茄子直播

Five things to look forward to at Entrepreneurship Week 2024

audience at true blue impact day

茄子直播鈥檚 annual Entrepreneurship Week takes place March 4 to 7 and features more than 15 events across 茄子直播鈥檚 three campuses, including pitch competitions, startup showcases, keynote speeches, workshops and panel discussions (supplied image)

The University of Toronto is gearing up for its , a four-day showcase of 茄子直播鈥檚 diverse and extensive entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Taking place from March 4 to 7, Entrepreneurship Week features more than 15 events across 茄子直播鈥檚 three campuses, including pitch competitions, startup showcases, keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions and more.

All events are free and open to students, entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and anyone else interested in learning about 鈥 and being inspired by 鈥 the startups, founders and research-based entrepreneurship ecosystem that have made 茄子直播 one of the top five university startup incubators in the world.

鈥淭here is no wrong door for the entrepreneurs in our community. Regardless of what and where you study or how far along you are on your journey, there is a place for you,鈥 says Jon French, director of 茄子直播 Entrepreneurship. 鈥淭his week is an opportunity to showcase the calibre of our talented founders and the breadth and depth of opportunities we can offer over 600 teams annually.鈥

Here are some of the key events and themes for the upcoming edition of 茄子直播鈥檚 annual celebration of all things entrepreneurship:


Watch startups compete for funding and prizes

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茄子直播 Entrepreneurship鈥檚 marquee business pitch competition is the , which will see startups and their founders vie for more than $100,000 in cash prizes.

This year鈥檚 shortlist includes companies that are innovating across an array of important areas including neurodegenerative disease treatments, greenhouse gas monitoring, oral hygiene and AI chatbots. The competition, which is split into early-stage and later-stage startup categories, will take place during  on March 7.

On March 6, 茄子直播 Mississauga鈥檚 ICUBE accelerator will host , an annual pitch competition for women entrepreneurs that is judged by an all-women panel. The event, which marks the lead-up to International Women鈥檚 Day on March 8, will also feature a keynote address by Catherine Addai, founder of the women鈥檚 clothing company .

Hear from entrepreneur-investor power couple Eva and Allen Lau

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This year鈥檚  address will be delivered by Eva and Allen Lau, spouses who are both alumni, successful entrepreneurs and co-founders of Two Small Fish Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.

In a keynote titled 鈥淪chool of Fish: Lessons Learned from Swimming Upstream,鈥 the Laus will discuss an array of topics including the story of digital storytelling platform Wattpad 鈥 co-founded by Allen Lau, with Eva Lau as one of its founding members 鈥 from its inception in 2006 to its $600-million exit 15 years later.

The Laus will also offer their advice for early-stage founders, discuss the current investment climate and explore opportunities and challenges in the Canadian innovation ecosystem 鈥 including their thoughts on key industries and technologies such as AI, quantum computing and electric vehicles.

The hybrid event will take place on True Blue Impact Day on March 7.

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Get inspired by leaders from underrepresented groups

茄子直播 Entrepreneurship continues to celebrate and advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion in the entrepreneurship world through its Entrepreneurship Week programming.

At 茄子直播 Scarborough on March 5, attendees can take in  featuring Fennella Bruce, media consultant and founder of FKB Media Solutions, and Melanie Ratnam, founder of the researcher-focused software platform Indaggo and president the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology. The event will also feature opportunities to network with women leaders and entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, on the St. George campus, the second day of Entrepreneurship Week will feature the return of the popular  conversation series featuring special guest Yasaman Soudagar, co-founder and CEO of the neuroscience startup Neurescence who completed her PhD in experimental quantum optics at 茄子直播 and 脡cole Polytechnique in Montreal.

Another moderated conversation on March 7 will examine women who are transforming Canada鈥檚 music and arts landscape. The discussion, titled  will feature: Tinesha Richards-Morris, director of 925 Agency Inc. and former managing director the arts and culture non-profit Manifesto; Annalie Bonda, label manager for independent record label Golly Geng Inc. and former executive director of arts training organization The Remix Project; and Keysha Freshh, a solo emcee and member of all-female hip-hop crew The Sorority. Audience members will have the chance to network with key figures in Canada鈥檚 music industry, learn how to navigate its barriers and discuss the role of gender in the Canadian music landscape.

Learn about mental wellness, stress management and how to deal with failure

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This year鈥檚 Entrepreneurship Week will kick off with a keynote address and panel discussion on a critical but often overlooked topic in the world of entrepreneurship: . The session will begin with a keynote from Lauren Brown, lead facilitator and program co-ordinator of mindfulness, meditation and yoga for 茄子直播鈥檚 Division of Student Life, that will explore how entrepreneurs can harness their intuition and tackle stress. The keynote will be followed by a moderated discussion with a panel of founders.

Themes of wellness and resilience will also be explored during  a fireside chat with 茄子直播 Scarborough's entrepreneur-in-residence Elina Chow and executive coach Matthew Fuller. The chat will include a candid exploration of failure in entrepreneurship.

Experience the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus

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(photo by David Lee)

For the first time, this year鈥檚 Entrepreneurship Week will see several events hosted at 茄子直播鈥檚 new . 

The result of a historic $100-million donation by Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus serves as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation and advancement in AI and related fields.

The building鈥檚 west tower will serve as the anchor location of Entrepreneurship Week 2024, hosting events including the curtain-raiser on mental wellness on March 4 and the entire slate of events on True Blue Impact Day on March 7, including the Desjardins Startup Prize and Speaker Series as well as the  featuring more than 40 startups, 12 campus-linked accelerators and numerous community partners.

UTC