GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
Check out MaRS Discovery District’s new Entrepreneur’s Toolkit which has just been relaunched with a whole new look that’s easier to navigate. Whether you’re starting a business or growing one, the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit can help with a wealth of resources, information and tools to help you:
- Review the fundamentals: Take the Entrepreneurship 101 online course with 19 video lectures and related materials for learning or reviewing the fundamentals of building a business.
- Find funding sources: Search the Funding sources directory by sector and location to quickly find funding programs applicable to your business.
- Search business topics in-depth: The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit has over 400 articles designed to help you solve the business problem that you need to solve, when you need to solve it. Topics include funding your business, marketing and sales, legal and IP, regulatory for life sciences and governance.
- Download how-to guides: Downloadable workbooks guide you through straightforward steps to create documents such as strategy plans for IP, financing, HR and marketing.
- View sample investment documents: The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit contains a set of standard templates for investment documents (such as a term sheet and shareholder’s agreement) to assist you if you’re undertaking the investment process.
They’ve also relaunched their video section to make it easier for you to search for and find the videos you need. Check it out in order to:
- Catch an event you missed such as Entrepreneurship 101, MaRS Market Insights or other events and conferences held at MaRS.
- Hear from experts: Watch video series such as the MaRS Best Practices and Hot Tips for Start-ups for practical advice for entrepreneurs.
- See other entrepreneurs in action: Meet the Entrepreneurs tells the stories of hot start-ups around the province.
Entrepreneurship 101
Essential information for emerging entrepreneurs. Based on the Entrepreneurship 101 event series, these pages contain lecture videos and related resources to help you start and grow your company. Also, check out the Entrepreneur 101 Webcasts. Watch the presentations and ask questions live via free webcasts.
Learn more about Entrepreneurship 101.
Curriculum overview:
Information on funding your business, marketing, recruiting, intellectual property and more. Business topics from start to pitch and everything in between
Information on funding your business, marketing, recruiting, intellectual property and more. Business topics from start to pitch and everything in between
| Session 1 | Different types of entrepreneurship An entrepreneur must decide on their business structure before committing to a business. Are you a for-profit enterprise, a not-for-profit or somewhere in between? What are the requirements and resources for each enterprise model? What type of financing should you target? |
| Session 2 | Basic nuts and bolts of building a business Overview of the legal and tax considerations of starting a business including how to register and structure your business. |
| Session 3 | Marketing for tech start-ups Examination of the basic concepts and principles of marketing that are relevant for early stage start-ups by introducing participants to … |
| Session 4 | Product development Converting an idea or even a lab prototype into a real, customer-ready product is no simple task. Learn how to … |
| Session 5 | Building a business model Careful consideration of economics and business strategy can make the difference between simply having a great technology and building a … |
| Session 6 | Value proposition Focus is on the process of creating a crisp and concise value proposition for your start-up. Learn how to answer … |
| Session 7 | Board of directors and other advisor Learn the difference between a Board of Advisors and a Board of Directors and what roles they play in running … |
| Session 8 | Market research and analysis When crafting your value proposition, you need to make certain assumptions about your target market. These assumptions must be validated … |
| Session 9 | Managing intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of every knowledge-based start-up or venture. Learn how to identify and manage your intellectual … |
| Session 10 | Financial planning Basics to help you build a realistic financial plan for your start-up that identifies how you spend and make money. … |
| Session 11 | Recruiting Overview of human resources policies and practices needed in an entrepreneurial context including everyone’s favorite HR topics: hiring and firing! … |
| Session 12 | Business communication tools Tips, examples, techniques and tools for building the five essential communication documents for entrepreneurs: elevator pitch executive summary company presentation technical … |
| Session 13 | Marketing communications Focus on defining the field of marketing communications with a particular emphasis on technology start-ups. Particularly relevant for those start-ups … |
| Session 14 | Go-to-market strategy Provides practical tips on how to prepare to enter the marketplace with your product. Relevant for all start-ups that are … |
| Session 15 | Sales How are you going to sell your product? Learn the principles of “selling value” to your customers, with special emphasis … |
| Session 16 | Distribution Get a strategic perspective of the distribution channel options available to start-ups. Emphasis the development of the right criteria for … |
| Session 17 | Bootstrapping Bootstrapping is the act of building your business from your own funds and revenue from customers instead of raising money … |
| Session 18 | Terms of investments Focus on understanding the motivation of private venture capital firms and how it affects their structuring of term sheets and … |
| Session 19 | Raising money Leading venture capitalists discuss the secrets for successfully pitching to a VC or an angel investor in order to secure … |
| Session 20 | The pitch Overview of the essentials of building and delivering an effective pitch to help you find financing for your entrepreneurial venture … |
