GBC Library Learning Commons

The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator

The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator is a unique initiative with the College’s School of Design. Our aim is to nurture and assist recent graduates and digital start-ups from both the College and the community to apply their ideas to real-world businesses, services and innovation.  Each year, they produce Digifest and the IT’S A START Pitch Competition for emerging digital start-ups.

Resources: 

Website

GBC Research & Innovation

George Brown College Research & Innovation helps startups develop product and secure match funding for successful research projects across all academic centres in the college.

Enactus George Brown

Enactus George Brown is opening to any George Brown College Students interested in developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

Entreprenergy Club

Entreprenergy Club is open to George Brown College students looking to collaborate with like-minded students interested in entrepreneurship.

Amazon Web Services

AWS – Amazon Web Services provides startups with the low cost, easy to use infrastructure needed to scale and grow. With the AWS Activate program, startups get access to the resources they need to quickly get started on AWS – including credits, training, and support.

By joining the AWS Activate program through startGBC, you will be eligible for:

• $10,000 in AWS Promotional Credit valid for 2 years
• 1 year of Business Support (up to $1,500)
• Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits

Email the startGBC Team to activate your AWS program at startgbc@georgebrown.ca

City of Toronto Entrepreneurial Funding

City of Toronto funding suggestions that could be available to you to become an entrepreneur or to support the growth of your start-up.

Enterprise Toronto

Enterprise Toronto works with the City of Toronto to provide business planning assistance, sales and marketing support, and links to financing and other small business support programs.

Resources:

Summer Company Program 
This program provides students the opportunity to start their own business. Students from the ages of 15 to 29 will receive hands-on training from successful business people, financial support with awards up to $3,000, and the opportunity to find out if they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Starter Company Plus  
The Starter Company Plus program provides an opportunity for eligible participants to get training, advice and mentoring to help them build a business.

Seminars  
Enterprise Toronto and its partners offer year-round learning opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners, from regularly scheduled seminars to large networking events.

StartUp HERE Toronto

StartUp HERE Toronto celebrates Toronto’s innovation community by sharing local success with the world.

Resources:

StartUp Cafe
The StartUp HERE Toronto Café is focused on helping to easily build relationships between entrepreneurs and drive Toronto’s startup community.  It is a place to connect with peers, funders and investors, subject matter experts and just generally great people who have an interest in growing Toronto’s startup community.

Discover Local Events

Discovery Local Training Sessions

Parkdale Innovation Centre

The Parkdale Centre for Innovation is a Canadian non-profit committed to making entrepreneurial & professional skills accessible through inclusive programs and pathways, with a focus on equity & innovation.

The mandate for the Parkdale Centre for Innovation is to create opportunities that elevate the economic status of families in Parkdale through accessible pathways to decent work. Together we can create windows of opportunity to directly lift the economic status of entire families. The Parkdale Centre’s program curriculums are mixed between in-house programs that provide foundational skills, bridge-opportunities, and the acceleration of advanced professional development.

ACCESS Community Capital Fund

ACCESS Community Capital Fund is a Canadian Registered Charity formed in 1999 to help individuals facing barriers to traditional financing from banks obtain microloans to improve their income through sustainable self employment and employment.

Resources:

Loans for business  
ACCESS Community Capital Fund helps people facing financial barriers get low-interest loans up to $5,000 for business.

Cash Flow Template  
A simple Excel template to help you present your forecasted cash inflows and outflows. Be sure to clearly list your assumptions as notes or in a separate document.

Loan Calculator  
Use this loan calculator to estimate what your monthly loan payments may be with an ACCESS loan. Payments begin one month following the disbursement of your loan.

Rise Asset Development

Rise Asset Development, with the support of the Rotman School of Management and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), provides microfinancing and mentorship to entrepreneurs living with mental illness and addictions.

Resources:

Small Business Lending  
The Rise Individual Lending Program provides access to low interest business loans to launch or grow your small business.

