Week 1 of the 10-week 2017 McGill X-1 Accelerator has come and gone. As participants readied their startups for the journey to investment and launch, they got to know the program and each other, as well as Bill Aulet’s seminal book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, which will be their roadmap through the program.
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Published on: 15 Jun 2017
Richard Garneau has long been an advocate for Canada’s forestry industry, and now the Resolute CEO is being recognized for it with the John Dobson Medal for Free Enterprise.
In the words of Michel Kelly-Gagnon, CEO of the Montreal Economic Institute that awards the medal every year, “We look for individuals who are vocal in their defence of the free market,” and concludes that “This year’s winner is one hell of a fighter.”
The John Dobson Foundation supports efforts to spread education about free enterprise and entrepreneurial studies across Canada.
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Published on: 29 May 2017
Myco-Rise is a Montreal-area startup that uses food waste and vermicomposting to grow gourmet mushrooms for local restaurants and individuals.
The company definitely marches to its own drum: while other startup founders might dream of geographical expansion right out of the gate, Myco-Rise is consolidating its position as a Montreal-specific mushroom supplier, planning instead to expand into modular production, medicinal mushrooms, and maybe even mushroom beer.
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Published on: 23 May 2017
Andrea Courey (BCom’82) was newly divorced, with three kids to feed and no money in the bank when she started Grandma Emily’s Granola. She credits her BCom education with giving her the tools she needed to get through the early days of her business, but notes that real-world experience is a very different thing than classroom knowledge.
Published on: 17 May 2017
This year’s X-1 cohort has been announced. It’s a diverse group, and one that boasts participants from the McGill Dobson Cup and the McGill Lean Startup Program, as well as a higher number of women than men.
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Published on: 12 May 2017
Deron Triff (MBA'98) has had an enviable career; he’s worked for PBS, TED, and Scholastic. Now, he’s founded a new media incubator with another former TED executive, June Cohen.
Wait, What? specializes in creating VR series, apps, and video for social media. The company’s latest creation is a 10-episode podcast called Masters of Scale. Each episode sees host and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman explore the ways that iconic founders grew their companies into major players, often from nothing.
Published on: 9 May 2017
Kristina Tomaz-Young knows a thing or two about startups. She’s been involved with several projects since 2007, both as an adviser and as founder of her own companies, including Venture Cap TV and Skill2Go. She sat with The Dobson Chronicles to discuss her development as a businessperson, how to garner success at home and beyond, and judging the McGill Dobson Cup. Of the Montreal startup culture, Ms. Tomaz-Young is bullish, pointing to universities like McGill, the city’s venture capital firms, and incubators as proof of a vibrant scene. As for the Dobson Cup, Ms.
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Published on: 25 Apr 2017
CardioLink was the winner of this year’s Dobson Cup Grit Prize, which honours “outstanding dedication towards establishing [a] business venture.” The multidisciplinary team’s members are pulled from McGill University, Concordia University and the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). The CardioLink team is working towards a new, affordable method for replacing heart valves, which also happens to be safer for the patient and less frustrating for surgeons.
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Published on: 25 Apr 2017
As part of its series on social innovations at different universities, Le Délit recently took a look the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship’s efforts, including the McGill X-1 Accelerator, which is a 10-week intensive that gives participants a chance at pitching their projects to the Centre’s network of entrepreneurs in hopes of landing funding. The program is a fantastic gateway into the world of finance.
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Published on: 21 Apr 2017
From 136 initial pitches, 121 went on to compete. The semi-finals brought the field down to 40 finalists and now, the 2017 McGill Dobson Cup powered by National Bank has revealed the slate of winners. Up for grabs was a total of $106,000, which was awarded to the top teams in the categories of Social Enterprise, Health Sciences, Small & Medium Enterprise, and Innovation Driven Enterprise. This year’s slate of entries came from all of McGill’s faculties and schools.
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Published on: 21 Apr 2017
Eytan Bensoussan (BSc’05, MBA/LLB’10) loves a challenge. He has studied math, bio-chemistry, political science and management. In his career life, he worked for McKinsey & Company, the Globe and Mail, and Ferst Capital Partners before co-founding Ferst Digital, which is a modern banking platform for small businesses and start-ups.
Published on: 21 Apr 2017
Next winter, Whistler Blackcomb and Canadian Wilderness Adventures will become some of the first companies to offer electric snowmobiles to clients. The machines are made by Quebec-based Taiga Motors, which built on its first-place finish in the 2016 McGill Dobson Cup’s Innovation Track to expand its technology and develop a revolutionary all-electric snowmobile from the ground up.
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Published on: 12 Apr 2017
Montreal-based Lantinga Vita is all about merging functionality, a chic design and sustainability. The company’s Tempus bag is an Italian-made, multi-functional bag that boasts a compartment for a 15” laptop and a thermal pocket for food. The company’s founder and CEO, Nina Lantinga, recently spoke with The Dobson Chronicles about the entrepreneurial life, growing her business and winning the Grit Prize at the McGill Dobson Cup 2014.
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Published on: 12 Apr 2017
Startup Saccade Analytics was the first place winner of the 2017 McGill Dobson Cup Health Sciences Track. The team’s pitch involved analyzing eye and head movement to help diagnose neural diseases. The team sat down with the Dobson Chronicles to talk about what made them dive into the entrepreneurial life, and eye-head movement as an indicator of disease — including, but not limited to, concussion. The team’s work builds on a foundation laid by team member Professor Mimi Galiana, who is a pioneer in the field.
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Published on: 11 Apr 2017
The McGill Dobson Cup 2017 powered by National Bank is over, and the winners have been announced. From the initial 136 applications, 121 teams pitched their startups in the run-up to the semi-finals. Then, 40 of those teams moved on to the finals on March 22. All in all, $106,000 of seed funding was divided among the top entries across four categories: Social Enterprise, Health Sciences, Small & Medium Enterprise and Innovation Driven Enterprise.
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Published on: 3 Apr 2017
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