Startup Canada Launches in Smithers
Yesterday Startup Canada, a national-led non-profit movement, announced Smithers as part of the first wave of Startup Canada Communities, a national pilot project that is trailblazing a new approach to supporting entrepreneurs - from the bottom-up.
Startup Canada Communities will give entrepreneurs a single doorway to enter the entrepreneur community to access mentors, funding, space and support to start and grow their business and to connect with other startup founders. It starts with local networked websites and grassroots, entrepreneur led events and activities that unite the community.
This initiative is a response to the call-to-action from more than 20,000 entrepreneurs in 40 communities who made their voices heard during the Startup Canada national tour last year. Calling for stronger, more connected and more active local startup communities to accelerate entrepreneur success.
"For Smithers, the biggest win is having everything brought together into one place, so that locals know exactly where to go and will have everything they need for their startup project or enterprise," said Tony Mondia, volunteer with Startup Smithers. "Not only that, they now have easy access to hundreds of other entrepreneurs across Canada for sharing ideas, getting advice, maybe even finding another co-founder to start another venture!"
The website has a list of local mentors that are making themselves available to the public. John Shorter, President of Driftwood Diamond Drilling, has mentored many over the past year. "I support this movement and will continue to help anyone who is willing to work hard and sacrifice a lot. I think fear is a real concern for many to start a business."
The first wave 15 startup communities in the national network are: St. John's, NF, Fredericton, NB, Charlottetown, PE, Quebec City, PQ, Montreal, PQ, Ottawa, ON, York Region, ON, London, ON, Kingston, ON, Winnipeg, MB, Calgary, AB, Lethbridge, AB, Prince George, BC, Langford, BC and Smithers, BC. These communities were chosen for their varied levels of startup sector maturity and to build a coast to coast network diverse in community size, demographics, and industry sectors.
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