Entrepreneurship Coaching and Mentoring Drop-ins
Free drop-in sessions to meet with entrepreneurs and ecosystem support organizations. Any stage of business is welcome. Bring your questions and ideas!
Thursdays, every other week
Thursday, November 5 - Featuring Futurpreneur and Ag-West Bio
2 to 4 pm
Murray Library, room 102
Sign up for a reminder!
Check out the list below for more dates and support organizations! Every session also features:
-Monique Simair, scientist, two-time founder, and Director of the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship
-Dan Simair, co-founder of skipthedishes and USask alumnus (BSc in Computer Science)
-Ann Liang, Business Librarian at USask. Ann provides specialized business data reference services to support entrepreneurs in locating, interpreting and using complex business information. This includes guidance on company and industry data, market research, consumer and demographic information to help entrepreneurs research and make decisions.
Featuring Futurpreneur and Ag-West Bio!
Futurpreneur
Futurpreneur is Canada’s only national non-profit organization dedicated to providing financing, mentoring and business resources to help aspiring, diverse entrepreneurs aged 18-39. Learn more.
Ag-West Bio
Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association and bioeconomy catalyst. Since 1989, we have helped move research to market and grow biobusiness in Saskatchewan. Through commercialization guidance, industry connections, ecosystem development and investment in innovative companies, Ag-West Bio helps entrepreneurs advance agricultural and food bioscience technologies toward market. Learn more.
Event details
Thursday, November 5
2 to 4 pm
Murray Library, room 102
Sign up for a reminder!
Featuring SK Startup Institute, WESK and Ag-West Bio!
SK Startup Institute
SK Startup Institute is committed to helping Saskatchewan-based entrepreneurs, whether you’re starting your first business or growing an existing one. We are your first step on your journey towards success.
With our incredible team of business advisors and industry experts, as well as critical research data tailored just for you, you’ll feel supported every step of the way and find the tools and resources to make your dream a reality. Learn more.
WESK
WESK is a non-profit organization that supports and empowers women entrepreneurs to start, develop, lead, and grow their businesses.
We offer affordable services such as business advising, financing, training, and networking events. Access valuable resources and a network of bold, innovative entrepreneurs to learn, gain inspiration and help you reach your business goals and dreams. Learn more.
Ag-West Bio
Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association and bioeconomy catalyst. Since 1989, we have helped move research to market and grow biobusiness in Saskatchewan. Through commercialization guidance, industry connections, ecosystem development and investment in innovative companies, Ag-West Bio helps entrepreneurs advance agricultural and food bioscience technologies toward market. Learn more.
Event details
Thursday, November 19
2 to 4 pm
Murray Library, room 102
Featuring Co.Labs, SK Startup Institute, WESK and Ag-West Bio!
Co.Labs
Co.Labs is Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator and accelerator, helping startup founders build, validate, and scale tech companies. Based in Saskatoon and serving founders across Saskatchewan, we advance the province’s tech ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurs with the resources, expertise, and community they need to move from idea to millions in revenue. As an independent non-profit, our startup programming is 100% free - we never charge fees or take equity. Learn more.
SK Startup Institute
SK Startup Institute is committed to helping Saskatchewan-based entrepreneurs, whether you’re starting your first business or growing an existing one. We are your first step on your journey towards success.
With our incredible team of business advisors and industry experts, as well as critical research data tailored just for you, you’ll feel supported every step of the way and find the tools and resources to make your dream a reality. Learn more.
WESK
WESK is a non-profit organization that supports and empowers women entrepreneurs to start, develop, lead, and grow their businesses.
We offer affordable services such as business advising, financing, training, and networking events. Access valuable resources and a network of bold, innovative entrepreneurs to learn, gain inspiration and help you reach your business goals and dreams. Learn more.
Ag-West Bio
Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association and bioeconomy catalyst. Since 1989, we have helped move research to market and grow biobusiness in Saskatchewan. Through commercialization guidance, industry connections, ecosystem development and investment in innovative companies, Ag-West Bio helps entrepreneurs advance agricultural and food bioscience technologies toward market. Learn more.
Event details
Thursday, December 3
2 to 4 pm
Murray Library, room 102
Featuring Co.Labs and Ag-West Bio!
Co.Labs
Co.Labs is Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator and accelerator, helping startup founders build, validate, and scale tech companies. Based in Saskatoon and serving founders across Saskatchewan, we advance the province’s tech ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurs with the resources, expertise, and community they need to move from idea to millions in revenue. As an independent non-profit, our startup programming is 100% free - we never charge fees or take equity. Learn more.
Ag-West Bio
Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association and bioeconomy catalyst. Since 1989, we have helped move research to market and grow biobusiness in Saskatchewan. Through commercialization guidance, industry connections, ecosystem development and investment in innovative companies, Ag-West Bio helps entrepreneurs advance agricultural and food bioscience technologies toward market. Learn more.
Event details
Thursday, December 17
2 to 4 pm
Murray Library, room G3
Entrepreneurship Skills Series for Researchers
Join us for the Entrepreneurship Skills Series for Researchers, a free lunchtime series for graduate students, postdocs, and the wider grad community! Click below to register and learn more about the sessions!
Every discovery faces the same question: what would it take for this to reach the people who could actually use it? Technology maturation is the discipline of answering that question, and it is a skill any researcher can build.
In this session you will learn:
- Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs): the NASA-born scale for measuring how proven a technology really is, and how to honestly place your own work on it (with help from some space unicorns)
- The difference between research and maturation, and why the two need different plans
- What a Technology Maturation Plan is: the roadmap that turns "promising result" into actionable next steps
- How to define your minimum viable product and spot the risks that matter
No business background needed. You do not need a company, a patent, or a product. If your research could someday be used outside the university, this session will show you the path!
This in-person session is led by Dr. Monique Simair, scientist, two-time founder, and Director of the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship. The session draws on her experience taking novel water treatment technologies from the lab to real-world deployment.
Wednesday, October 14
Noon to 1 pm
Murray Library, room G3
Lunch provided
Questions? Contact EntrepreneurshipCentre@usask.ca
This session is held in partnership with the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship and the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Managing your research can be difficult. Timelines slip, scope grows, supervisors and collaborators pull in different directions, and the plan lives mostly in your head.
Across three sessions, you will learn to:
- Scope a project accurately: define what done looks like before you start
- Break big, ambiguous goals into milestones, tasks, and realistic timelines
- Spot risks early and manage the ones that could sink your schedule
- Keep supervisors, collaborators, and partners aligned as the work evolves
This is one series, not three separate drop-ins. Please register once and plan to attend all three sessions in-person, since each one each builds on the last.
November 4, 18 and December 2 (Wednesdays)
Noon to 1 pm
Murray Library, room G3
Lunch provided
Questions? Contact EntrepreneurshipCentre@usask.ca
This session is held in partnership with the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship and the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.