AC JumpStart Application Guidelines

Transcription

1 AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines What is AC JumpStart? AC JumpStart is an innvative incubatin and mentrship prgram, funded by FedDev Ontari, aimed at helping technlgy startups establish and grw their business in Suthern Ontari. The Acceleratr Centre (AC) delivers the prgram in partnership with Cnestga Cllege, University f Waterl, and Wilfrid Laurier University. What is the mandate f AC JumpStart? Prvide new seed funding fr missin critical activities AC JumpStart prvides high-ptential cmpanies with an initial $30,000 in seed funding at a critical and frmative stage f develpment. A select number f University f Waterl AC JumpStart applicants are als eligible t receive matching capital frm the University (eg. tp University f Waterl applicants may receive a ttal f $60,000 in seed funding). Increase availability f mentrship and expertise AC JumpStart participants will receive $10,000 f in-kind services with ur team f in-huse mentrs. Participants f the prgram agree t participate in a minimum f 5 hurs f mentrship with ur in-huse team per mnth. Braden supprts ffered t early-stage cmpanies In additin t the funding, AC JumpStart cmpanies have the pprtunity t benefit frm the capabilities and services ffered by all AC JumpStart partners. Expand the investr, custmer and R&D partner netwrks available t cmpanies Building n a prven mdel and leveraging strng reginal partnerships and delivery capacity, the cllabrative effrts f the AC, Cnestga Cllege, University f Waterl, and Wilfrid Laurier University will significantly increase access t ptential custmers, partners and investr cnnectins. AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 1

2 Why shuld I cnsider AC JumpStart fr my startup? Access t funding and dedicated mentrship at the frmative stage is a significant hurdle fr startups. AC JumpStart addresses bth f these challenges by prviding essential seed funding and access t experts wh can prvide the critical guidance and mentrship geared t helping yung cmpanies realize their business gals. It is a frmula that builds a fundatin fr cmmercial success. AC JumpStart will create a strng business fundatin fr participants and cmpanies that cnsistently innvate, create new prducts, clients, jbs and ecnmic value. Our gal: T help create mre market, custmer and investment-ready firms in many sectrs, enable these cmpanies t achieve rapid tractin and cmmercial impact, and drive their sustainable cntributin t ur reginal ecnmy. Access t Funding The prgram prvides seed funding t supprt eligible*, missin critical activities during the frmative stage f develpment. This investment will be matched in cash by all recipient firms as required by FedDev Ontari. Specifically: The Acceleratr Centre will allcate $30,000 in seed funding fr each AC JumpStart cmpany emerging frm the AC. Cnestga s Centre fr Entrepreneurship will allcate $30,000 in seed funding t each AC JumpStart cmpany emerging frm Cnestga Cllege. University f Waterl will prvide the required $30,000 in matching seed funding t a select number f tp AC JumpStart cmpanies led by University f Waterl graduates wh earned their last Waterl degree (in any discipline) within five years. (ie. ttal funding cmbined wuld be $60,000 cnsisting f $30,000 frm FedDev Ontari and $30,000 frm the university with n cash match required by the applicant). Laurier LaunchPad (Wilfrid Laurier University) will allcate $30,000 in seed funding t each AC JumpStart cmpany led by a student r graduate frm Wilfrid Laurier University, and prvide access t mentrs wh cntribute t the LaunchPad Prgram. *See further eligibility requirements n page 3 AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 2

3 Dedicated Mentrship The AC has develped an internatinally-recgnized mentrship prgram fr startup technlgy businesses and their funders. AC JumpStart recipients will receive $10,000 f in-kind mentrship services fr 12 mnths frm wrld class mentrs in the fllwing disciplines: Sales & Marketing Public Relatins & Cmmunicatin Technlgy and Prduct Develpment Finance Human Resurces, Leadership & Culture Cmpletin f mentrship hurs is a mandatry part f the AC JumpStart prgramming. Participants in the prgram agree t cmplete 5 hurs f mentring with ur in-huse team per mnth. Market Research and Validatin AC JumpStart will prvide cmpanies access t the market research and analysis expertise f the Canadian Innvatin Centre (CIC). Each cmpany will have the pprtunity t receive a CIC Market Validatin Evaluatin Study. The study will examine the prpsed innvatin frm three perspectives technlgy impact, business prpsitin and market dynamics. The assessment will feature a high-level verview f: custmer requirements, the cmpany s prpsed service mdel, market grwth rate and trends, and key cmpetitin. CIC may als address patent reviews and licensing pprtunities at a high-level. Linkages t Prspective Investrs and Custmers AC JumpStart will brker linkages between cmpanies, and prspective custmers, investrs and R&D partners. Each participating cmpany will have the pprtunity t tap int the brad and cllective reginal, natinal and internatinal netwrks established by all partners. Ptential fr Incubatin at the Acceleratr Centre Participants in the AC JumpStart prgram may als qualify fr acceptance int ne f the Acceleratr Centre s additinal prgrams. If accepted, applicants will receive increased mentrship supprt, turnkey wrkspaces, and access t netwrking and educatinal events. Additinal infrmatin can be fund nline at What are the eligibility requirements f AC JumpStart? The fllwing are strict criteria fr AC JumpStart eligibility: cmpany must be based in Suthern Ontari, as defined by FedDev Ontari (click here fr full descriptin nline). cmpany must be incrprated in Canada, r shw prf f a plan t incrprate upn receiving the funds. AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 3

