Why join the Venture Acceleration Program?

Virtual Mentorship

Virtual Mentorship

Founder one-on-one hourly mentorship sessions over phone or video at a time that you choose.

Market Validation Training

Market Validation Training

Discover your customers and identify your markets.

Quarterly Reviews

Quarterly Reviews

Stay accountable. Panel sessions to review progress, gain expertise and celebrate your successes.

Program Perks

Program Perks

Get access to AWS credits, Hubspot for startups and more.

Eligibility

Your company must be:

  • BC-based
  • Developing a new and innovative product or service in any tech sector
  • Coachable and can commit to regular meetings
  • In the ideation, early, or growth phase
  • Generating revenue or pre-revenue

 

Program Cost:
$95 / month for bi-weekly meetings, $150 / month for weekly meetings.
*$50 discount for past New Ventures BC competitors, for the first three months.*

Meet our clients

Choose the stream that’s right for you.

1. Apply Anytime

We accept and review applications on a rolling basis. After receiving your application, our team will chat with you, answer any questions, and evaluate if you are a good fit for the program

2. Choose a Mentor

Chat with our programs team and we’ll pair you with a mentor based on your needs and availability.

3. Attend Regular Meetings

Set a regular time to meet with your mentor, and in addition, join a cohort for quarterly reviews and presentations

$95 / month for bi-weekly meetings
$150 / month for weekly meetings.
$50 discount for past New Ventures BC competitors, for the first three months.

Choose Your Stream

Ideation Stage or Pivot:

Discover your customers and identify your markets through our online Market Validation Training Program.

Focus on validating your product, pricing, and go-to-market strategy.

After completing the modules, you’ll either exit the program, and ready to take your next steps, or if needed, continue for further mentorship.

Maximum program time: 6 months.

Product-Market Fit:

Refine your sales, financing goals, hiring, and sales strategies.

Program length: suited to your business needs -- typically spans 6 months to 2 years.

4. Set Quarterly Objectives

Examples include: Minimum Viable Products, financing, go to market strategy, marketing, refining your pitch, hiring, sales, raising money.

5. Quarterly Reviews

Present your progress and pitch to a panel of mentors and receive personalized feedback and next steps.

6. Graduate

Ready to scale up? We will prepare your company for a scale-up accelerator program or set you off on your own.

Additional support for program alumni

Graduated from our acceleration program? We now offer monthly mentorship sessions for our long-term clients, or occasional check-ins to support ongoing strategic planning. (Availability is subject to capacity).

Program costs:
· $50 a month for a monthly, one-hour session. Contact us to sign up.

Program FAQs

Meet our Executives in Residence

Learn from someone who’s “been there and done that”. Our dynamic team of EiRs bring a vast range of professional experience to their mentorship roles.

Alan Foster

Executive in Residence

Alan has more than 30 years’ experience in building and managing technology based ventures worldwide. Currently Alan is helping leaders in startups and early stage technology companies define business objectives, set priorities and commercialize their products enabling them to grow their companies.

He is a dynamic leader with expertise in organizational leadership, business planning, sales and marketing and product management. Prior to his consulting work, Alan worked in senior management roles with technology startups and Fortune 100 companies providing strategic guidance and technology expertise, enabling organizations to drive business value through innovation.

 

Beth Gallup

Executive in Residence

Curiosity and drive have given Beth the opportunity to work with large publicly-traded companies, research-driven universities, growing businesses, and new startups. Her own entrepreneurial ventures deepen her understanding of the many ways innovation succeeds, and stalls. Beth’s career has introduced her to machine learning and AI; manufacturer to consumer supply chains; outdoor safety, sport, and wearable technologies; making things work in remote areas, off the grid; plus, environmentally-intelligent development, construction, and adaptive re-use. She has worked on boards and across borders, in different cultural milieus. She has an MBA in New Venture Development and studied at the European Summer School for Advanced Management.

Beth joined New Ventures BC as an EiR in 2016. She is passionate about entrepreneurial success, achieved through a deep understanding of the customer, and a solid go-to-market plan. You’ll find Beth in Fernie, BC, an ideal place from which to mentor Distance Venture Acceleration clients located all around the province.

Ean Jackson

Executive in Residence

Ean “Action” Jackson has invested the past 25 years of his professional career in management, technical and business development roles in the technology industry. He’s been a top sales performer for businesses across North America ranging from startups to major multinational corporations including IBM, Oracle Corporation and Sprint International. Ask him what he loves best, however, and he’ll say “helping folks achieve their goals”.

Ean has started up several businesses, taught entrepreneurship at three universities and served on numerous boards. He speaks four European languages and has mentored entrepreneurs for New Ventures BC since it started in 2000. When not coaching aspiring entrepreneurs, Ean likes to run trails and climb mountains.  If you want to get him excited, ask him what it’s like to run 100-miles!

Mehrsa Raeiszadeh

Executive in Residence

Dr. Mehrsa Raeiszadeh, named 2022 Woman of the Year in Canada by Bay Street Bull and two time winner of 1st place New Ventures BC competition, is a value-driven entrepreneur and operator. With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, Mehrsa has extensive experience in both startups and large corporations, excelling in technology development, operations, and team building.

As co-founder of MintList, she secured $1M in committed ARR from industry leaders before writing a line of code and raised over $10M in two years. Her contributions earned her a 2022 AutoTech Breakthrough Award alongside BMW and Lyft.

Industry agnostic, Mehrsa supports tech startups with business strategy, fundraising, strategic partnerships, stakeholder engagement, business development, and intellectual property management.

Peter de Verteuil

Executive in Residence

Peter has over 30 years of experience in Sales and Marketing management, Business Development, Corporate Strategy and Communications. Peter has held leadership positions in dynamic high-growth environments as well as large multinational organizations and has navigated change management through a number of corporate acquisitions. In roles of VP of Sales and VP of Strategy at SAP, Peter managed highly successful sales teams, and helped drive GTM Strategy & Planning for one of SAP’s leading growth divisions.

While VP of Marketing for Future Shop, Marketing Magazine named Peter one of Canada’s most influential marketers. Today Peter provides professional Business Development, Strategy, Sales, Marketing and Media consulting and advisory services to a wide spectrum of organizations, from startups to large enterprises.

The Venture Acceleration Program is part of the BC Acceleration Network, sponsored by Innovate BC.

Innovate BCBC Venture Accelerator Program

Program is $95 / month for bi-weekly meetings. $150 / month for weekly meetings.

$50 discount for past New Ventures BC competitors, for the first three months.

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Featured clients

“Within a short period of time, the program has really helped us to scale our business. At each weekly check-in our mentor, Ean, has given us good advice. The feedback Ean has given us has helped grow our venture because it has pushed us to take on new perspectives that we had not previously thought about ourselves.”

— Abhishek Arora, WedoLaundry

“Being part of the program over these past months has really pushed our team forward. The weekly meetings with my mentor have been amazing. Having that amount of support, expertise and a different perspective, has been critical to not only the company’s growth but my own personal growth as an entrepreneur.” 

— Lori Munoz Malcolm, HeartPress

I found that doing this distance accelerator program is like having my own secret weapon in my back pocket: invaluable advice from a mentor who has been in my shoes. The weekly check-ins have helped me make better business decisions and have also prevented me from wasting resources and making mistakes.

— Yawen CA, Ballegro Player

The program is worth at least ten times what we spend on it. It’s not just the mentorship – it’s the feedback we have received from all the Executives in Residence. The course material has also been very helpful. Opportunities are flying our way at incredible speed, and thanks to the program we know which ones to take and which ones to pass on.

— Kevin Urbanski, Rithmik Solutions