Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2023 Annual Report

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Table of Contents

1. From the Executive Director 4 2. Institute Mission 5 3. Student Programs 6 3.1 Delivering Entrepreneurial Experiences 7 3.1.1 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition 7 3.1.2 LaunchPad Lab 10 3.1.3 LaunchPad Booster 11 3.2 Delivering Innovation Experiences 12 3.2.1 Innovation Sprint 12 3.2.2 connectFirst Social Entrepreneurs 14 3.2.3 Health Tech Challenge 14 3.2.4 OnBoard Weekend 16 3.2.5 European Innovation Academy 16 3.2.6 Community Events 17 3.3 Funders 18 4. Research Programs 20 4.1 Research Projects 20 4.2 Research Papers, Publications, Conference Abstracts, & Presentations

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5. Scale-Up & Growth Programs 25 5.1 Growth Catalyst 25 5.2 Growth & Resiliency Speakers Series 30 5.3 Growth Catalyst - Experts on Demand

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5.4 Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator 32 5.5 Funders 33

6. Team 34

1. From the Executive Director It was another remarkable year for the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. After 11 years, we are solidly in the scale-up phase executing in multiple dimensions to scale the impact we have on students, thought leadership, and the community. What makes it more remarkable is that everything the Institute does is accomplished through the generous support of donors and granting organizations rather than core MRU funding.

In order to develop the high impact students this province needs, we delivered the most Student Programs in our history, serving students from across campus with a diverse set of interests and ambitions. Our flagship LaunchPad program provides students with the opportunity to launch a business. We have learned through the years that, whether they succeed or fail, it is always a transformational experience for a student to go through the process. Our annual must-attend event, the JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition, saw 300 community members cheer on 8 students as they pitched for $70,000 in cash and prizes. For the first time, we had 6 young female entrepreneurs sweep the awards.

In addition to the experience of starting a business, we also supported students who wanted to innovate on a problem within an existing startup. Others wanted to understand what it takes to be a social entrepreneur and solve complex problems in society, while others were excited to be part of our first-ever HealthTech Challenge.

We also had a contingent of 15 students spend 3 weeks at the European Innovation Academy in Porto, Portugal to learn from international peers and mentors. We continue to be a leader in supporting undergraduate students in Alberta.

This past year, the Institute provided a transformational experience to 239 students. To ensure innovation and entrepreneurship is accessible to all students, most of our programs offer paid work integrated learning opportunities. Students involved with the Institute earned over $178,000 while engaging in meaningful work experiences.

The Institute also created a new group, Scale-up and Growth Programs, dedicated to supporting the growth of Alberta businesses. Led by Peter Fenwick, this unique community engagement program had a profound impact on the 34 companies that took part in the flagship Growth Catalyst program. The program is an intensive 7-month transformational experience for leadership teams of Alberta small and medium businesses. These companies are now positioned to scale their business and contribute to the growth of the Alberta economy.

The group also launched the Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator, which supports existing businesses to expand their product and service offerings and take advantage of the emerging hydrogen economy. In addition, the Growth and Resiliency Speaker series continues to establish MRU as a thought leader in the space of business growth.

These growth initiatives have engaged almost 2000 members of the business community and provided 93 students with a meaningful work integrated learning experience.

Finally, the Institute’s Growth Compass research initiative continues to engage faculty and the community, and publish thought leadership in the area of small and medium business growth. Led by Dr. Simon Raby, Growth Compass was also the incubator for the Scale-up and Growth Programs, establishing our programs as the most evidence-based of their kind.

We continue to be driven by a passion to build transformational experiences for students and the communities we live in.

Ray DePaul, Executive Director

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2. Institute Mission The mission of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is to support the development of the high-impact talent that is essential to the continued economic prosperity of Alberta. This is accomplished by delivering transformative community-engaged learning experiences.

High-impact talent is more than a buzzword. We believe that talent that brings an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset has a massive impact on the organizations they create or work for. The Institute is focused on designing and delivering transformative opportunities and supporting both undergraduate and professional students on their journey to being the most sought-after talent in the province.

Achieving our mission would not be possible without the generous donations by David and Leslie Bissett, the RBC Foundation, TD Bank, Cathy and Bruce Williams, JMH & Co, connectFirst Credit Union, the John Dobson Foundation, and MRU alumni. Grant support is greatly appreciated by Alberta Innovates, Prairies Economic Development Canada, Edmonton Global and the Calgary Innovation Coalition.

Impact

49 744 28 7 2 4,1 97 $ 1 78, 270

Companies Engaged Students Engaged Community Engaged Hours of Coaching

Paid Student Work Integrated Learning

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3. Student Programs From the Associate Director Students Programs at the Institute had the most significant year of impact in its history. This year, we provided over 3955 hours of personalized mentoring across a student population of more than 650 students and distributed over $137,531 in funding directly to those students. We are proud to have served a population of 77% women, 55% Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC), and 14% 2SLGBTQIA+ students, providing support to the diverse innovators and entrepreneurs the world needs to navigate the complex challenges we navigate every day.

Our flagship program, LaunchPad, in its 11th year, supported founders from across the university to develop their ideas with personalized one-on-one mentoring, financial support, and community support.

Eight students vied for a share of $70,000 in cash and in-kind prizes, competing with businesses in growth marketing, event sales, childhood education for children with high needs, and consumer technology. Students will receive ongoing support through a new program, LaunchPad Booster, that provides ongoing coaching support from Institute leadership and experienced serial entrepreneurs from the Calgary start-up community.

Students also received the

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opportunity to build upon their degree and gain meaningful work experience through our innovation work-integrated learning experiences, such as the Innovation Sprint and connectFirst Social Entrepreneurs. In its third year, the Innovation Sprint allowed students to work in crossdisciplinary teams to solve a problem and learn how some of Calgary’s most exciting founders and product managers in consumerpackaged goods, cryptocurrency, consumer technology, and financial technology make decisions and innovate. Students interested in social enterprise joined community practitioners in connectFirst Social Entrepreneurs to explore the intersection of economics and changemaking, and then develop a social enterprise that meaningfully addresses a social problem.

The first program of its kind at Mount Royal, the HealthTech Challenge saw 15 cross-disciplinary students come together to solve a problem in health technology, supported by a new $25,000 grant from Alberta Innovates and $5000 from the John Dobson Foundation.

Students collaborated with awardwinning MRU research and technical faculty to learn about and build a hardware innovation in aging, mental health, and mobility and developed deep user empathy by connecting with domain experts and

tech founders from around the world.

The Institute is committed to providing the transformational experiences students need to become exceptional founders and employees and the high-impact talent we need for the future of Alberta.

Diana Grant-Richmond, Associate Director, Student Programs

3.1 Delivering Entrepreneurial Experiences 3.1.1 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition

Alberta’s largest and most inspiring student entrepreneur event, the JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition, returned for a diverse and inspiring year, featuring 5 female winners for the first time. Over 300 students, alumni, and community members joined us to celebrate eight students representing 7 companies from across campus, pitching for their share of $70,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. This year students pitched to an exciting panel of judges including alumni Jennifer MacDonald, Aislinn Grant, and Marc Nzojibwami, as well as Founder and CEO of Fledge, Jenna Galloway.

The JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition stands as a pinnacle achievement for aspiring entrepreneurs at Mount Royal. Leading up to the event, participants undergo weeks, months, and even years of rigorous training to finetune their idea and pitch. They receive invaluable guidance from experienced mentors and unwavering support from their peers. The competition provides not only funding but also a network of alumni and community support, empowering these entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life and forge their entrepreneurial paths.