4 entrepreneur must be an early-stage cmpany, have an innvative technlgy prduct r prcess, limited R&D, and are wrking twards cmmercializatin (see definitin frm Investpedia) cmpany must nt have received previus investment frm: Scientists and Engineers in Business (SEB) fellwship NFPs and pst-secndary institutins under SEB t deliver seed funding (OCE SmartStart, RIC VentureStart, Next36, BiEnterprise, Nrthumberland CFDC, etc.) Cmmercializatin fellwships (University f Waterl, McMaster, University f Trnt, Carletn) Previus JumpStart funding recipients AC JumpStart investment amunt must be matched in cash (such as angel/vc investrs, friends/family/funders, academic institutin, gvernment surces, and/r industry investrs). Funds must be shwn in the businesses bank accunt. University f Waterl alumni wh received their last degree within 5 years and have technlgy innvatins r ideas suitable fr business startups are eligible fr the university matching funds. As this is a cmpetitive prcess, nly the tp university applicants as selected by a review cmmittee will be invited t present their business pprtunity. Cnestga Cllege stream applicants must be in tuch with the Cnestga Centre fr Entrepreneurship (C4E) befre applying. any emplyee, r persn assciated with the rganizatins carrying ut the prject ( Acceleratr Centre, Cnestga Cllege, University f Waterl, and Wilfrid Laurier University) are NOT eligible t participate in the AC JumpStart prgram must shw prf f funds and prject spending plan cmpletin f the AC JumpStart applicatin frm in full If yu have any questins regarding eligibility, please cntact acjumpstart@acceleratrcentre.cm prir t submitting an applicatin. Eligible Activities Eligible activities that will enable entrepreneurs t launch their businesses may include: technlgy develpment feasibility/demnstratin, prttype sales and marketing AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 4

5 labur (jb creatin) facilities (eg. rent) prfessinal services; legal (business incrpratin/registratin) accunting (HST registratin, business/persnal tax filings) intellectual prperty prtectin (eg. patenting) market/sales strategy business planning Eligible Csts Direct eligible csts fr prject activities may include: labur and perating expenditures materials and supplies cnsulting and/r prfessinal fees* travel and meeting csts minr capital and nn-capital acquisitins (eg. sftware) *Applicants are strngly encuraged t include incrpratin csts and assciated legal and accunting fees within their budget plans. Ineligible Csts Ineligible csts fr prject activities may include: unreasnable, r csts nt related t the eligible activities csts incurred prir t the date f the prpsal apprval majr infrastructure and capital csts such as land, building and related cnstructins csts fd, accmmdatin and entertainment csts tuitin csts fees fr administratrs, including payments t any member r ffice f the recipient s Bard f Directrs Hw d I apply t AC JumpStart? The AC JumpStart applicatin frm can be fund here. Once cmpleted in full, applicatins can be ed t acjumpstart@acceleratrcentre.cm AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 5

6 IMPORTANT: Befre cmpleting yur applicatin, carefully review the guidelines t ensure yur prpsal activities and bjectives fit within the initiative's bjectives and criteria. A cmplete applicatin package must be submitted in rder t prperly evaluate yur prpsal. What is the review prcess fr AC JumpStart? AC JumpStart applicatins will be reviewed cllabratively by an expert panel cnsisting f AC JumpStart partner representatives (AC, Cnestga Cllege, University f Waterl and Wilfrid Laurier University), leaders frm Cmmunitech, and independent judges. A cllabrative selectin prcess frm the same panel will generate a select list f candidates t engage in ne-n-ne interviews and dedicated pitch cmpetitins. The number f applicant selectins will vary by institutin. On behalf f the Acceleratr Centre, Cnestga Cllege, University f Waterl, and Wilfrid Laurier University, we wuld like t thank all applicants wh apply t the AC JumpStart Prgram. This is a cmpetitive prcess, with nly the tp applicants being accepted. All applicants will be advised f the result f their applicatins, and thse that are nt successful may be encuraged t re-submit (up t tw times per cmpany, ttal) t ther chrts. What d I need t knw if I get accepted int AC JumpStart? Successful applicants will be required t execute the AC JumpStart Agreement as a requirement fr the release f prject funding. An initial payment based n the cmpany s first quarter financial needs (nt t succeed $15K) will be made at the start f the prgram t enable initial wrk t begin. The cmpany will receive fllw-n funding in tranches based n the cmpletin f well-defined milestnes apprved by AC JumpStart mentrs and partner rganizatins. In rder t fully receive the grant, the cmpany must reprt mnthly n mentrship hurs, their prgress twards prject cmpletin, and investment milestnes achieved t date. These milestnes will be established by a designated mentr mnthly, and are t be returned in the fillable sheet frmat (supplied) by the cmpany within the time frame as directed. IMPORTANT NOTE: It is imprtant that successful applicants be aware f the applicable tax implicatins f AC JumpStart funding they may receive, and that it will be their respnsibility t pay all applicable business taxes (including HST) required by the Prvince f Ontari r the Gvernment f Canada. AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 6

7 Where can I find additinal infrmatin n AC JumpStart? Fr additinal AC JumpStart and/r prgram eligibility, please cntact: Laura Masn Crdinatr, Client Experience & Facilities Acceleratr Centre 295 Hagey Blvd, 1st Flr Waterl, ON N2L 6R5 E: lmasn@acceleratrcentre.cm AC JumpStart Applicatin Guidelines Jan 2015 Page 7