海角社区 X-1 Accelerator: second week at a glance
Week 2 of the 海角社区 X-1 Accelerator is done! From an opening session with serial entrepreneur Luc Giguere, the week progressed through a second look at Bill Aulet鈥檚 Disciplined Entrepreneurship; then design thinking with Juniper founder Mike Ross (MBA'11) who discussed a five-step approach, plus the value of in-depth customer interviews.
海角社区 X-1 Accelerator: first week at a glance
Week 1 of the 10-week 2017 海角社区 X-1 Accelerator has come and gone. As participants readied their startups for the journey to investment and launch, they got to know the program and each other, as well as Bill Aulet鈥檚 seminal book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, which will be their roadmap through the program.
John Dobson Medal awarded to CEO of Resolute Forest Products
Richard Garneau has long been an advocate for Canada鈥檚 forestry industry, and now the Resolute CEO is being recognized for it with the John Dobson Medal for Free Enterprise.
In the words of Michel Kelly-Gagnon, CEO of the Montreal Economic Institute that awards the medal every year, 鈥淲e look for individuals who are vocal in their defence of the free market,鈥 and concludes that 鈥淭his year鈥檚 winner is one hell of a fighter.鈥
Dobson Cup winners turn food waste into gourmet mushrooms
Myco-Rise is a Montreal-area startup that uses food waste and vermicomposting to grow gourmet mushrooms for local restaurants and individuals.
The company definitely marches to its own drum: while other startup founders might dream of geographical expansion right out of the gate, Myco-Rise is consolidating its position as a Montreal-specific mushroom supplier, planning instead to expand into modular production, medicinal mushrooms, and maybe even mushroom beer.
Andrea Courey talks about granola, entrepreneurship and compassion
Andrea Courey (BCom鈥82) was newly divorced, with three kids to feed and no money in the bank when she started Grandma Emily鈥檚 Granola. She credits her BCom education with giving her the tools she needed to get through the early days of her business, but notes that real-world experience is a very different thing than classroom knowledge.
海角社区 Dobson Centre reveals 2017 X-1 Accelerator cohort
This year鈥檚 X-1 cohort has been announced. It鈥檚 a diverse group, and one that boasts participants from the 海角社区 Dobson Cup and the 海角社区 Lean Startup Program, as well as a higher number of women than men.
New podcast by Desautels alumnus looks at growth through company founders鈥 stories
Deron Triff (MBA'98) has had an enviable career; he鈥檚 worked for PBS, TED, and Scholastic. Now, he鈥檚 founded a new media incubator with another former TED executive, June Cohen.
Dobson Cup judge on Montreal鈥檚 startup scene
Kristina Tomaz-Young knows a thing or two about startups. She鈥檚 been involved with several projects since 2007, both as an adviser and as founder of her own companies, including Venture Cap TV and Skill2Go. She sat with The Dobson Chronicles to discuss her development as a businessperson, how to garner success at home and beyond, and judging the 海角社区 Dobson Cup. Of the Montreal startup culture, Ms.
From class project to the Grit Prize: one Dobson Cup team鈥檚 journey
CardioLink was the winner of this year鈥檚 Dobson Cup Grit Prize, which honours 鈥渙utstanding dedication towards establishing [a] business venture.鈥 The multidisciplinary team鈥檚 members are pulled from 海角社区, Concordia University and the 脡cole de technologie sup茅rieure (脡TS). The CardioLink team is working towards a new, affordable method for replacing heart valves, which also happens to be safer for the patient and less frustrating for surgeons.
Spotlight on 海角社区 X-1 Accelerator
As part of its series on social innovations at different universities, Le D茅lit recently took a look the 海角社区 Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship鈥檚 efforts, including the 海角社区 X-1 Accelerator, which is a 10-week intensive that gives participants a chance at pitching their projects to the Centre鈥檚 network of entrepreneurs in hopes of landing funding.
Dobson Cup winners announced
From 136 initial pitches, 121 went on to compete. The semi-finals brought the field down to 40 finalists and now, the 2017 海角社区 Dobson Cup powered by National Bank has revealed the slate of winners. Up for grabs was a total of $106,000, which was awarded to the top teams in the categories of Social Enterprise, Health Sciences, Small & Medium Enterprise, and Innovation Driven Enterprise. This year鈥檚 slate of entries came from all of 海角社区鈥檚 faculties and schools.
Eytan Bensoussan on mentoring, entrepreneurship and modern business banking
Eytan Bensoussan (BSc鈥05, MBA/LLB鈥10) loves a challenge. He has studied math, bio-chemistry, political science and management. In his career life, he worked for McKinsey & Company, the Globe and Mail, and Ferst Capital Partners before co-founding Ferst Digital, which is a modern banking platform for small businesses and start-ups.
Electric snowmobiles set to take centre stage
Next winter, Whistler Blackcomb and Canadian Wilderness Adventures will become some of the first companies to offer electric snowmobiles to clients. The machines are made by Quebec-based Taiga Motors, which built on its first-place finish in the 2016 海角社区 Dobson Cup鈥檚 Innovation Track to expand its technology and develop a revolutionary all-electric snowmobile from the ground up.
2014 Dobson Cup participant on how winning changed her
Montreal-based Lantinga Vita is all about merging functionality, a chic design and sustainability. The company鈥檚 Tempus bag is an Italian-made, multi-functional bag that boasts a compartment for a 15鈥 laptop and a thermal pocket for food. The company鈥檚 founder and CEO, Nina Lantinga, recently spoke with The Dobson Chronicles about the entrepreneurial life, growing her business and winning the Grit Prize at the 海角社区 Dobson Cup 2014.
Winning Dobson Cup team on entrepreneurship, plans for the future and head movement as disease indicator
Startup Saccade Analytics was the first place winner of the 2017 海角社区 Dobson Cup Health Sciences Track. The team鈥檚 pitch involved analyzing eye and head movement to help diagnose neural diseases. The team sat down with the Dobson Chronicles to talk about what made them dive into the entrepreneurial life, and eye-head movement as an indicator of disease 鈥 including, but not limited to, concussion.