Proving that LaunchPad is as much about launching careers as startups, the competitors have embraced many exciting opportunities. These include Talis Aurini in her role as Product Manager at Alethea Medical, Nate McLennan in his role at

Bell Textron as 3D Printing Intern, designing a specialty fuel nozzle case insert for military applications, and Bianca Veltri at the European Innovation Academy in Porto, Portugal, exploring The Hive further with team members from all over the world, including one employed as a UI/UX Advisor at Google.

2023 Participants:

Aliya Abdallah - Clean Energy Nutrition Third Year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing Clean energy without the jitters!

We create all-natural energy products made with sustainably sourced ingredients for the health-conscious gym-goer!

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$10,000 JMH & Co. award

Bianca Veltri - The Hive -Fourth year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance The Hive is all the Buzz among your friend group! Our platform creates community, giving you the tools to plan events and activities with your friends all while offering discounts along the way. We give you the Hive, you bring the Bees!

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Carman Lim & Rowan Dymond LookMa! Recent Alumni, Bachelor of Business Administration, Supply Chain and Marketing LookMa! Is a platform that connects smaller businesses seeking high-quality usergenerated content with the micro-influencers eager to create content. The result is a win for both brands and content creators.

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$10,000 JMH & Co. award $5,000 LaunchPad Alumni Award

Karina Chow - Link and Learn Academy Third Year, Bachelor of Arts - Sociology Link and Learn Academy maximizes the academic potential of all students through customized curriculums delivered in a private 1-on-1 setting. We cater our teaching to students with special needs and those seeking accelerated learning.

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$10,000 connectFirst Social Impact Award

$10,000 JMH & Co. award $15,000 Grant award for in-kind design services

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Kassidy Gerhardi - Cobra Fourth Year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing Cobra is reimagining the traditional bra with an interchangeable system. By dividing the bra into separate components, women can achieve the desired fit, feel, and appearance of their bra without compromising comfort or functionality.

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$10,000 JMH & Co. award

Nate McLennan - M1nimal Third Year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing Taking the stress and planning out of charging your laptop! Our innovative F1NAL charging sleeve ensures your laptop is always fully charged and ready to go so you can maximize your work time.

Talis Aurini of MOVEmeant Fourth Year, Bachelor of Health and Physical Education, Physical Literacy Giving those with physical disabilities the opportunity to once again enjoy being active.

MOVEmeant is an app that caters to the unique needs of those with physical disabilities through motivational on-demand activities that support their functional movement.

LaunchPad Pitch Participants - 2023

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JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition Donors The LaunchPad Program would not be possible without the enthusiasm and generosity of our fantastic donors.

JMH & Co., connectFirst Credit Union, Grant Design, and our alumni donors are all critical to creating the LaunchPad experience and impacts.

JMH & Co. JMH & Co. is a regional accounting firm with offices in Calgary, Brooks, and Medicine Hat who have an oversized impact on their communities. Each year at the JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition the Institute has the honor of giving away $40,000 in JMH & Co. awards to Mount Royal founders.

Grant Design Aislinn Grant’s branding firm, Grant Design, returned as a donor this year. Grant Design donated $15,000 of in-kind professional branding and design services to the JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition. The Institute is especially proud to have Aislinn Grant as a donor and as a JMH LaunchPad Alumnus.

connectFirst Credit Union connectFirst Credit Union is one of the largest and most successful credit unions in Canada, focused on serving Central and Southern Alberta with 41 retail banking branches. connectFirst supported the JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition through the connectFirst Social Impact Award of $10,000.

LaunchPad Alumni Funded Student Award In its third year, the LaunchPad Alumni Award is a $5000 award, funded by 14 of our alumni and community members, led by alumna and longtime Institute employee, Jennifer MacDonald.

This award is presented to the student entrepreneur that demonstrates grit, passion, and a viable business. Along with the award, students become part of a village of supportive alumni, receiving mentorship and other resources from donors.

This year, the award was presented to Rowan Dymond and Carman Lim, founders of LookMa! “Receiving the LaunchPad Alumni Award as a student entrepreneur removes a significant financial

hurdle. It gives you a sense of belonging to a community that believes in you. Winning this award makes you feel like you have a team of experienced individuals in your corner, cheering you on and supporting you every step of the way.” - Rowan Dymond & Carman Lim

Alumni Donors

Alistair Shipley Andrew Browne Anonymous Austin Lang Daniel Smith Derek Rucki Diana Grant-Richmond Emily Knight Jennifer MacDonald Marc Nzojibwami Renato Niro

Rudy Schiebel Timmy Davies Zac Hartley Carman Lim & Rowan Dymond, LaunchPadAlumni of the Year Award- 2023

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3.1.2 LaunchPad Lab

LaunchPad Alumni of the Year Award

LaunchPad Lab is a fast-paced and challenging founder support program that supports up to 10 ambitious student entrepreneurs over 8 weeks in the fall and winter semesters to validate and launch their idea. Students receive the resources, support, and skills to build a foundation as they embark on their entrepreneurial journey. Students develop lasting relationships with facilitators, student community, alumni, and members of the Calgary ecosystem, shown to be critical to their immediate and long-term success.

LaunchPad Lab founders are often early in their entrepreneurial journey. Lab pushes them to rapidly validate and prototype while exploring critical concepts such as customer discovery, problem identification, solution development, business models, and revenue streams. Using an evidence-based lean startup approach, students obtain the tools to make informed decisions for the next steps of their journey. Students receive 24 hours of programming, mentoring, and support over 8 weeks, consisting of short pitches on progress each week, short facilitated lectures and activities, and one on one coaching.

Significant additional coaching is provided outside of sessions by a dedicated coach with founder experience, including Entrepreneur Development Officer, Devon Hawkins, Associate Director, Diana Grant-Richmond, and LaunchPad alumni Logan Grasby and Erin Creegan-Dougherty. This year, 17 students took part in LaunchPad Lab across a wide array of industries including explorations of battery technology, augmented reality, apparel, consumer packaged goods, AI, and education.

7 Lab alumni also pitched in the annual JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition, with 5 receiving a share of $70,000 in cash and inkind prizes to take their ventures to the next level.

The Institute is committed to barrier-free access to entrepreneurial support and education, allowing students from a variety of socio-economic circumstances to choose to explore new ideas and learn without having to forgo the financial support they would traditionally receive from a part-time job. With the generous support of Cathy and Bruce Williams, LaunchPad Lab participants receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of Lab to enable their continued personal and entrepreneurial development.

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LaunchPad Lab Cohort-2023

In 2014 Derek Rucki and Stefan Radeta blew away the LaunchPad audience with their audacious goal to take on Nike and Garmin with their own TLink Golf watch. We had a feeling that this duo would take this city by storm. They proceeded to build that business and sell over 15,000 golf watches and win awards that transcended their student status.

Together they won Calgary’s Best Consumer Startup award. Derek was named EO Canada’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

Stefan was named one of Alberta’s Top Young Innovators and Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 Developers. They put MRU entrepreneurship on the map.

They went on to start Bridgewater Labs, a successful digital transformation company.

This time Stefan took the helm as CEO leveraging his experience and connections to build a Canada-Serbia development agency to serve Alberta’s growing tech sector.

Derek is now the co-founder of InspiredGo which offers Top Chef-inspired meals delivered straight to your home. They have delivered 2M+ healthy meals to customers in 7 western Canadian cities. Stefan is the CTO of Caret, an award-winning, end-to-end tenant engagement platform. It was recently recognized as one of Calgary’s Top 10 Startups.

Over the last 9 years, each has continued to contribute to our community as a donor, a guest speaker, a mentor, and an employer of young MRU talent. Stefan and Derek are amazing role models for the next generation of entrepreneurs. They demonstrate what is possible when you find your perfect co-founder, work very hard, and never stop learning. Their unique status as serial co-founders demanded that we present this award to them both.