Youth Small Business Program  
The Youth Small Business Program is designed for individuals aged 16 to 29 who self identify as having experienced a mental health or addiction challenge (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress, anorexia, ADHD, autism spectrum, addiction, or similar challenges).

Event Lending 
Event Lending provides loans up to $2,500 to be used by an entrepreneur to pay vendor admissions, purchase inventory, and cover marketing costs in order to sell/showcase their product or service at an event.

Futurpreneur Canada

Futurpreneur Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to growing our economy one entrepreneur at a time. They are the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39.

Resources:

Connect with an advisor

Futurpreneur Library 

Entrepreneurship Pathway content  
From developing your idea through to launching your business, you’ll find resources for every step in your journey – organized into four key stages in a start-up’s life-cycle.

BDC

BDC helps create and develop strong Canadian businesses through financing, advisory services and capital, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Resources:

Marketing plan template  
From establishing a strong brand to understanding your ideal customer and creating a compelling buying experience, this marketing plan template will give your company the best chance of success in today’s competitive marketplace.

On-boarding Template  
Follow this comprehensive checklist to quickly get your new employee up to speed and ready to make their best contribution.

Chartered Professionals Accountants Canada

Chartered Professionals Accountants Canada is the national organization established to support unification of the Canadian accounting profession under the Chartered Professional Accountant Canada.

Resources:

Business and Accounting Aid   
CPA’s extensive resources cover everything from sustainability and corporate reporting to standards and audit issues. Find updates, guides, case studies, toolkits and more.

QuickBooks

George Brown College students can access Quickbooks free of charge.  PLEASE CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE and HERE TO REGISTER.  A user of startGBC can obtain a 70% discount on QuickBooks cloud software for 3-months.  PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ACCESS 70% DISCOUNT

Sapling Financial

Sapling Financial Consultants is a boutique consultancy specializing in financial modelling services for small and mid-sized businesses.  Whether you’re a business owner or public company executive, we empower you to make financial decisions with clarity and confidence through the use of professional financial models tailored to your business.

Pro Bono Ontario

Pro Bono Ontario develops and manages high-quality programs that connect volunteer lawyers with Ontarians who can’t afford a lawyer.  Pro Bono Ontario also helps build communities by supporting start-ups, artists, social service organizations and social entrepreneurs with the legal issues that come with running a small business in Ontario.

Resources:

Free Legal Advice Hotline  
No matter what kind of creator you are – business person, artist, social entrepreneur, you name it — there are many legal issues you’ll need to consider. Pro Bono Ontario operates a free advice service and legal clinic that may be able to help.

Bereskin & Parr

Bereskin & Parr is a “stand-out IP boutique” firm that conducts “much of the highest-quality work that is generated in Canada”.

Oziel Law

A law firm dedicated to helping support startups and entrepreneurs navigate every aspect of their successful formation.  

Green and Spiegel

Green and Spiegel is Canada’s largest and oldest immigration law practice with over 50 years of experience assisting a diverse global clientele. We are headquartered in Toronto, Canada with U.S. offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Providence, Rhode Island and Vail, Colorado. Green and Spiegel offer a full range of Canadian and American immigration services for employers, temporary workers, individuals and their families. Whether you are coming to Canada or the United States, to work, join your family, or seek new opportunities, Green and Spiegel can help. If you are an employer who needs an expert to manage your global mobility needs, Green and Spiegel have the depth and breadth of expertise to provide your business with immigration support to ensure a global mobility program that operates smoothly and efficiently.

DealPrep/Clausehound

Learning how to draft legal documents is complicated. DealPrep has been supporting individuals and organizations for half a decade with its libraries that capture and share legal expertise, their deal training programs, and their tools that automate negotiations.  Speak to startGBC for free access

The Government of Canada

The Government of Canada provides access to services and information for Canadian citizens. This is a dedicated funding portal for startups to check Government of Canada funding opportunities

Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs

Ontario’s portal to support the development of startups and to maximize the collaboration opportunities within the Ontario innovation ecosystem.

