrepreneurs with similar interests.

Additionally, next week’s Idea Market will also feature our first Hatchery Female Circle, where we will be joined by Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) and Elsie, a group for University of Toronto Women in Engineering Alumni, with opportunities to connect with women entrepreneurs.

Creating a light, affordable camera lighting system to replace the heavy bulk of typical photographic equipment earned Anastasiya Martyts (EngSci 1T6) and Tiange Li(Life Sciences 1T6) The Entrepreneurship Hatchery’s first $20,000 Lacavera Prize.

Martyts and Li presented Modly – their modular, customizable lighting system – at the Hatchery’s Demo Day on September 12, competing with eight other teams to win the top prize sponsored by entrepreneur and telecommunications executiveAnthony Lacavera (CompE 9T7). Their product grew out of Li’s desire as an amateur photographer for an easy-to-use, portable system capable of creating versatile lighting effects. Martyts describes it as “a system for hobbyists developed by hobbyists.”

The multidisciplinary duo will continue to develop the lighting system with the help of Hatchery mentor Anil Bhole, an intellectual property lawyer, and co-mentor Amy Chong, a Rotman School of Management MBA candidate.

Three other teams at Demo Day won the Orozco Prize,  named after the Hatchery’s  executive director, Joseph Orozco and sponsored by Professors Jonathan Roseand Vaughn Betz, both of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering:

• AirExposure
  Denis Loboda (MechE 1T3), Neil Sharma (MechE 1T3) and Peter Izraelski(geography and communication culture & information technology) use drones mounted with professional camera equipment to create a cost-effective method of aerial cinematography;

• Sonar
  Jane Guo (EngSci 1T2) and Benjamin Slater (EngSci 1T3) harness web-based video conferencing to connect mental health therapists with patients; and,

• DealsHype
  Michael Zhang (Pharmacy 1T5) and Satyam Merja (Pharmacy 1T4) provide small businesses with web-based customer rewards programs that give consumers mobile access to coupons and specials.

The business ideas pitched at Demo Day reflect the Hatchery’s goal of fostering entrepreneurship by creating a collegial environment where students can turn brilliant ideas into viable businesses. The featured teams also illustrate the cross-disciplinary nature of the Hatchery, which is based within U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering but encourages collaboration with other disciplines.

“Ten to 15 years from now, we’ll be able to point to a number of successful entrepreneurs and say they developed their formative experience at the Hatchery,” says Professor Jonathan Rose, who also serves on The Entrepreneurship Hatchery’s Advisory Committee.

Hatchery team Modly won the Lacavera Prize for Entrepreneurship for their development of a modular lighting system for use by photographers.

The award, with a cash prize of $20,000 has been given to Anastasiya Martyts (EngSci 1T6) and Tiange Li (Life Sciences 1T6) after their official Hatchery Demo Day presentation, describing their stackable, affordable and multi-functional photographic lighting system targeted at amateur and experimental photographers who seek flexibility and variety within their lighting systems.

The idea behind the product was initially developed Tiange, who as an amateur photographer, saw the need for easy-to-use and versatile tool for creating desired lighting effects for his work.

The team will continue to work with the Hatchery, further developing the technology and business plan with their Hatchery mentors intellectual property lawyer Anil Bhole and Rotman School of Management MBA Candidate Amy Chong.

Hatchery Speaker Series: September 24, 2013 – Jeff Dennis

On September 24, 2013, the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery will be pleased to welcome Jeff Dennis of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin as part of the ongoing Hatchery Speaker Series.

Mr. Dennis received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Brown University and a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Western Ontario. He worked as a lawyer earlier in his career in Weir and Foulds and Blake, Cassels & Graydon. He later got involved in his own entrepreneurial ambition through the founding of various business ventures including Ashton-Royce Capital Corporation, Flagship Capital Partners Inc., Cale Financial Corporation and Oneworld Solar Corp. He also co-founded the Toronto Chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization where he has been involved with various projects to motivate entrepreneurialism in young people. He is currently the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin.