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Startup Readiness Engine

From BC to the Global Stage:
A Web Summit Readiness Engine for Sales, Partnerships, and Capital

About the Program

The Startup Readiness Engine is a 5-part education program designed to help BC founders prepare for Web Summit Vancouver 2026.

Built From Founder Feedback

BC founders want customers and capital, but struggle to access both. Many existing programs focus on sales and funding, but few teach founders how to connect the two, or how to use AI to accelerate both. The Startup Readiness Engine bridges that gap with a practical, structured curriculum that ties customer acquisition, AI-assisted sales and partnerships, and funding together, giving founders the complete toolkit they need to compete (and win) at Web Summit Vancouver 2026.

A Complete Pipeline of Founder Support

Delivered by New Ventures BC and Mosaic Accelerator, in collaboration with Angel Forum, this program connects BC’s startup support ecosystem into one cohesive learning path.

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Limited space available.

What You’ll Learn

Workshops will cover:

  • Storytelling & Customer Acquisition Foundations
    Craft compelling stories, validate markets, and communicate your value to customers and investors.

  • AI-Assisted Sales, Lead Generation & Partnerships
    Learn how to build an AI-powered sales stack and create partnerships that scale.

  • Intersectional Women Founder Track (Optional)
    Explore inclusive storytelling, network building, and strategies to navigate systemic barriers.

  • Financing Foundations for Founders (Delivered by Angel Forum)
    Continue your journey with Angel Forum’s follow-on program. Designed to be taken after the Web Summit Readiness Engine, this program builds on the skills you’ve developed and helps you understand funding options, strengthen your financial story, and confidently pitch for capital at Web Summit.

Your Commitment

Participants are expected to attend sessions and complete assigned activities to graduate from the cohort and qualify for the final showcase. This ensures every founder leaves ready for Web Summit Vancouver 2026.

  • Format: Five, 2-hour interactive workshops + peer check-ins + final showcase. Option for three additional workshops (if taking the Intersectional Women Founder Track).

  • Schedule: Thursdays, 3:00 – 5:00 PM.

  • Dates: To be announced. Workshops will be delivered between January – April 2026.

  • Venue: Downtown Vancouver (location to be announced). Livestream option available.

  • Commitment: Cohort-based learning. Participation and assignment completion required.

  • Fee: $149 per company. Enrol in Angel Forum’s Financing Foundations for Founders program and take part in both for $200.

Eligibility

We’re looking for ambitious BC-based founders ready to accelerate their growth and represent the province at Web Summit Vancouver 2026.

Eligible companies are:

  • Based in British Columbia
  • Any sector
  • Meet the criteria for Web Summit’s Alpha or Beta startup tracks:
    • Alpha: Minimum Viable Product, Pre-seed, pre-revenue
    • Beta: Product-market fit, Seed, Revenue generating
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Meet Your Instructor

Rochelle Grayson

Program Leader & Executive-in-Residence

Rochelle is an Afro-Latin, trilingual, serial entrepreneur, and digital strategist with over 30 years of experience in business, marketing, finance, tech, and education. She has worked with several women’s organizations, been nominated as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, awarded Vancouver’s Top Forty Under 40, and named one of Vancouver’s Top 10 Women in Technology.

Additional instructors to be announced soon.

New Ventures BC acknowledges that we gather and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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New Ventures BC
Suite #810
1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC
V7X 1J1
604-602-5202

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