Expressions of Interest: YEDI Incubator Program – Canada

Accepted students undergo a free, intensive 16-week program, including formal academic lectures by YEDI instructors, workshop-based training in entrepreneurship, and mentorship by key industry leaders. At the end of the incubator, entrepreneurs will have a professionally developed business plan, an executive summary, and a proper business model that is ready to pitch and potentially bring to the market. Upon successful program completion, participants receive a formal certification from YEDI.

Curriculum Components

• Sessions
  • Selected entrepreneurs participate in sessions facilitated by YEDI professors and instructors, providing a solid foundation in business theory and economics. Theory examined includes: entrepreneurship, marketing and sales strategy, business development and growth, finance, and communication skills. Successful entrepreneurs quickly need to learn where they lack expertise and require a network of support. Entrepreneurs participate in sessions that will prepare them for real-life application of theory to achieve inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Topics include: visioning, environmental scanning, finance and fundraising. All sessions take place once per week.
• Venture Fair
  • Entrepreneurs need as many opportunities as possible to showcase their companies. Upon successful completion of the accelerator program, YEDI participants will present their ventures to the Institute’s funder audience.
  • The Venture Fair provides a concrete opportunity for participants to showcase their business plan, models, and milestones to an investor audience, as well as create industry partnerships that will take their venture to the next step in development and success.
• Peer Clusters & Milestones
  • Entrepreneurs often benefit by sharing best practices, challenges, and accomplishments with one another. The YEDI Director coordinates regular entrepreneur cluster meetings to facilitate constructive feedback, group exercises, and peer-support. Participants are also expected to complete bi-weekly milestone deliverables that are assigned to guide the business development process. Each milestone and achieved goal will form a component of the final proof-of-concept, with which the entrepreneur will graduate the program.
• Mentorship
  • Entrepreneurs will be matched with subject matter experts across diverse industries. The YEDI Program Coordinator will ensure that volunteer mentors from pertinent sectors are available for valuable insight, problem-solving, and networking opportunities.
• Funding
  • Upon program completion, graduates are eligible to apply for seed funding and/or VC funding through YEDI’s Venture Capital fund.
  • Funding is intended for early-stage opportunities in the start-up validation stage, when the scientific, technical and commercial merit, as well as the feasibility of the applicant’s product or service has been determined.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant is the founder; co-founder(s) will be considered
• Any adult age or background
• A unique and innovative idea that is in raw, seed, early, or growth stage
• Applicant(s) is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• If an idea was founded by more than one person whose added value is irreplaceable for the venture, YEDI will consider more than one applicant.
• YEDI is scouting for innovative ideas at any stage of their cycle. “Innovation” strives to both solve an issue, as well as alter the system that initially gave rise to such issue. Startups from any field will be considered.

For more information, visit York Entrepreneurship Development Institute.