Welcome to the new-and-improved Entrevestor.com.
We hope this redesign is more than just a new look for our site. It actually is intended to reflect how our business has evolved by emphasizing the range of information on our site. That’s why our redesign emphasizes our Ecosystem Roadmap – which has been updated for 2020 – and our Atlantic Canada Startup Data reports.
For years, Entrevestor was a website where people went for news on Atlantic Canadian startups – and it still is. Our commitment to news has not diminished.
But we would like people to think of Entrevestor as more than that. We want it to be seen as the online space where people go for all information about startups in the region. Therefore, our new website features our other digital products.
Our audience is more familiar with our data report than the Ecosystem Roadmap, but the Roadmap is a unique resource where you can find a lot of information quickly. It is the only single place where virtually all the startup programs and organizations in the region can be found. We have information on almost 80 organizations, spanning all provinces and sectors, all organized so you can find information quickly.
Our 2020 Ecosystem Roadmap includes a dozen new programs or groups that have been launched in the past year – an impressive number given that most were launched during the pandemic.
These new programs or organizations are:
Margaret Palmeter
The Emera ideaHUB’s flagship residency program provides space and guidance for early-stage hardware companies. It provides companies with staff of one to four people with co-working space and access to equipment and mentors so they can proceed through the early stages of growth.
Offered by Emera ideaHUB and Volta
Design2Build helps hardware companies to design, build, prototype and prepare for scaled production faster. In addition to workshops and one-on-one support, companies have the opportunity to apply for up to $10,000 in funding to purchase materials.
Cathy Simpson
TechImpact, the regional information technology group based in Fredericton, has launched this new $1.2 million program to help established New Brunswick companies improve their digital capabilities. The Digital Boost program provides 75 percent of the cost of each digital project, the maximum value of which is $50,000.
Organized by the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Volta and others.
The Health Challenge is a series of five pitch events focusing on specific health care priorities, with the winner of each event receiving $100,000. In addition to the cash prize, the Nova Scotia Health Authority considers adopting the winner’s technology for use in the provincial medical system.
Michael Carew in Halifax and Youji Cheng in St. John's
Lab2Market works with PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers to determine whether their scientific discoveries can be developed into startups. Ryerson, Dalhousie and Memorial universities have agreed to oversee two pilot cohorts each over the next two years.
David Alston
Aiming to produce 25 grads in the next five years, MarketSwell is an accelerator for Chief Marketing Officers, teaching them how to lead marketing efforts within their companies. The program includes one-on-one instruction with Alston and group sessions with other participants.
Rod Badcock
The Innovation Hub’s mission is to encourage the growth of low-carbon industries -- which it refers to as the bioeconomy -- in Nova Scotia, especially in rural areas. It works with enterprises ranging from startups to large corporations.
Donald Grant
The Ocean Startup Project, overseen by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, aims to identify and develop oceantech startups. Its Ocean Startup Challenge provides $25,000 plus in-kind services to startups, rewarding 14 teams in its first event. These companies may then move up to a follow-on competition, which offers prizes of $100,000.
Spencer Giffin
Ready2Launch is Dalhousie University's summer startup accelerator for students, recent grads and researchers at Atlantic Canadian universities. The two-month program, which is affiliated with Lab2Market, provides teams with up to $10,000 each in funding.
Marie MacCormick
Funded by NSERC and offered through the Nova Scotia Community College, SEATAC is part of a network of Technology Access Centers across Canada. It provides R&D services to small and medium-sized companies in the ocean technology sector.
Doug Robertson
Offered by Venn Innovations and based on Verne Harnish’s Scaling Up Methodology, Set to Scale introduces participants to processes that help them focus on the program’s four pillars of scaling: people; strategy; execution and cash. They will work one-on-one with certified Scaling Up coaches from across Canada over the course of the program.
Startup Management Accelerator
Adam Peabody
Hosted by Planet Hatch, the Startup Management Accelerator helps entrepreneurs as they transition from the startup phase to fully established and growing businesses. Participants will graduate from the program with a forward-looking business strategy and the essential skills and knowledge to transition from startup to developing business.
There are a couple of other new programs that impact the ecosystem, though they don’t fit cleanly into a slot for startup founders seeking to help their companies. They are:
Future of Work Program
Adam Peabody
As of today, Planet Hatch was preparing to launch this new program to prepare post-secondary students for the coming wave of employment opportunities. The program will aim to develop a mindset within students that encompasses entrepreneurship and innovation, and will help them adapt to the rapidly changing environment as automation becomes more prominent.
Margaret Palmeter
The Young Innovators Program supports entrepreneurial youth interested in making new products. It allows them to access co-working space at the Emera ideaHUB and benefit from the guidance of the HUB team.
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We would like to thank all the organizations that supported our data report and Ecosystem Roadmap. Special thanks to Mike Cyr and Mike Hayes at Charcoal Marketing, who worked closely with us on these projects, and Peter Eastwood of Eastwood Design, for the great job on the website.
The organizations that supported these initiatives are: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Innovacorp, Build Ventures, Global Affairs Canada, Halifax Innovation District, Ignite Fredericton, Island Capital Partners, Memorial University of Newfoundland, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, ONSIDE, Propel, and Springboard Atlantic.
