Deadline: 24 May 2024
Italia360 is an 8-week part-time incubation program that helps first generation and Italian heritage student entrepreneurs create innovative and disruptive businesses.
At Italia360, students tap into their potential and learn how to develop and market business ideas with the help of other young innovators, industry mentors and successful entrepreneurs. This is an opportunity for students to start real companies and gain experiential learning opportunities to apply what they’ve learnt and solve the world’s biggest problems.
This program has been developed in partnership with the Canadian Italian Business & Professional Association Of Toronto (CIBPA) and the DMZ.
What’s in it for you?
- 1:1 mentoring with DMZ staff, alumni companies, and CIBPA mentors
- Connection to Toronto Metropolitan University’s 10 entrepreneurial zones
- Customized coaching with DMZ experts on marketing, product development, lean canvas business models, consultations, and financing
- Bi-weekly mentor meetings with DMZ staff and CIPBA’s advisory council members
- Opportunities to engage with other leading startups and experts from across Canada
- Exclusive workshops conducted by CIBPA mentors
- A dedicated workspace at the DMZ during the summer
- Compete for a paid trip to Italy!
What you’ll learn?
- Sales and negotiation strategies
- Legal advice
- Marketing strategies
- Product and brand management
- Value proposition design
- And so much more
Application Criteria
- Students interested in the program must:
- Have at least one team member commit to the program part-time (2-4 hours/week),
- Be entering a higher education institution in the fall or have graduated post-secondary within eight months of the program start dates, AND be under the age of 29,
- Identify as:
- having Italian heritage, or
- a first generation Canadian
- Have an innovative business idea that they are looking to grow, and
- Have a driven, coachable, and collaborative team.
For more information, visit DMZ.