Applications for The Next Founders, a growth stage program offered by The Next 36, are now open until March 3.  The Next Founders is a three-month development program looking for 20 founders of scalable, high-growth ventures seeking the business know-how necessary to scale their startup.

Participants in the course are chosen from across the U.S. and Canada, and receive cost-free mentoring from a range of faculty and experienced entrepreneurs. They learn how to develop their business acumen and guide their ventures through the stages of growth and expansion. The program is typically tailored to those without formal business education.

“The founders tend to have a science, or STEM [science, technology, engineering, or math], background but find they need to develop their business acumen,” said Jon French, Director of Marketing and Communications for The Next 36. “So when they’re looking at things like scaling, branding, or considering term sheets, going through the Next Founders is extremely valuable to them.”

Justin Javorek Accepted into Next 36

The Next Founders is developed and delivered by The Next 36, a program that aims to select the best university entrepreneurs from across the U.S. and Canada and has them develop businesses over eight months.

Graduates of The Next Founders course include Dartmouth, N.S.-based bionic knee brace developers Spring Loaded Technologies, and Kitchener-based Triton Wear, developers of the Triton, an aquatic metric capturing sensor for athletes. Since inception of the program, alumni of The Next Founders have created over 310 jobs across Canada, said The Next 36.

The 2016 cohort of The Next Founders will begin on April 15 in Toronto.