About

Did you know more than half of unicorn companies – including household names like Shopify, Zoom, and Calendly – have been founded by immigrants?

• Immigrants are entrepreneurial – they start businesses at a higher rate than non-immigrants.
• Immigrant founders are innovative – their businesses own more intellectual property than their non-immigrant counterparts.
• Immigrant founders have a growth mindset – they are twice as likely to export and grow in global markets.

Despite this track record, access to capital remains a challenge for many immigrant founders. Investment education, networking, and warm connections are critical to success. The Immigrant Founder Launchpad will prepare first-generation immigrant tech founders to raise investment.

In five weeks, we will cover topics like developing your financing strategy, achieving and demonstrating traction, and perfecting your pitch. Most importantly, the program will open doors by providing exclusive networking opportunities and warm introductions to potential funders.

Services include:

• Educational workshops – Weekly group sessions presented by industry experts on topics such as developing a financing strategy, crafting your pitch, how to approach due diligence, and how to demonstrate your traction to an investor audience.
• One-on-one advisory services – Personalized mentorship from experts in areas like sales, product, and human resources, as well as coaching from experienced immigrant founders.
• Market insights – Free intelligence from tools like Pitchbook, Crunchbase Pro, and Pocketed, to build your fundraising pipeline and target the right investors.
• A community of peers – Connect with other first-generation immigrants striving to grow their businesses.
• Investor relations support – Curated networking and warm introductions to funders as you kickstart your fundraising journey.
• Funding – The program culminates in a live competition where the graduating founders will pitch for the chance to take home $25,000+ in equity and non-dilutive funding prizes.

Is this opportunity a fit for me?

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• An innovative, scalable, and software-driven tech startup;
• Founded/co-founded by a first-generation immigrant, meaning an individual that was born in another country but resettled in Canada at some point in their life (this could have been as a child or an adult). This immigrant founder must also have an equitable amount of the founding ownership of the business;
• Based in Eastern Ontario or Gatineau, Quebec;
• Able to demonstrate initial signs of traction, i.e. customer feedback, beta tested, or generating revenue;
• Looking for support and mentorship;
• Planning to raise pre-seed or seed investment in the next 18 – 24 months.

Timeline

• Applications open: August 26, 2024
• Application deadline: September 20, 2024 (11:59pm EST)
• Applicants notified: October 1, 2024
• Program runs: October 7, 2024 – November 11, 2024
• Pitch finale: November 12, 2024

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