Competing in the Community As a recent graduate of Mount Royal University, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have had to participate in, both at MRU and from entrepreneurial organizations all over Canada. These experiences have been transformative and have given me a much higher level of confidence and experience, shaping both my personal and professional development.

This fall I received an award and scholarship from the Hong Kong Business Association for an international business plan for my company and received a scholarship from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub at the Advancing Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs event. I won first place in the undergraduate category for both my business plan and pitch at APEX, a national competition run by New Brunswick University and traveled to Montreal to compete as one of 8 finalists selected from across the country for the Enactus Canada Student Entrepreneur National Competition. These opportunities have given me the chance to see so much of Canada, make valuable connections, and receive critical support for my business and future.

Last year I placed third in the EO Canada Global Student Entrepreneur Awards and was asked to compete again this year. EO is an organization that not only provides significant student support but also prioritizes learning and growing from your experiences while connecting with EO community. I competed twice in the Canadian national finals for the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards run by EO Canada, where I won third and fourth place.

3.1.3 LaunchPad Booster LaunchPad Booster is a new program designed to accelerate student ventures by giving them access to funding, tools, and resources to move their businesses to the next level beyond LaunchPad Lab. Booster has helped students find production opportunities for their products, launch into retail, grow revenue, and win awards at pitch competitions across Canada.

Students in the Booster program have access to the LaunchPad Founders Fund which provides funding to student founders at pivotal stages in their business journey for rapid progression. This program offers up to $2500 in funding for student founders to pursue the development of prototypes, conduct marketing research, and boost revenue, among other things. In the past year, 15 students accessed this critical funding that permitted them to take the next step in their business.

“The funding went towards purchasing the materials I needed to develop two more prototypes of the interchangeable bra and to work with a professional seamstress. By developing a prototype in a more professional manner I was able to further validate my product idea and demonstrate whether the concept was physically viable. These prototypes were then used for customer discovery conversations, photographed to demonstrate the concept, and as a visual aid during the LaunchPad pitch competition and a live interview with CTV.” - Kassidy Gerhardi “The money from the Founders Fund allowed me to manufacture my first MVP and test batch of my preworkout. This allowed me to further validate my idea and product and sample to future customers in order to revolutionize my final product and gain a better understanding of how to best meet my customer’s needs.” Aliya Abdallah

I am grateful for the wide range of experiences I have had over the last year and for the coaching, funding, and skills development opportunities they have provided. I believe they have set me up to be as successful as possible in my career and company, and cannot thank the Institute enough.

Erin Creegan-Dougherty Owner & Founder of Maskwa Backcountry Foods

Booster

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3.1.4 Where are they now Ben Pearman Ben Pearman recently received $25,000 in investment from angel investor and co-host of the All-In and This Week in Startups podcasts, Jason Calacanis. He has also launched 2 apps, one rated top 10 in the weather category of the iOS store, and the other using AI to turn sketches, photos, and text into art.

Dina Ibrahim Dina Ibrahim was featured by CBC News and CTV as the first hijab brand sold at Winners and Marshalls stores across the country, and by The Atlantic for her Tiktok and YouTube Channels “Nana’s Kitchen”, featuring traditional Middle Eastern dishes, and boasting over a million subscribers combined.

Dustin Paisley Dustin Paisley, co-Founder of Local Laundry, recently participated in cohort 2 of Growth Catalyst, and was featured in the nationwide “Live by the Leaf” campaign by Petro Canada with his co-Founder Connor Curran for their impact on community.

Logan Grasby Logan Grasby launched Azule, a platform that helps e-commerce brands leverage AI agents to interact with customers. He has been accepted into the Cloudflare Launchpad Program for support on engineering and gaining investment and recently received $500,000 in credits from Microsoft Azure’s startup program.

3.2 Delivering Innovation Experiences 3.2.1 Innovation Sprint Launched in 2020, the Innovation Sprint is an immersive workintegrated learning program that offers students from diverse faculties across campus the chance to gain hands-on experience working with local start-ups and scale-up companies.

The program is structured to provide participating students with an opportunity to develop innovative solutions to the challenges faced by these companies.

Through the program, participating companies present challenges within their businesses, which diverse teams of four students collaborate to solve. Under the guidance of

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experienced instructors, students engage in weekly sessions that provide structured guidance and support, enabling them to leverage their creativity and problem-solving skills.

The Innovation Sprint is proud to support students annually and provide over $24,000 in financial assistance to participating students. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Cathy and Bruce Williams Fund and RBC for their unwavering support of our program, which has enabled us to break down financial barriers that may have prevented students from pursuing meaningful work experience. Their generous funding has made it possible for

us to provide students with access to valuable learning opportunities and to support their development as future leaders.

This 5-week program offered in the fall and winter provided students with over 1,600 hours of work-integrated learning, offered 3 students with paid part-time or full-time work with partnered companies, and allowed for both students and businesses to learn and problem-solve in a crossdisciplinary team.

A big thank you to 10adventures, Algi Foods, atVenue, Earthware, Fledge, Joberfer, Rallie, Solis, Trufla, and Voco for being incredible problem mentors to our students.

“The Innovation Sprint has been instrumental in how I see my future career progressing. I loved the growth mindset that was taught in the program—allowing us to think innovatively about problems and with the support of our coaches and mentors, build a plan to help our mentors solve a problem in their business. - Innovation Sprint Student “I was blown away by the amount of work the Innovation Sprint students completed. They were engaged, asked great questions, uncovered important realizations, and completed valuable work for 10Adventures. I will definitely be involved in the future.” - Richard Campbell, Founder & CEO, 10 Adventures

“The Innovation Sprint provided me with an incredible opportunity to delve into realworld business challenges. It transformed my perspective on innovation and entrepreneurship, fostering a sense of pride in my professional growth and engagement as a student”. - Linh Bui, Innovation Sprint Student

Innovation Sprint Student Profile — Majd Daqqa Participating in the Fall 2022 Innovation Sprint was a game-changer. I applied knowing it was the perfect opportunity to explore my passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, and I was right!

Paired with Fledge Health, a kids’ mental health startup, and mentor Jenna Galloway, the experience was extraordinary. Collaborating with a startup founder and addressing real-world challenges was inspiring. Support from coach Tianna Going and the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship team was invaluable. Sessions equipped us with tools to confidently tackle mentor’s challenges.

Week by week, my confidence grew, approaching meetings with Jenna prepared. Asking right questions and offering meaningful insights

was gratifying. Watching Fledge grow as we worked together was fulfilling.

The program ended with a pitch of my solution to Jenna’s team. Sharing my journey was a proud moment. I was offered an Innovation Intern role at Fledge! This career-building role lets me shape the future of this Calgary-based business.

Beyond skills and experience, the Innovation Sprint clarified my career path. I found a passion for technology and realized I’m into computer science. I’m determined to use gained knowledge for my degree at MRU. Looking back, the Innovation Sprint was life-changing.

It opened doors, provided insights, and inspired my future. I’m grateful for this opportunity and excited for my empowered career.

3.2.2 connectFirst Social Entrepreneurs connectFirst Social Entrepreneurs is a joint program offered by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Institute for Community Prosperity, with the goal of catalyzing socially conscious students to become innovative and impactful social entrepreneurs. Currently in its second year, the program combines the Economics of Social Change (co-designed with Momentum) with innovation workshops led by Diana GrantRichmond, and personalized coaching by Manitoba social entrepreneur Shaun Loney to support students in ideating and developing a social enterprise.

