10 minute read
Sowing the seeds of success
How CEED gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed
PAULA LEHR & CRAIG MACMULLIN,
CEED
For over 25 years, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED) has been empowering and advancing entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia. CEED supports innovative ideas, creative enterprises, and scalable strategies through our programs and partnerships. Our goal is to help build successful and innovative businesses that contribute to a vibrant and entrepreneurial Nova Scotia. We pride ourselves on being the
place where early-stage entrepreneurs can access the knowledge and expertise they need to begin their journey, grow their current business, or take their idea to the next level.
The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for small, locally owned urban businesses. But we were able to continue helping entrepreneurs without missing a beat, quickly pivoting program delivery and strategies. CEED offers startup and expansion loans, but we were also proud to help administer the Urban Main Street Loan Initiative (UMSLI). UMSLI was a Regional Relief and Recovery Fund provided by the
Tim Mossholder/unsplash
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Through UMSLI, we were able to have an extraordinary impact on a variety of Main Street businesses, disbursing over $2.6 million to finance their day-to-day operating costs through each phase of the pandemic.
In the Nova Scotia ecosystem, CEED is known to support early-stage entrepreneurs. However, that support is broader than most people think. While CEED continues to support the development of small and mid-size enterprises through the Self-Employment, Incubator, and Accelerator programs, we are also supporting several early-stage,
innovation-driven companies. CEED’s Innovator program focuses on a product idea that could be the basis for a business. The program engages innovators to think entrepreneurially about product-market fit, customer discovery, competitive difference makers, and build this thinking into a compelling value proposition. This method has delivered results by helping Nova Scotian entrepreneurs to secure investment, win pitch competitions, and establish a commercial hypothesis for their product.
CEED’s Launchpad program goes even further. This program draws from Lean Startup methodologies to assist entrepreneurs in developing and validating business models for launch. Entrepreneurs work toward the development of their business model through active customer discovery, business model testing, and MVP development. It is a highly experiential program that relies on coaching and peer-to-peer engagement to drive business model development forward. CEED has partnered with Strategyzer, the developers of the Business Model Canvas, to use their online tools as part of this program.
Most recently, CEED collaborated with Ignite Labs, the Rural Innovation Hub Network, to develop Ignite’s Amplify Acceleration program. CEED’s Launchpad was the core of the program, with CEED also contributing coaching and additional program elements — like our four-session Innovator Mindset program.
Regardless of the program, we focus on providing tools to the entrepreneur, but it is up to the entrepreneur to find the solutions with their customers. Businesses are in the business of solving problems for customers. Successful businesses solve the problems that really matter to customers and, by extension, provide more value. In a startup of any kind, the initial business idea is a series of guesses or unvalidated assumptions. Our programming is designed to challenge those assumptions and either validate the entrepreneur’s hypothesis or gain enough knowledge from their customer to pivot to a better value proposition.
THE HUBNS
The HubNS, powered by Startup Space, is a manifestation of trying to create a vibrant and entrepreneurial Nova Scotia. Developed with entrepreneurs in mind, The HubNS provides next generation community-building tools to help entrepreneurs facilitate meaningful connections, navigate local resources, measure impact, and grow communities across the province.
The HubNS is a free virtual community for any member of the entrepreneurial ecosystem looking to enrich the spirit of business across Nova Scotia. On The HubNS, you can interact with the ecosystem — it’s designed to expand access to resources, events, knowledge, and mentorship. Whether it’s connecting you to the people who can help you, leveraging community events, or accessing resources, The HubNS provides the information to take you where you need to go. If someone has a spark and they want to be an entrepreneur, we wanted to ensure that they could go somewhere and get information at any time. They can ask questions, find resources and events, and start to chart a path for themselves. The mission of the HubNS is simple: create and provide a thriving, entrepreneurial ecosystem that business owners like you can call home.
One of our favourite resources is the Resource Compass. There are a lot of supports from organizations out there, and we wanted to bring them into one spot. Any of the organizations can claim their resource to manage their message and presence. Our hope is that they will do more: participate in discussions and help entrepreneurs achieve their potential. The HubNS is a platform for entrepreneurs across Nova Scotia — and the organizations that support them — to truly collaborate, break down barriers, bridge the rural-urban divide, and build a robust Nova Scotian economy.
Curious? We encourage you to become a member and connect with our growing community! The QR code below will take you to our landing page at hubns.ca to learn more. Join us and become part of our HubNS family!
CEED ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Daniel Baldwin,
MARS VR LAB
What inspired you to start Mars VR Lab?