Ontario Centers of Excellence

OCE focuses on ensuring the people of Ontario reap the personal and economic benefits of leading-edge research underway at our publicly funded universities, colleges and research hospitals –  research that can be transformed into technologies and services that enhance the quality of life and help build a globally competitive, job-creating economy in Ontario.

Solutions Canada

Innovative Solutions Canada helps Canadian innovators by funding R&D and testing prototypes in real-life settings. Funding of over $140 million dedicated to Canadian innovators who want to start, grow, and get to market.

MaRS Discovery District

MaRS works with an extensive network of partners to help entrepreneurs launch and grow the innovative companies that are building our future. Our vision is bold; our mission is more important than ever before. Early-stage capital can be critical to your venture’s success. MaRS offers a range of products and services to help you find the funding you need to grow your business.

Resources:

MaRs Library 
The MaRS Library contains articles, templates, reports, workbooks, reference guides and videos covering a wide of topics.

Entrepreneurship 101
Entrepreneurship 101 is a five-week, online course that offers a mix of materials for every style of learning, weekly mentorship from expert practitioners, and the tools you need to create your startup all in one place.

MaRs Workshops 
The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshops are a collection of experiential, hands-on workshops facilitated by our veteran entrepreneurs. startGBC students get 50% off ticket prices.

How To Brand Your Company To Investors 
Article

Digital Main Street

Digital Main Street connects main street businesses to the most innovative digital providers. Our team has selected trusted digital product and service providers for you to work with, who are offering the best deals exclusively when you sign-up.

Resources:

DMS Academy  
Main street businesses can access free workshops and training on topics relevant to their learning needs.

DMS Lab 
A virtual retail tech incubator that helps build partnerships between startups and BIAs to pilot new technologies with main street businesses.

DMS Squad
The DMS Squad helps businesses complete their assessments, review recommendations, and activate free and easy to use tools.

JACL Inc.

JACL Inc. is an independent app development and consulting company founded in 2015. It’s dedicated team members have been working together on projects since 2013. JACL Inc. is the brainchild of three native Torontonians who are motivated to create unique worlds, visions, experiences, and the technologies to give them life.

JACL is focused on the creation of an exceptional user experience, and the support to ensure it can continue to function as long as you need it. Our services include:

• App development
• Integration of limited-time event peripherals
• Web development
• User Interface/user experience development
• Full life cycle support
• Multimedia Interactive Development
• On-site technical support for your event
• Client education consultations
• Liasons with 3rd party software
• User data tracking

Resources:

Website

JDC

Support in providing grant writing skills for startups, especially those in the social innovation/enterprise field

Speak On Your Feet

Helping entrepreneurs develop the confidence to network effectively.

Innovator Lab

Innovator Lab offer tools for companies with complex environments, to help them Make Decisions, Prioritize and Innovate.

Press Pillay

Press Pillay is founded and led by journalist-turned-marketing-pro Nesh, the “Robin Hood” of PR. A former journalist who covered international advertising and marketing as a founding reporter of The Drum’s New York team, she later joined Toronto-based EQ Works as their VP of Marketing, where she honed the art of “marketing for the marketer.”

BOOKMARK

The Premier Web Builder For Small Business. Create high-quality sites that reflect the personality of your business, without spending a fortune. No coding or design skills required.

LOZARD GROUP

Lozard Institute was created to allow each entrepreneur to have direct access to the experienced advice of real entrepreneurs, who failed miserably before knowing success an experience that no theory can replace and in addition, access to potential investments

Business in the Streets

The young people in BITS programs come from diverse backgrounds, all with different stories and hardships, our aim is to help them by introducing them to the idea that failure is not the endpoint, but an opportunity to push past the challenges and use failure as a stepping-stone to success. We also help them practically, by providing funding opportunities, mentors and a community that supports them.

Artscape Daniels LAUNCHPAD

At launchpad, the stage is set for your creativity to unfold. Fashionistas, jewellers, furniture makers and multi-disciplinary artists can create using our five creative studios. Musicians, filmmakers, and multi-media artists can produce in our fully equipped digital media lab. Use our coworking spaces to collaborate and hatch ideas. Sign up for our creative entrepreneurship learning programs, workshops, and events. Whatever your vision is, the launchpad can help make it happen.