Students learned the tools to ideate, innovate, and launch

their ideas, leveraging critical skills used in the most innovative industries to solve and action complex problems, mindful of complex systems and impacts.

They explored ideas ranging from AI-powered closed captioning of Indigenous languages, funding to support legal name changes for trans and non-binary people, and reducing barriers to access to treatment for menstrual pain in the developing world.

10 cross-disciplinary students joined 31 community members for 5 sessions of the Economics of Social Change, which applies an economic lens to social issues.

Participants collaborate to gain an understanding of the connections between the local economy,

community development, and social changemaking, including topics like local job creation, business models for social change, and income equality.

This program is made possible through the generosity of connectFirst Credit Union. Each of the 10 students who participated were provided a $500 stipend to support them on their journey.

“These workshops [were] one of the highlights of my undergraduate journey. Thank you for investing time and effort for students to find their passion in making a change. I am extremely inspired.” - connectFirst Social Entrepreneur

3.2.3 Health Tech Challenge The inaugural HealthTech Challenge showcases the exceptional potential of three cross-disciplinary student teams in driving cutting-edge advancements in health technology.

During the 13-week program, 15 participants gained skills in innovation, product management, hardware and software development, and project management, while working in cross-disciplinary teams.

Each team received the support of mentors, including faculty member Jordan Kidney, senior student mentors, and staff support from the MRU Maker and Media Commons to build on the skills they have learned during their university careers so far, and learn new ones, such as 3D printing, soldering, software development, and CNC. In order to understand their problem and customer, participants received briefings on aging, mental health, and mobility from award-winning MRU research faculty, including Dr. Christy Tomkins-Lane, founder, venture capitalist, and Department Chair (on leave) of Health and Physical Education, Dr. David Legg, past President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Full Professor, Jocelyn Rempel, M.N, Chair in Older Adult Health, Dr. Janet Miller, Counsellor at MRU Wellness Services and Full Professor.

In order to understand product-customer fit and opportunities for further developing their projects, students were connected with startup founders and experts from the Calgary startup community and all over the world, including the founders of Neuraura, Radley Robots, and Guide Beauty.

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Team Mental Health

Connecting students to community mentors is critical for understanding complex community needs and nascent technologies, and allows students to gain experience that will differentiate them to future employers as high-impact talent.

During the program, 4 students received job offers, and 2 have received roles at Calgary startups Showpass and Alethea Medical.

The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship would like to thank our mentors, partners AC Robotics, the Centre for Social Impact Technology, the Mount Royal University Riddell Library & Learning Centre, and our donors, Alberta Innovates and the John Dobson Foundation.

Team Mobility 24.91 million young adults are affected by fine tremors, making everyday tasks like shaving or applying makeup incredibly challenging. The Adaptive Brush is a robotic arm leveraging gyroscopic and motion reduction technologies for multi-axis tremor correction for the application of makeup. The universal brush gripper allows users to apply makeup with ease and accuracy, removing the need for young adults experiencing fine tremors to feel like they stand out because grooming activities are difficult without assistance.

Team Mental Health The Pebble lamp, named for a token penguins share with each other during mating, allows friends and loved ones to connect over long distances by tapping the lamp to let each other know how they’re feeling. Yellow might mean something fantastic has happened, while blue might mean “I’m having a rough day.” The central heart feature of the lamp heats up to share a bit of much-needed warmth between loved ones when a hug isn’t available.

Team Mobility

assistant, wellness reminders, and the ability to send video chats and text messages to loved ones. The team plans to continue to build on their prototype as an early startup and has applied to pitch at the National Impact Challenge Bold Innovations for Living Pitch Competition for a chance at $25,000 in funding from SE Health and Age-Well, with the support of their mentor, Jocelyn Rempel, and the Institute’s LaunchPad program.

“COVID-19 ended my high school pre-engineering classes, crushing my Mark Rober-inspired DIY gadget creation dreams, or so I thought.

Through the experiment-proof budget, community of mentors, and motivating stipend, this university program was transformative in providing the resources needed to direct my passion and skills toward tackling the larger issues society faces today. I’m excited to continue to build my innovation skills by spending part of my stipend on a 3D printer, something I wouldn’t have been able to afford before the challenge.” – Triumph Aramunde

Team Aging Alle is an AI-enabled device focused on increasing socialization for older adults through personalized reminders and medical alerts delivered by friends and family. Alle offers an interactive dashboard, conversations with continuity through a ChatGPT-enabled AI

Team Aging

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3.2.4 OnBoard Weekend OnBoard Weekend lifted off this May for the first time.

This multi-day entrepreneurial weekend gave students the opportunity to develop a business idea in a fast-paced and fun environment.

“This weekend was such a fun and rewarding experience.

I loved thinking about an idea, and then actually going to talk to customers and developing a simple prototype.” OnBoard Weekend Participant

14 students in cross-disciplinary teams tackled business problems in waste management, consumer technology, navigation, and more. The majority of participating students indicated they intend to engage in either the Innovation Sprint for more experience in innovation or LaunchPad Lab to further their idea.

Throughout the weekend, students learned the value of customer discovery, prototyping, design thinking, and developing an effective business model. Students vied for a share of $1000 in cash prizes to continue to explore their idea, with judges including Shanika Abeysinghe from Platform Calgary. Top prize went to James Yahya, Kirstyn Valentine, and Noah Redecopp.

OnBoard Weekend - 2023

3.2.5 European Innovation Academy During the summer months, we were delighted to send 14 students to participate in the esteemed European Innovation Academy (EIA) held in Porto, Portugal. EIA is a world-class 3-week study abroad accelerator program that provides students with a dynamic, hands-on learning experience. Working in cross-functional teams with fellow students from around the world, participants collaborated to create innovative business solutions.

Throughout the program, students honed their entrepreneurial skills and developed a comprehensive toolkit for launching a successful business. With access to over 50 mentors and speakers from the tech industry’s most prominent organizations and a diverse student body of over 600 participants, the EIA program provided invaluable insights into what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur in today’s ever-changing business landscape.

Students embarked on an intensive journey, daily immersing themselves in diverse topics: from customer discovery and prototyping to designing marketing campaigns and securing startup funding. Many dedicated over 10 hours daily to their ventures, driven by their passion. A remarkable challenge awaited them: garner 300 distinct sign-ups to earn the coveted chance to present their business concepts before a panel of distinguished judges on the main stage.

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continued from previous....

• Caitlin McCarthy – Distinguished as a member of the Top Team

We are proud to recognize the 14 students who took on the challenging program and a big congratulations to the students who took home a winning prize:

• Bianca Veltri • Bidzina Mosiashvili • Bronwyn Williams • Calem Davis • Chuks Imegwu • Dan Roman • David Baker • Ewa Sudyk • Jack Barnett-Ritcey • Kyle Lazurko • Sara Sail

• James Yahya – Proud recipient of the Ed Quinones Spark Award • Kirstyn Valentine – Proud recipient of the Ed Quinones Spark Award

3.2.6 Community Events Community is one of the most important components of the Institute Student Programs, allowing students to connect with other like-minded students, members of Calgary’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, alumni, and mentors. This year, the Institute hosted 298 community members at 24 events, including specialized workshops, monthly meetups, community showcases, and even a session of Rainforest Alberta.

that students may have ahead of them.

Monthly Meetups are a fantastic opportunity for students to network with each other and others in our community. Launch Party was a catalyst for many students to get more involved in the startup space in Calgary and to connect with community members to amplify their network.

Community Meetups Our Community Meetups provide an opportunity for like-minded students and alumni to network, exchange ideas, and offer support to one another. For aspiring entrepreneurs and those with an interest in innovation, building a network represents the first and most critical step. Our Meetups enable students to be part of a larger community, providing an avenue for continued growth and development.

