Startup Canada | September 8, 2017
Startup Canada, the national rallying community and voice for Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs, today announced the Founder Institute as a national partner supporting startup and small business success across Canada. With this new partnership, Canada is getting one step closer to becoming the most successful Founder Institute nation in the world.
This strategic partnership between Startup Canada, Canada’s top grassroots network of entrepreneurs and the Founder Institute, the world’s premier startup launch program, will help Canada become the number one country to start and grow a business by:
1) Helping Canadian Startup Ecosystems Organize and Increase Transparency
- Each Startup Canada Community will work with the Founder Institute to map their Startup Community with a Startup Ecosystem Canvas, which will become a vital living tool for every entrepreneur to find the support they need. This tool will be made available digitally and in print for every Startup Canada Community in Canada.
2) Increasing the Support for Canadian Entrepreneurs at the “Idea-Stage”
- Currently, the Founder Institute has five chapters in Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Waterloo, and Vancouver, and this new partnership with Startup Canada is helping them to grow dozens more through Startup Canada’s network of grassroots entrepreneur-led startup communities.
“The world is looking to Canada to become a global leader in entrepreneurship,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “This partnership with the Founder Institute will better connect Canada with the global entrepreneurship ecosystem that is needed to support entrepreneurs and provide them with new opportunities to help them start and grow their businesses.”
“Canada’s infrastructure system to support tech entrepreneurs is fragmented with silos happening across our vast country,” said Sergio Escobar, Managing Director at the Founder Institute in Montreal. “Through this strategic partnership with Startup Canada, we will be improving the consolidation of Canada’s startup ecosystem, and hopefully getting closer to the dream of providing top quality entrepreneurship training to every single Canadian, no matter where they are.”
The Founder Institute will integrate its knowledge and expertise into Startup Canada’s 2017 programs and flagship events to better support the success and growth of Canadian small businesses. This year, Jonathan Greechan, Co-Founder of the Founder Institute, is attending and speaking at the fourth annual Startup Canada Day on the Hill, Canada’s largest and most influential entrepreneurship event, where he will be speaking at the Scale Up Stage and meeting with Startup Community Leaders and important decision makers across Canada.
For more information, contact:
Lindsay Bright
Marketing, Communications and Digital Production Administrator, Startup Canada
1-613-627-0787 ext. 101
lindsay.bright@startupcan.ca
Rachel Sheppard
Global Marketing Manager, Founder Institute
rachel@founderinstitute.com
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the leading national social enterprise supporting and giving a voice to entrepreneurs through online programs, national awards, flagship events, partnerships with private sector and government to foster a community for startup and small business success across the country. Learn more at www.startupcan.ca.
About The Founder Institute
The Founder Institute (FI.co) is the world’s premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program. For aspiring and idea-stage entrepreneurs up to the challenge, our comprehensive step-by-step program provides the structure, mentor support, and global network of entrepreneurs needed to start an enduring company. In addition, the Founder Institute is the only program of its kind that focuses on people versus ideas, accepts founders with day jobs, and shares equity with all participants.
Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used our program to transition from employee to entrepreneur, test their startup ideas, build a team, get their first customers, raise funding, and more. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 170 cities and 60 countries, the Founder Institute’s mission is to “Globalize Silicon Valley” and empower talented and motivated entrepreneurs to build companies that will create one million new jobs.
The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan. It is operated out of Palo Alto, California.