The Lazaridis Institute for the Management of Technology Enterprises at Wilfrid Laurier University is searching for Canada’s most promising tech companies to join the fifth cohort of its ScaleUp Program.
In partnership with innovation centres across Canada, the institute will identify the fast-growing companies best positioned to benefit from this very selective program– the first national program of its kind in the country.
“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, 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.”
The Lazaridis ScaleUp Program, now in its fourth year, provides each company with the equivalent of $100,000 in programming and mentorship. By tailoring to their specific challenges, the program helps companies build the scalable and repeatable processes they need to ignite and sustain growth.
“Seven companies have returned from $10M to $100M on that $100K investment—an average of $29M—in under two years,” said Morouney. “Factor in revenue growth and job creation and you get an idea of the economic benefit you can create with the right support at the right time.”
The experts in the Lazaridis network, representing some of the world’s most influential and innovative companies, bring their knowledge and experience to bear in a series of intensive workshops, designed to help founders transform their companies from start-up to scale-up. Workshops focus on finances and funding, product, sales and marketing, people, leadership, metrics, and global 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—one-on-one guidance and support from the industry’s top experts, investors, and founders.
From May through June, from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, BC, the Lazaridis Institute will travel to 14 Canadian cities, hosting information sessions and providing companies the opportunity to talk to mentors from the expert network.
The Lazaridis Institute will be in Vancouver on June 13th.
“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. “Our goals are the same: to help founders build talent and rapidly scale their businesses —right here in Canada.”
Workshops for the fifth cohort of the Lazaridis ScaleUp Program kick off October 2019. Applications for the program close July 5.
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