In November 2022, we brought 50 students to Platform Calgary’s Launch Party. This pivotal event during Innovation Week drew over 1000 attendees and highlighted some of Calgary’s most promising startups. Alumni Stefan Radeta won the top prize for his startup Caret, providing an exceptional example of the future

RISE Community Event - 2023

Rise Rise is a female-identifying and genderdiverse community dedicated to supporting and empowering student and recent graduate innovators and entrepreneurs to make bigger and bolder decisions in their careers and lives. This community provides a space for women and femmes to share their experiences, challenges, and successes while collaborating with like-minded, driven, and ambitious individuals.

Members can gain valuable skills and knowledge through workshops, guest speakers, and networking events to help them grow their entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial skillsets.

Thank you to all of the fantastic community mentors, speakers, and supports of Rise this year, including Jennifer MacDonald, Program Manager, Founder Success at Platform Calgary, Shanika Abeysinghe, Startup Advisor at Platform Calgary, Jamila Kanji, Community Manager at The 51, Erin Creegan-Dougherty, founder of Maskwa BackCountry Foods, Kaila Hoar, Managing Partner at Grid Group, Karly Jacobsen, Co-Founder and Vice President Client Experience at Ryvita Energy Tea, Dr. Amanda Williams, Assistant Professor at Mount Royal University, Lena Soots, Director of the Trico Changemaker Studio, Alessandra Amato, Co-Founder and CEO of Algi Foods, and Ifeoma Idoko, Software Developer at OneVest.

“Rise has helped me with my career and personal journey by building a supportive community that has helped me build up experiences and the confidence to be my own advocate.”

- Jessica Lee, Computer Information Systems Student “I had the opportunity to speak at one of the first Rise events, and it was fantastic. The support that Tianna and Diana are providing to female-identifying students is truly inspiring and I can’t wait to see how this community grows.”- Jamila Kanji, Speaker

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3.3 Funders

The Institute receives no base funding from Mount Royal University and therefore relies on the generosity of donors in order to have a transformational impact on students and the community. In addition to a foundational endowment provided by David and Leslie Bissett, the Institute is grateful for the ongoing commitment of the following community leaders.

Cathy & Bruce Williams Following a 2011 foundational donation of $1.1M, in 2021 the RBC Foundation committed a further $525,000 over 3 years to support student innovation and entrepreneurship programming.

After 10 years of support, in 2021 JMH extended their commitment for a further 5 years, ensuring an additional $300,000 will be provided to students participating in the LaunchPad program.

The Williams have committed $300,000 to establish the Cathy and Bruce Williams Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund which will provide paid work-integrated learning experiences to MRU students as well as promote the thought leadership of MRU in the community.

connectFirst has committed $75,000 over 3 years to fund the connectFirst Student Entrepreneur program and the connectFirst Social Impact Award.

Alberta Innovates committed $25,000 through the Strategic Networking and Development Grant in support of the HealthTech Challenge, a crossdisciplinary paid work-integrated learning experience in hardware innovation

The John Dobson Foundation committed $5,000 in support of the HealthTech Challenge,

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Impact

15 61 651 3 9 55 $1 3 7 , 5 3 1

Companies Engaged

Community Members Engaged

Students Engaged

Hours of personalized mentoring In paid work integrated learning experiences

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4. Research Programs From the Director Growth Compass is the Institute’s strategic scholarship initiative that delivers evidence-based insights and intelligence on business growth and scaling. Growth Compass has two verticals, a Community that opens up and amplifies the exchange of evidence on business growth and scaling, and a Lab that designs, delivers, and evaluates learning programs that catalyze business growth and scaling.

This year has been our most active year yet at Growth Compass, as we charted a course in a post-pandemic world. COVID continues to provide an important context to examine the response that leaders and organizations fashion to crisis events. Crises can offer leaders a platform to drive change and innovate in their business models, influencing their growth intentions and outcomes.

The outcomes we achieve at Growth Compass would not be possible without the generous and expert contributions of our staff and fellows. In this period we welcomed Dr. Hadi Fariborzi as Research Director and Dr. Toktam Salari as a post-doctoral fellow. We were also delighted to provide Muhammad Fayaz Khan with support on his entrepreneurial ecosystem study and to renew and extend our collaborations with our expanding community of research fellows.

Dr. Simon Raby, Director

4.1 Research Projects SME Growth Meta-Analysis Collaborators: Dr. Hadi Fariborzi, Dr. Simon Raby, Dr. Toktam Salari Growth Compass is deploying HubMeta [HubMeta.com] to manage a collaborative meta-analysis on the variables predictive of growth in Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This work seeks to update and extend a prior meta analysis conducted 10 years ago by Jonathan Levie and Erkk Autio titled ‘Growth and growth intentions: a metaanalysis of existing evidence’. The project is being managed by Growth Compass’ post doctoral fellow, Dr. Toktam Salari.

SME Growth National Study Collaborators: BDC, Professor Jonathan Levie, Professor Reza Chowdhury Growth Compass partnered with the BDC ViewPoints panel to deliver the Growth Compass Survey - a national study on the drivers of SME growth and the impact of COVID. The survey received responses from 530 entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Study Collaborators: Muhammad Fayaz Khan Entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) are viewed as the source of economic growth, revitalization, and means of creating jobs, attracting human talent from other regions and bringing innovation into a community. Research on EE has increased in recent years and further work is required to understand the developmental drivers of EE. This study will collect data from business leaders and owners in two major regions of Alberta surrounding Calgary and Edmonton.

Ethics approval has been obtained and the survey instrument has been designed. The survey will be in the field in summer 2023.

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Staff Spotlight

Dr. Hadi Fariborzi, Research Director In August 2022, Hadi Fariborzi joined Growth Compass as Research Director.

Hadi is an Assistant Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Bissett School of Business. He instructs courses in innovation, entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurship, and the significance of technology in modern entrepreneurship. He also directs the HubMeta lab at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.

Hadi is an active researcher in the fields of entrepreneurship and international business. He delivers meta-analysis and systematic review workshops, and manages a myriad of international research projects. His research interests include the meta-analysis method, international entrepreneurship, new ventures, and SME growth and survival.

Dr. Toktam Salari, Postdoctoral Research Fellow In January 2023, Dr. Toktam Salari joined Growth Compass from York University, Ontario. An accomplished professional with a Doctor of Philosophy degree and extensive experience in academia and industry, Dr. Salari holds a statistical and management background. Her recent publication in Tourism and hospitality research explores the survival and recovery strategies of Iranian tourist accommodation businesses during the COVID pandemic.

Muhammad Fayaz Khan, Visiting Researcher Muhammad Fayaz Khan is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Molise, Italy and a visiting scholar at the Institute for Developmental Strategies, Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bloomington, U.S. As a visiting researcher at Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University his research focuses on examining entrepreneurial ecosystems and university and industry linkages. His recent publication “Innovation ecosystems: a comparison between university spin-off firms and innovative start-ups: Evidence from Italy” is available to download here.

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4.2 Research Papers, Publications, Conference Abstracts, & Presentations Research Papers In 2023, Growth Compass directly published six articles, delivered three conference presentations and received six invited speaker presentations. Details are as follows:

Journal Publications •

Raby, S., Hart, M. and Harney, B. (2022) “In Search of the Next Growth Episode: How Firms Catalyse and Sustain Periods of High Growth”. International Small Business Journal, 40(6): 671-683.

•

Harney, B., Gilman, M.W., Mayson, S. and Raby, S.O. (2022) “Advancing Understanding of HRM in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): Critical Questions and Future Prospects”. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(16): 3175-3196.

•

Sinha, K., Saunders, C. and Raby, S.O. (2022) “Cooling off innovation hotspots: smaller businesses need to look wide and deep”, Journal of Business Strategy, ISSN: 0275-6668.

•

Levallet, N., Finch, D.J., McCaffery, T. Espinoza, A. and Raby, S.O. (2023) “A Dynamic management capabilities view of small to medium-sized enterprise export readiness: a Canadian perspective” International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 48(4): 359-388.

From left to right: Gord Gillies (TV News Anchor), Rob Fooks (Partner, McLeod Law LLP), Professor Simon Raby (MRU)

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Research Spotlight The impact of digitalization on the innovation performance of SMEs A paper using Growth Compass data on Alberta SMEs has received an impressive reception from the academic community. “The duality of digital and environmental orientations in the context of SMEs: Implications for innovation performance” published in the Journal of Business Research in Fall 2021 has already received 112 citations. The paper was delivered in collaboration with Lorenzo Ardito, Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Bari, Italy. As a Growth Compass research fellow, Dr. Ardito’s main research interests lie at the intersection of innovation management, digital transformation, and corporate sustainability.

Specialist Publications •

Dr. Raby led the Phase-1 report for Alberta Innovates Scale-up & Growth Wayfinding project, “Nascence Find Your Future Phase 1 Report”, Sept 1.

•

Dr. Raby led the first report from the Business Innovation and Growth study with McLeod Law LLP titled “Thriving in the Age of Digital Transformation: Digital Technology Strategies for Entrepreneurial Ventures”.

Conference Abstracts & Presentations •

Khan, M. F. and Raby, S.O. (2022) “Examining the Drivers of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development” presented at INNODAYS 2022 Casablanca, November 6, 2022.

•

Raby, S.O. and Chowdhury R. (2023) “Small, yet mighty: Examining the performance effects of financial actions” abstract accepted to the Entrepreneurial Finance in an Extended Period of Crisis stream at the 4th International Conference on Digital, Innovation, Financing and Entrepreneurship, Montreal, Canada, July 3-4, 2023.

•

Dr. Raby collaborated on a Professional Development Workshop (PDW) proposal titled “The Next Steps in Growing Entrepreneurial Communities, The 4 P’s of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Publishing, Policy, Performance/Metrics, and People”, accepted to the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, US, August 4-8, 2023.

6 17 8 50

Impact Publications Faculty Engaged Community Engaged 23

Faculty Collaborations

Jim Dewald Tom McCaffery Jonanthan Levie

Mark Hart Muhammad Fayaz Khan

Hadi Fariborzi

Mark Gilman Amanda Espinoza

Reza Chowdhury

Nadège Levallet David Finch

Chad Saunders

Kanhaiya Sinha Lorenzo Ardito Toktam Salari

Brian Harney

Susan Mayson

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5. Scale-Up & Growth Programs From the Director The Institute’s Scale-up and Growth Programs group have had a busy but incredible first year. Armed with programming grants of $1.4M from each of PrairiesCan and Alberta Innovates, as well as a $500,000 donation from TD Ready Commitment, we have built an amazing team that has accomplished so much and have quickly become a critical part of the Alberta scale-up ecosystem.

We have launched our flagship Growth Catalyst program impacting 34 companies and 122 leaders, putting us a third of the way to our goal of 105 companies province wide. Please read more about the diversity of these companies inside this brief. We have increased MRU’s thought leadership reputation with the Growth and Resiliency Speaker Series attracting 1800 members of the community. And we have provided 93 students with a meaningful work integrated learning experience. It also took a village of support to make all this possible, with over 70 others leaning in as instructors, advisors and volunteers for program delivery between Calgary, Edmonton and online.

We have also attracted additional funding to expand our impact across the province. A $350,000 Edmonton Global grant enables us to launch a provincial-first Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator that will see up to 50 companies explore innovations in the hydrogen economy. A $50,000 grant from the Calgary Innovation Coalition will ensure graduates of our Growth Catalyst program have access to the expertise they require to execute on their growth plans.

Our group is driven to have a measurable impact on the province’s small and medium businesses. These companies are the backbone of our economy and we are proudly doing our part to ensure we continue to have a prosperous and flourishing Alberta.

Pete Fenwick, Director

5.1 Growth Catalyst The Growth Catalyst program, the flagship scale-up program from the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University, works with established Alberta Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) who have ambitions to become world leading and scale their impact.

The program is designed to address the current scale-up gap in Alberta. It is a seven module program delivered over seven months to inspire leadership teams to reimagine and rediscover their company goals and help teams achieve new growth. Think corporate entrepreneurship, strategy design, and execution planning; along with solid leadership development to guide velocity of decision making.

Built from evidence-based methodologies and tools, including research from the Institute's Growth Compass, Growth Catalyst enables SMEs to catalyze new and potentially exponential episodes of growth.

Growth Catalyst is for ambitious yet humble leaders. With peer based adult learning it’s important to be able to share, and to listen. The program recruits cross-functional teams of 3-6 leaders from each participating company, known as Strategic Growth Teams (SGTs), who embark on an intense cohort-based integrative experience as part of a cohort of up to 15 SMEs. That’s up to 60 people per cohort. Together they reimagine, rediscover and realize big strategic growth opportunities. Teams build trust by doing things together (like corporate strategy development and planning). By combining teams from across various industries and sectors a safe space for talent development has been created.

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Company Stories The fourth cohort will be based out of Red Deer and is in partnership with the Red Deer & Area Chamber of Commerce and Red Deer Polytechnic, focusing on Central AB growth.

Growth Catalyst is now the only Alberta accelerator that is: team based (not just CEO), targets SMEs (not start-ups), and is based out of multiple municipal regions.

Speaking of growth as a team sport, it took a huge village of contractors, ecosystem players and friends of MRU to be able to execute and support these SMEs, including: 9 instructors; 31 Advisors; over 12 panelists who provided feedback via three demo days where SMEs sought feedback on their courageous and ambitious top three growth opportunities.

Cohort

Location

Dates

Companies

Leaders

1

Calgary

Sep 22 - Apr 23, 2021

13

44

2

Calgary

Jan 23 - Jul 23, 2023

15

51

3

Edmonton

May 23 - Dec 23, 2022

6

27

Complete or in progress

34

122

4

Red Deer

Sep 23 - Apr 24, 2023

Recruiting

5

Calgary

Jan 24 - Jul 24, 2024

Recruiting

6

Edmonton

May 24 - Dec 24, 2024

Recruiting

7

Calgary

Sep 24 - Mar 25, 2024

Recruiting

Target Total

105

315

With 34 companies and 122 business leaders going through the program in the last 12 months, there has been incredible impact and growth. A great deal of user generated content can be found on LinkedIn and in Growth Catalyst newsletters.

Picture Perfect Cleaning (PPC) underwent a transformative journey in the Growth Catalyst program, gaining fresh insights on innovation and longterm planning. The program helped shift their team’s mindset from day-today operations to working strategically ‘on’ the business. PPC discovered new opportunities to expand services, redefine roles, and refine their business plan. Prior to the program they had not thought of growth via acquisition; now they are executing on that as one prong of a multi-pronged strategy.

Owner Tara Proskiw revolutionized Towne & Countree Kitchens through the Growth Catalyst program, overcoming her imposter syndrome and easing the transition for hesitant employees with a change management plan. The program led to improved leadership, collaboration within the team, and strategic initiatives, such as expanding into rural markets.

Diesel Tech Industries joined the program with their groundbreaking retrofit engine, which combines hydrogen and diesel to reduce emissions by 50%. They recognized the potential for significant growth but were uncertain about a path forward. The Growth Catalyst program encouraged them to think outside the box and consider strategic partnerships. As a result, they successfully secured two additional partnerships, accelerating their growth significantly.

A deliberate effort has been made to ensure diversity is represented. From Cohort 1 to Cohort 2, there was a 16% increase in women’s participation.

Additionally, there was an increase in the number of women owned businesses, with 7 out of 15 companies having a woman at the helm or as a co-owner.

In order to properly evaluate the economic impact of the program, two primary company-level metrics will be monitored over a 2 year period: revenue and job creation.

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Launc! Map

Pulling 34 companies and 122 leaders close to MRU has a profound impact on students.

93 students benefited in the following unique ways: • 84 students had an in-class work integrated learning experience • 5 students had meaningful paid internships with the Growth Catalyst program team • 4 students had meaningful paid internships with the participating companies

Student Impact Under the leadership of Academic Director Simon Raby, Growth Catalyst partnered with the Bissett School of Business to work with specific courses on an in-class client project where students were challenged to apply the learnings of the course to a Growth Catalyst company. 84 students engaged across four BBA classes:

Course

Professor

MKTG 3558: Navigating Marketing Trends

Julie Gathercole

ENTR 4344: Corporate Innovation

Dr. Simon Raby

MKTG 4850: Professional Brand Studio

Dr. AnneMarie Dorland

FNCE 4405: Entrepreneurial Finance

Dr. Reza Chowdhury

• $34,752 in paid student internships “Anne Marie Dorland's Professional Brand Studio course was a transformative experience where I applied my marketing skills to reimagine the brand identity of our Growth Catalyst client, Paradis Valley Honey. This project reinforced theoretical concepts, equipped me with practical skills, and bridged my education with professional practice.” - Kassidy Gerhardi MRU Student “Enrolling in Entrepreneurship Finance 4405 helped me catalyze my understanding about finance for entrepreneurs. I gained valuable insights about the various sources of capital and how to strategically apply them to fuel organizational growth. The course equipped me with the essential skills to manage finances for businesses facing cash flow challenges, but also taught me how to identify weak areas that need improvement. After the student project, I applied for the Business Growth Internship from the Growth Catalyst Program and I got selected to work with Picture Perfect Cleaning.

This allowed me to apply my knowledge to help them improve their profit margin by making a cost analysis on their consumables and negotiating a better price. Now, I feel more confident in tackling financial challenges and making an impact on any business’s success.” Gurjeet Pannu, Mount Royal University Student

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Following the delivery of their student project, students were nominated by their professors for a Business Growth Internship Project. Students applied to work with Growth Catalyst Companies to support in the execution of their Growth Strategy. This resulted in the following paid internship experiences: • • • •

Towne & Countree Kitchens - John Longay: built a proposal template for the company.

Paradis Valley Honey - Anissa Lim: supported in creating a subscription program for their products, including all marketing materials and collaterals Picture Perfect Cleaning - Gurjeet Pannu: conducted client surveys and price research to developed a streamlined supply ordering system Jenik Services - Iris Le: helped create an Operational Manual with Standard Operating Procedures for all areas of the company; and mapping the end-to-end value chain process of the organization to identify where they add value to clients and opportunities for improvement.

A similar approach will be offered to the Edmonton cohort with a post-secondary yet to be announced. Red Deer Polytechnic is excited to mirror student programming for the Central AB cohort.

Learnings from the Program “I entered Growth Catalyst with apprehension, expecting it to be another program that is long on theory but impractical. What I found was refreshingly the opposite - an intense initiative that is truly about growing your business” - Charles Buchanan CEO | Technology Help

Through delivery of three cohorts in the past 12 months, there has been valuable insights into the value being delivered to companies aiming to scale up: • • • • • •

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Data-driven insights and market intelligence have empowered companies to make informed decisions and maximize their growth potential.

Collaboration and cross-functional teamwork have emerged as an essential driver for growth.

Companies going through leadership transition are coming to the program and gaining value through better team alignment, communication and leadership development.

Companies have embraced agility and adaptability, understanding the importance of iteratively refining their growth strategies to keep pace with evolving market dynamics.

Companies have experienced the profound impact of understanding their target customers and adopting a customer-centric approach to effectively meet their needs.

Building strong networks and strategic partnerships has become a cornerstone of company growth strategies, providing access to markets and resources.

Student Profile: Jack Barnett-Ritcey, MRU Student & Growth Catalyst Program Coordinator Mount Royal University has been a catalyst for my personal and professional growth, providing transformative experiential learning opportunities that have reshaped my skill set and my business understanding.

Under Dr. Simon Raby’s guidance, I delved into the world of Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, pushing the boundaries of my own mindset. Through this course, I collaborated in a student project with Picture Perfect Cleaning (PPC), one of the Growth Catalyst companies. This experience exposed me to real-world challenges, like cultivating innovation and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in a corporate environment. This ignited my passion for delving deeper into the strategies and frameworks of corporate innovation to come up with a plan for PPC. In addition, I’ve been supporting the Growth Catalyst Program as a Program Coordinator. This involvement has been truly a transformative journey, providing me with opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of businesses in Alberta, while also helping me grow professionally bridging the gap between my academic education and professional skills. From implementing a Learning Management System and how to identify business requirements, to helping me improve my organizational and communication skills.

I’m grateful to Mount Royal University and the Growth Catalyst Program team for empowering me with these gamechanging opportunities. They have not only supported me to become a more thorough professional but also fueled my determination to make a lasting impact in the world.

Companies Aiming to Scale Up Through Growth Catalyst

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5.2 Growth & Resiliency Speakers Series The Growth Catalyst Growth & Resiliency Speaker Series explores the latest practices that help Canadian business leaders scale up their businesses. Over a series of interactions, starting last fall, the Seven Scaling Strategies © were explored in detail.

The Speaker Series is delivered in three formats: 1. Scaling up CEOs’: an interview with a successful CEO, exploring their scaling up story and lessons learned; 2. Scaling up experts: individuals who have ‘written the book’ on a topic central to business growth and scaling up; 3. Scaling up Evidence: panel discussions exploring the latest intelligence released by Growth Compass or its partners.

Each of the sessions include an associated blog and a recording. These assets are used by the Growth Catalyst team to promote the program and build a directory of resources.

Since Fall 2022, the following sessions have been offered:

Scaling up CEO Stories •

Senator Scott Tannas: explored scaling strategies, scaling barriers and scaling execution to help companies understand what’s needed to grow.

•

Christine Buhr: offered insights into the importance of delivering to your ideal customer, the rookie pitfalls to avoid and recognizing the need to pivot the business model when you need to scale.

•

Evan Hu: For Cohort 1 graduation, Evan Hu, a renowned business leader in Alberta shared his profound insights, his remarkable journey as a leader, and enlightened us with his powerful business philosophy. In recognition of his exceptional contributions in business and for the community, Evan was awarded with the prestigious Honorary Growth Catalyst award.

•

Mary Tidlund (Scheduled): a successful business leader, board member, nonprofit consultant, international philanthropist and recently awarded the Order of Canada, Mary will discuss her book Memoirs of a Wildcat and share her business strategies and the successes and challenges she had in her business journey. Mary is also the keynote speaker for Cohort Two ceremonies and will become the second Honorary Growth Catalyst.

Scaling up Experts

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•

Christian Busch on The Serendipity Mindset: a deep dive into learning how all of us can cultivate serendipity and turn uncertainty into opportunity, joy, and sustained success.

•

Nick Thompson: as a seasoned leader, shared the 13 most common pitfalls experienced by business owners.

•

Verne Harnish (scheduled): World-leading expert, speaker, author, and entrepreneur in the field of business growth will be speaking on his latest book on Compensation & Value Based Pricing for Scaleups.

•

Michael Leiter (scheduled): Organizational psychologist and consultant will be speaking on his latest book The Burnout Challenge, which identifies key causes of workplace burnout and reveals what people can do about it.

Scaling up Evidence •

Digital Transformation: Explored the latest digital technology strategies for entrepreneurial ventures. This topic is underpinned by a key Alberta study put together by Growth Compass and McLeod Law.

•

Game Changers - How to Transform Your Market Position: Explored getting too focused on the competition vs considering alternatives. How else can the problem be solved? How did you change the game?

•

Brand and Marketing Positioning: Concise and actionable advice on how to stand out from the competition and connect with target audiences. Participants gained valuable insights and strategies on how to effectively position their brands in the market.

•

Grant Capital for Growth: Exposed valuable opportunities and grant programs for scaleups in Alberta, providing practical advice on navigating the grant landscape and maximizing their chances of success.

•

Financing for Growth: Demystified external financing to gain a deeper understanding of the various options of funding available and how to leverage them effectively.

The above webinars attracted more than 1800 registrants eager to learn about leading business practices.

It’s been a privilege to be in the program! It has been an extremely thought provoking and transformative experience!”

- Tara Poskiw Principal | Towne & Countree Kitchens “The brilliant thing about Growth Catalyst is that you can actually apply what you are learning in the course immediately into your business. So it’s an incredibly efficient way to learn and to combine both academics and business” - Jared Sarbit CEO | Picture Perfect Cleaning

Growth Catalyst

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5.3 Growth Catalyst - Experts on Demand

Companies that participate in the core Growth Catalyst program are thirsty for more support and they execute their growth strategies, The Growth Catalyst Experts on Demand program is one of many extension programs that will support these ambitious leaders. This program aims to further amplify and accelerate the growth of technology and service-based ventures by providing targeted assistance where it is needed most.

The Institute was recently awarded $50,000 by the Calgary Innovation Coalition’s Coalition Support for Calgary Entrepreneurs (CSCE) fund to implement this program and support up to 33 companies.

The objectives of Growth Catalyst Experts on Demand are as follows:

1. To provide resources and support to Alberta ventures to help them accelerate their growth and achieve their ambitious growth objectives.

2. To create a network of local experienced venture leaders who can offer targeted guidance, mentorship, and support to ventures before, during and post graduation of Growth Catalyst in order to remove barriers to growth.

3. To foster collaboration and networking between high growth potential ventures and local leaders, and to promote a culture of scaling-up innovation and entrepreneurship across the greater Calgary region.

5.4 Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator Since 2017, Growth Compass has acted as a lab for new evidence-based programming that has enabled new commercial programs like the Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator to be launched. This program has benefited from prior Growth Compass Lab programs such as 3 iterations of the Innovation Accelerator and a specialty program, Hydrogen Dual Fuel Cell for Locomotive, awarded by the Alberta Ministry of Economic Development & Trade in 2019.

Hydrogen is forecasted to be a $12 trillion-dollar market in the next few decades. With the establishment of the Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub, Alberta is poised to be a leader in production, transportation, and hydrogen usage.

Early in 2023, the Institute received $350,000 in new grant funding from Edmonton Global and Prairies Canada to bring the Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator (HIA) program to up to 50 Alberta businesses. The program will help companies build and scale the creation of new products and services that can leverage and support the adoption of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

With the Hydrogen Innovation Accelerator, SME leaders will learn how to capture new value and revenue streams.

Each company will develop and test a new product and/or service concept by the end of the program delivery window.

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5.5 Funders Growth Catalyst is funded through Prairies Economic Development Canada, Alberta Innovates - Ecosystem Development Programming Fund, and TD Ready Commitment. Their belief in the vision and commitment to fostering growth and innovation has been instrumental to the program’s success.

Establishing MRU as a thought leader through the speakers series was made possible by the vision and contribution of Cathy and Bruce Williams.

Cathy & Bruce Williams

Impact

34 93 1,961 $40, 739 $400,000

Companies Engaged Students Engaged Hours of community engagement Paid working integrated learning opportunities

In new funding raised

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6. Team Ray DePaul, Executive Director

Ray is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University in Calgary, where he supports the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Ray is a veteran of the Waterloo, Canada technology sector and has launched many innovative products in his 30-year career. He has been a successful entrepreneur, selling his company to Intel, and was also a key member of the team that brought the iconic BlackBerry to the world.

He is a member of the prestigious A100 and serves on the board of directors of Attabotics, Platform Calgary, and the Trico Group and is an advisor and mentor to dozens of entrepreneurs. Ray holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Ray was named as one of three finalists for the national BDC Mentorship Award and was the recipient of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year Award.

Tracy Pfeifer - Executive Assistant

Student Programs Diana Grant-Richmond, Associate Director Diana is a graduate of Mount Royal’s General Management program (2017), a former founder, LaunchPad alumna, and an experienced mentor. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, volunteering, social innovation, technology, and supporting female-identifying innovators and entrepreneurs, particularly in creative disciplines. Diana brings 14 years of experience in entrepreneurship, finance, and energy to her role

Devon Hawkins - Entrepreneur Development Officer Erin Creegan-Dougherty - Entrepreneur Development Officer Tianna Going - Entrepreneur Development Officer

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Student Contributors in Student Programs • • • • • • • • • •

Aiden Pasychny Alex Brody Angel Castillo Calem Davis Crystal Wai Dawson Bainbridge Nickozs Labitoria Nouha Ezzine Michaela Slater Mitch Wilson

Research Programs Dr. Simon Raby, Associate Director, Director Growth Compass, Academic Director, Growth Catalyst Simon is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University in Calgary, known for his exceptional contributions to the field of innovation, business growth and scaling. He is the Founder of Growth Compass, a cuttingedge center of excellence that conducts research on business growth and scale-up challenges.

As the Academic Director for Growth Catalyst, Simon leads an executive education program that helps CEOs and senior leadership teams develop and execute innovative growth strategies. Simon is also an accomplished author, widely recognized for his popular works on the drivers of scaling up, innovation and growth. He expertly distills the latest evidence into best practice guides for leaders, making his work internationally renowned for its quality and innovation.

Simon holds both a master’s and a doctorate degree, which he earned while working full-time to help companies scale up. Additionally, he is a qualified coach and facilitator, bringing an added dimension of expertise to his work with businesses and leaders.

Scale-up and Growth Programs Pete Fenwick, Director, Scaleup and Growth Programs Pete is Director of Scale-Up and Growth Programs where he and his team support established leaders of small to medium-sized businesses who ambitiously seek to take their company to the next level of performance. Previously, Pete ran corporate planning for GE Healthcare Canada and the innovation portfolio of Alberta Health Services. Pete is a known innovative mind and influencer in the Canadian health sector with a unique view on strategy given his experiences inside technology firms, health service delivery providers, the center of government, and private insurance.

Student Contributors in Scale-up and Growth Programs • • •

Bronwyn Williams Caitlin McCarthy Kassidy Gerhardi

He currently serves on the Board of Imagine Citizens Network, and the advisory boards of Wosler Diagnostics and My Normative (a data science and women’s health company). He was on the founding team of the clinical software firm DEIO which was sold to GE. Pete holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s (Kingston), and an MBA from the joint Kellogg-Schulich program between Northwestern (Chicago) and York (Toronto).

Gabriela Touma, Growth Program Lead Dr. Toktam Salari, Thought Leadership Emily Robitaille, Marketing Lead Emily Baadsvick, Ecosystem Lead Jack Barnett-Ritcey, Logistics Lead 35