Deadline Date: December 10, 2025
Do you believe in the potential of your idea? As an aspiring entrepreneur, you might wonder if your concept holds promise in the entrepreneurial landscape. Enter Collide Validate – where you’ll gain the skills necessary to test your idea directly with your customers, shaping the destiny of your entrepreneurial vision.
Over six weeks, the program helps participants evaluate whether their concept has genuine market potential, guiding them through a structured process that emphasizes customer discovery, evidence-based decision making and practical business modelling.
Participants work with tools such as the Business Model Canvas to clarify their value proposition, customer segments and assumptions that need testing. The core of the program centres on real customer interactions, allowing teams to gather feedback directly from potential users to strengthen or refine their ideas. Through this process, aspiring founders reduce risk, pivot when needed and gain confidence in the viability of their solution.
The program creates an environment where learning is paired with hands-on support. Participants receive one-on-one coaching each week, helping them revise their approach and make informed decisions. They also join a wider innovation community through training sessions and networking opportunities led by experienced mentors and industry leaders within Atlantic Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Students benefit from targeted market research guidance, customer discovery practice and tailored coaching designed to accelerate their development as early-stage innovators. Completing the program’s requirements—including attending all sessions, completing assigned tasks and conducting 50 customer discovery interviews—earns participants a $500 stipend, offering valuable early-stage funding to fuel their venture. Dalhousie and King’s students may also request to have the program added to their Co-Curricular Record, strengthening their resumes and future academic applications.
By combining training, real-world validation and personalised support, Collide Validate equips emerging entrepreneurs with the clarity and confidence needed to determine whether to advance their idea or refine it further. For anyone considering their first steps into entrepreneurship, the program offers a practical, supportive path toward building a viable, market-ready solution.
For more information, visit Dal Innovates.
