Incubatorfest 2017 ran its fourth instalment and attracted many aspiring entrepreneurs by presenting them with an opportunity to hear a variety of pitches from various businesses in the Ottawa area.
“Incubators are where budding entrepreneurs have an idea, learn to understand the market and product fit, and get to the prototyping stage,” said Rowland Few, the representative from the incubator Lead to Win at Carleton University.
More than half a dozen incubators presented the opportunities available in Ottawa to ambitious moguls who want to accelerate the growth of their business and for those who are interested in evolving their idea into a business.
“In the past, the process was that the entrepreneur would have to search for an incubator by themselves,” said Andrew Foti, the executive-in-residence for Algonquin. “So, we decided it would be better to bring all of these incubators together in one place, and the students can be informed about what each one has to offer.”
Start-up Garage, L-Spark, The Code Factory, Impact Hub Ottawa, and Invest Ottawa were just a few of the businesses who pitched incubator programs to students.
“This is really great for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur, like myself,” Shane Blondin, a first-year business management and entrepreneurship student said. “It helps me to learn more about incubators, and it shows me all of the available resources I can draw from.”
Students were not the only ones in attendance, as there were a few graduates looking for information on starting and expanding their own companies.
“I think it’s great for people like me to be aware of the different companies in the Ottawa area,” said Eric Muellejans, the Vice-President of business development at AIESEC Ottawa. “There needs to be more spotlight on the public sector, especially in the Ottawa area.”