Dobson Founder Series launch with Francis Davidson, Co-Founder, and CEO of Sonder
On March 22nd, the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship held the inaugural Dobson Founders Series event, with special guest Francis Davidson, co-founder, and CEO of Sonder Inc.
Celebrating accomplishments of women within the Desautels community
On International Women’s Day we highlighted some of the outstanding and accomplished women within the Desautels community, who positively impact our students through their teaching, research, guidance, or mentorship.Â
Alumni transform milestone investment into impact
McGill alumni Philip Cutler (BEd’13) and Roberto Cipriani (BSc’08) recently raised $270 million in Series D funding to combat academic inequity across the U.S. In 2014, their K-12 tutoring company, Paper, made it to the final round of the McGill Dobson Cup, and their reach has only grown since then.
McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship unveils program dedicated to women entrepreneurs
On November 19, the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship announced the creation of the Entrepreneurial Women Lean Startup Program, slated to launch in the Fall of 2022. The reveal was a grand finale to a two-week-long celebration of International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. The eight-week program will lead rising women entrepreneurs through the early stages of conceptualizing and implementing viable ventures.
Reimagining tutoring models in public schools
McGill alumni Philip Cutler (BEd’13) and Roberto Cipriani (BSc’08) are combatting academic inequity in over 110 United States public schools and counting. In 2014, their tutoring company, Paper, made it to the final round of the McGill Dobson Bootcamp and Cup Competition, and their reach has only grown since then.
Developing breakthrough patient care solutions
The pandemic prompted hospitals across Canada to implement new technologies that minimized human-to-human contact, such as a text messaging service provided by the University of Montreal Health Centre that updates family members on changes to a patient’s condition throughout their surgery or other extended treatment.
Taiga solidifies head start in race to produce off-road electric vehicles
Taiga Motors Corporation, formerly Canaccord Genuity Growth II Corp., recently announced completion of the Qualifying Transaction, solidifying its status as a leading publicly-traded manufacturer of off-road electric vehicles.
In 2016, Taiga Motors won first place in the Innovation Driven Enterprise category of the McGill Dobson Cup.
Former Dobson startup aims high
Sonder, an industry-disrupting hospitality company created by former McGill student and McGill Dobson Centre alumnus Francis Davidson, aspires to become a “hosting Amazon” through an IPO. The new entity, whose shares will trade on the NASDAQ, just obtained a $30 million loan from the Quebec government to create 700 jobs at a new technological growth center in Montreal. In the long-term, Sonder has plans to operate in the 100 largest cities in the world.
Transforming air travel for people with disabilities
An idea that arose from a nightmarish flight experience for Sandra Gualtieri, founder of Gualtieri Inventions, has blossomed into an innovative new product for people living with disabilities. Informed by her own experience in living with cerebral palsy, Gualtieri designed a prototype for the Universal Seating Apparatus, a portable device that allows people with disabilities to sit comfortably upright on airplanes.
McGill students partner with disability rights activist to design comfortable airplane seat
Sandra Gualtieri, an entrepreneur and disability rights activist with cerebral palsy, enlisted the help of four McGill students to design a custom airplane seat that alleviates discomfort for people living with disabilities.
Dobson Centre surpasses $1-billion milestone in startup seed funding
Over the past three decades, the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has catalyzed the creation of 450 active startups that have generated more than 6,000 new jobs. Now, the McGill Dobson Centre is celebrating another milestone: $1 billion in seed funding raised by the startups it has supported.
Start-ups taking off in Quebec
Although the pandemic has generated significant economic uncertainty, startups are thriving at McGill’s Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, according to its director, Marie Josée Lamothe.
The Centre recently launched a virtual international tour that gives 18 Quebec startups the opportunity to explore potential markets in North America and Europe.
Former Dobson participant turns side gig into $1.3 billion startup
Just over seven years ago, former McGill student Francis Davidson started a side business when he rented out his apartment to fellow McGill students.
Today, he is the co-founder and CEO of Sonder, a hospitality company that leases and owns properties worldwide. Davidson has raised over $550 million from venture capital firms to value the company at just over $1.3 billion, with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk both contributing.
Turning hobbies into business opportunities
In response to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are turning their pastimes into online businesses. Marie-Josée Lamothe, Academic Director of the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, attributes their success in part to the public’s willingness to support businesses that are important to them rather than buying exclusively from e-commerce giants.
Blending two company ideas into one
As entrepreneurship takes on different forms during the pandemic, fresh business ideas are in high demand. In a highly unconventional move, a Quebec-based company called Alchemy is inviting startups to blend their ideas with Alchemy’s own ideas to create something new. Instead of expecting payment, Alchemy takes a stake in the joint venture.