Remix Project

The Remix Project was created in order to help level the playing field for young people from marginalized and underserved communities. Our programs and services serve youth who are trying to enter into the creative industries or further their formal education. The Remix Project provides a top-notch alternative, creative, educational programs, facilitators and facilities. Our mission is to help refine the raw talents of young people in order to help them find success as participants define it and on their own terms.

Hxouse

A dedicated entrepreneur program for anybody interested in developing a creative arts business.

Lynx Music

Lynx Music is a creative sanctuary in the heart of Toronto, conceived by artists, for artists. Nine brand new, state-of-the-art rehearsal studios – each designed by the sonic experts at Acoustics Engineering and featuring its own distinctive theme – provide comfort, convenience and an optimal atmosphere for musicians of all stripes. When it’s time to record, step into our cutting-edge recording studio to enjoy our 4 dedicated sound rooms and world-class signal chain.

Shopify

Shopify simplifies setting up an online storefront and dealing with the logistics.

TechTO

Meet and Learn from Toronto Tech Founders. TechToronto is the best way to expand your knowledge and network within Toronto’s technology community.​

Best 3 Minutes

Help for entrepreneurs to learn how to make the best pitches. Creators of the Open 3 Close process and Pitch Canvas.

Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Since their founding in 1998, Google has grown by leaps and bounds. 

Google has a dedicated site for startups looking for resources to support learning.

DELL Technologies

Dedicated business team to advise on technology best suited to startups.

Facebook

Helping small businesses grow. Facebook is proud to support 90 million small and medium businesses. Boost with Facebook is a suite of tools and training programs to help small businesses grow and compete in the digital economy.

backlinkfy

backlinkfy is a digital marketing agency providing marketing resources and software tools for startups and small businesses.

Benji

Benji is an online tax solution for self-employed Canadians.  It finds tax write-offs by sifting through your bank transactions. On average, people find $9,387.53 in tax savings per year. No bookkeeper or accountant required!

Start with a free 90-day trial. Plus, all startGBC community members get 20% off their subscription using the following link. https://www.betterwithbenji.com/startgbc

Hootsuite

Hootsuite was created to help people connect on social media and do amazing things together. Hootsuite connects people with the communities they live in. The teams they work with. The brands they love. The customers who believe in them. And the leaders and visionaries who show them the way forward.

Whether you’re a solopreneur, managing a small team or making a bold leap forward to completely transform your social enterprise, Hootsuite is here to help you unlock the power of human connection and make great things happen.

Vertical CPA

Vertical CPA is an accounting and advisory firm. 

Our professionals are former auditors and tax consultants from Big 4 and mid-sized accounting firms with experience assisting clients such as large public corporations, SMEs, Start-Ups, and Not-For-Profits.

Our professionals have worked in financial advisory and capital markets. We have experience in valuations, due diligence, equity raising, debt raising, and financial modeling for large publicly traded companies, owner-managed companies, and start-ups.

Our professionals have worked at large technology companies and startups in finance, sales planning, and analytics. Our team is uniquely positioned to help you with budgeting, forecasting, and business modeling. Whether you’re just getting started, thinking of expanding, or would like to make an acquisition, our professionals can help you with your decision.

ELEVATE BLACK BUSINESS

The Canadian Black Chamber Commerce Business Advisory will serve to elevate entrepreneurs through our Elevate Black Business Project through programming, mentorship, advocacy, promotion, and investment in their training and development. The Black entrepreneurial community has long been disenfranchised by the effects of systemic racism. The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce endeavours through this program and funded by the Government of Canada to “level the playing field” and provide Start-up and established Black entrepreneurs with the supports needed to help their businesses succeed.

This program is for all members of the Black, African & Caribbean Communities. The Elevate Black Business Ecosystem Project will enhance the Black business ecosystem through services, supports, technical assistance, and directions to access capital and needed resources.

Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce