The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship recently launched its first virtual New York City Retail Startup Tour with the goal of connecting Dobson entrepreneurs to key players in the New York investment community. Planned in collaboration with the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec, the flagship event is already creating new business opportunities for participating startups.
Desautels alumni Jonnie Lawson (BCom’20) and Tristan Zeman (BCom’17) are hard at work to make sustainable, year-round produce accessible to Canadians through indoor vertical farms. Over the summer, their innovative hydroponic growing system won first place at the annual McGill Dobson Cup start-up competition. As they expand into a larger growing facility in Montreal, they’re not slowing down anytime soon.
As a student at McGill, Dev Jain (BEng’19) launched a company aimed at introducing North America’s 650 railways to industry-disrupting innovation. This year, RailVision Analytics won first place in the Innovation Driven Enterprise category of the McGill Dobson Cup. Now, Jain aspires to raise more than $1 million to commercialize and expand his business.
McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship startup Sensequake (McGill X-1 Accelerator 2015) has been recognized as one of the top inventions in Quebec in 2020.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ has been named in the top 25 undergraduate programs for female founders in the 2020 PitchBook University rankings.
The pandemic has created many challenges for small businesses, but Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s startup incubator has been given a boost thanks to a generous $3-million gift from the John Dobson Foundation.
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship’s Academic Director Marie-Josée Lamothe and Dobson alumna Ophelia Sarakinis Âá´Ç¾±²ÔÌýCTV News to share how startups are finding ways to adapt and thrive through the COVID-19 crisis, and how the gift will help get more startups off the ground during a time of economic uncertainty.
Despite an economic downturn that brought the travel industry to a near standstill, Dobson Cup participant and McGill’s first unicorn Sonder has raised US$170-million to stay ahead of the curve.
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship is now accepting applications for the 2020 X-1 Accelerator program. The X-1 Accelerator is a world-class program designed to accelerate early traction McGill startups towards investment readiness and launch. This year, the 10-week intensive program will be held virtually.
After two days of deliberation, 32 teams have been selected to compete in final round of the McGill Dobson Cup, powered by National Bank, on March 30, 2020.
Last week, 95 teams pitched their startups to 30 judges who were tasked with choosing eight finalists for each division: health sciences, social enterprises, small & medium enterprises, and innovation-driven enterprises.
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has announced the semi-finalists in the upcoming McGill Dobson Cup 2020, powered by National Bank. The semifinal pitches will take place from February 11–12, before the final pitches on March 30.
McGill unicorn and hospitality startup Sonder has reserved premises in downtown Montreal as it makes plans to set up shop in Canada. If the move is successful, this could bring more than 500 jobs to the city within three years.
Salima Visram, 2015 McGill Dobson Cup finalist and founder of social enterprise Soular Backpack, has launched her second business pursuit: a fashion company called SAMARA, selling vegan leather bags.
Earnings from SAMARA will help fund the production of the Soular Backpack, which is equipped with a solar powered battery pack to provide a cost-effective alternative to carcinogenic kerosene lamps for children in rural Africa without access to electricity.
The McGill Startup Tour (formerly Demo Days) is about developing the McGill entrepreneurship ecosystem, showcasing the success’ of our start-ups, and promoting our highly beneficial program.
The tight-knit program was centered on three elements
Prof Lisa Cohen on how startups can approach hiring to ensure long-term success.
This article is brought to you by Delve, the official thought leadership publication of Ï㽶ÊÓƵ's Desautels Faculty of Management.
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has secured a spot in UBI Global’s Top 20 University Business Incubators for 2019–20.
According to UBI Global, the universities that made the list surpass their global peers in regard to the value they provide their innovation ecosystems and client startup programs.