Shawn Greene and I founded Halifax VR — a place for families to enjoy a variety of virtual reality experiences. In May 2018, we received an email from Dr. Jordan Sheriko and Scott Thieu. They had been researching VR solutions to use in their pediatric rehabilitation practice at the IWK, but they couldn’t find an adequate solution that was focused on kids. Our initial meeting led to several discussions and ultimately resulted in a product road map of solutions to be built. We chose to focus our efforts on solving the complexities involved in preparing children to navigate the world in power wheelchairs. We formed MARS VR Lab shortly thereafter with a new vision.
What have you enjoyed most about starting Mars VR Lab?
I love technology and finding new ways to use it and solve problems. We are thrilled with the progress we’ve made to date. We have raised $1,000,000. Patents have been submitted, and our software is on pace to be ready for Research Trials by the IWK. We work with some of the most genuine and talented people I have ever met. We have an incredible group of people supporting us, from our Board to our shareholders. It feels special to be part of such a passionate project. We convert paper waste into useful products, like paper bags, and supply them to local businesses. We recently started making crinkle paper, and we want to sell our products in chains by introducing organic bin liners for compost containers. If you have paper waste, give it to us and we will repurpose it. Not only are you turning waste into useful products, you can promote that your business is ecofriendly and supports green initiatives. We collect flyers from co-op stores and Coffee News, which print ads for small businesses. We turn the paper into bags, and the businesses are advertised again! It’s a win-win.
What have you enjoyed most about being a business owner?
I keep always these things in mind: being eco-friendly, supporting local, and making positive change. That vision and purpose keep me going every day. Now, I am seeing positive change happening. We have sold over 28,000 bags and saved over 2700 pounds of paper.
What was your experience like working with CEED?
CEED is a great organization — they are able to help to startups like me. I know that if I need a business loan, I can go to CEED. I learned a lot through their coaching sessions with their mentors. It can be overwhelming for small businesses, but you need to take action. You need to have a proper mentor, and CEED really has great pool of knowledgeable mentors. They have taught me how important it is to work with the right people. We are proud to be a member of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, and we are proud to be CEED alumni.
What is on the horizon for Greenii Inc.?
We are planning to work with colleges, universities, schools, corporate offices, retail stores, and the Dartmouth Adult Services Centre to repurpose clean, recyclable paper into fresh paper bags. If you have paper to donate, we can arrange a pickup for donation!
Can you speak about your experience as a CEED student?
The CEED program really forced us to get real and honest about what we had, what we were trying to do, what we were missing, and what it was going to take to get where we wanted to go. They didn’t give us the answers — they asked all the right questions to help us find the answers ourselves.
What does the future hold for Mars VR Lab?
We are going to do a $3 million seed round in 2022 to help with commercialization in Canada. We need to find more talented people in order to keep building and expanding our work. We also need more partners, who will help bring more initiatives and new solutions to the children’s hospitals throughout North America.
Purush Cannane,
GREENII INC.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was inspired to start Greenii Inc. to create positive change. I want to revolutionize the packaging industry and save trees by solving the plastic bag problem.
Ashley Hickey,
ENZEBRA
What inspired you to start your business?
I owned a development agency, and I was trying to find one application that could manage bookkeeping, inventory, project management, client interfacing, staff scheduling, office communications, internet policies, and HR. That turned into seven different applications that didn’t speak to each other. I was frustrated one day when I couldn’t remember one of the million passwords for these different platforms, so I originally developed Enzebra for myself!
Enzebra is a business operating system that virtually replaces all the software you use to run your business. It allows businesses to do more and save time with less resources. Training is built into the platform, where employees can go in and train at their own pace. The big outcome is that people can move products from initial quote and into the hands of their customers faster.
What have you enjoyed most about starting Enzebra?
The most rewarding part has been working with businesses who were frustrated with outdated technology and the issues it caused. These businesses couldn’t realize the benefits of technology because they were just bouncing between screens. It is so rewarding to modernize these businesses. To make them, first of all, not just happier, but also more accepting of technology. To see employees interface with the technology and get excited about it.
What news would you like to share with our business community?
I participated in the Spark Nova Scotia Competition, and I am very grateful to say that I won. In the days following, I was contacted by the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). Now we’re working on a number of funding initiatives to help me through the next stage of my business. It’s been amazing to see that if there was ever a good time to start up a business in Nova Scotia, it’s right now. There are so many resources to help you get off the ground.
What was your experience like working with CEED?
I will never give enough gratitude towards seed and the mentors, particularly Craig Verner and Maria. They taught me about the clarity of my message — explaining the value of what we do in a way that people could understand — and about important next steps. They taught me how to grow, not just as a person, but as a business owner. They supported me every step of the way.
photos contributed
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