Western Alumni

Inspiring and connecting more than a quarter of a million Western alumni who share a lifelong commitment, pride and passion for Western University.

Alumni Western Be Extraordinary The Campaign For Western

You must enable cookies for this web site to function properly.

WesternU Startup Summit
Thursday, March 10, 2016
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Western Student Services 2130 (Propel Space)

Startup Summit

Missed online registration? You can register at the door.
Entrepreneurship.  Insight.  Motivation.

On March 10th, four guest speakers will visit Western to provide a unique, hands-on opportunity for students and alumni. Register to attend one workshop, followed by refreshments and networking.

Whether you have a great idea, an existing venture, or are just simply interested in entrepreneurship, this is the event for you.

By attending the WesternU Startup Summit, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Learn from experts on how to build and grow your startup
  • Network and share best practices with your peers
  • Walk away with a plan of how to take your startup to the next level

Please note, there is a $15 fee to reserve your seat at this event. This fee is fully refundable when you attend.

Session 1: How Crowdfunding Has Changed the Game

Make no mistake: if you're launching any consumer-facing product, service, or media in 2016 without a crowdfunding campaign, you're screwing up big time.  Kickstarter and Indiegogo have gone from "nice to have" to essential social networks for startups, on par in importance with having a website and an email address.  Learn the fundamentals of leveraging crowdfunding for success in business by branding your business and raising capital at this workshop.

Gareth Everard started his first company, Rockwell Razors, with a Kickstarter campaign launched in September of his senior year at Western University. After raising nearly $150,000 in under one month on Kickstarter, and booking tens of thousands of units in international retail distribution, Gareth was able to graduate and move directly in to working on Rockwell full-time. He now splits his time between growing Rockwell with writing, speaking on brand building and advising e-commerce startups in Toronto.

Check out Gareth on LinkedIn!

Session 2: Sales: The Foundation of all Businesses

This workshop provides an overview of how to establish your position in the market, determine your most profitable sales channels, execute and track sales activities, and exponentially grow your top line.  This workshop is led by Jeff House who has over 10 years of sales experience in both business to business and business to consumer.  Jeff is a graduate of Western, Co-Founder of Cole and Parker Inc., and was featured in Forbes, Fortune, FastCompany and on CBC's Dragon's Den.  Jeff has been involved in over 40 million dollars of real estate transactions.  He is managing partner of a growing real estate portfolio of commercial and multifamily properties in south western Ontario and manages a Real Estate Lending fund on track to complete over $25 million in financing in 2016. 

Check out Jeff on LinkedIn!

Session 3: Early-Stage Start-Ups: Intellectual Property Pitfalls

This workshop provides an overview of the basic principles of intellectual property law along with solutions for common pitfalls that start-ups often encounter.  The audience-driven workshop will be led by Art Brion and Leah Labib of CLANCY P.C. + BRION RAFFOUL.  The firm has extensive experience in obtaining worldwide IP protection for clients including start-ups, multi-national corporations, and government agencies, and is an internationally recognized and recommended firm for patent and trademark protection.

Session 4: Social Enterprise: What and Why

Starting a business is tough enough, let alone adding a social mission to it. Join this workshop to learn more about Sonja Fernandes, Co-Founder of Ezzy Lynn, and her experience starting a lifestyle brand that saves animals through the WWF. Sonja will share her story as an Entrepreneur, and dive deeper into what social enterprise is, and why it's important.

Check out Sonja on LinkedIn!

NEW SESSION ADDITION! Session 5: Intro To Startup Financing For Aspiring Founders and VC's

This workshop, presented by Nick Vitiello will focus on delivering a practical understanding of startup financing and startup management, from the point of view of both entrepreneurs, as well as venture capitalists.

Nick is an Associate at Tandem Expansion, with 4 years of experience in startup management and venture capital. Tandem Expansion is a $300M venture capital and growth equity fund based in Toronto and Montreal. As an Associate at Tandem, Nick has led transactions representing more than $150M in total value, financing Canadian startups in software, clean-tech, consumer internet, and IT. Nick received his HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and an Msc in International Business from HEC Paris. 

Please register for ONE breakout session, as all are ocurring simultaneously.

Missed online registration? You can register at the door.

We are sorry, the deadline for registering for this event online has passed. Please email alumnirsvp@uwo.ca or call 1-800-258-6896 and press 2 if you are still interested in attending. Please leave your name, email, phone number, the name of your guest and specify which event you will be attending.


Tell a friend about this event

> ]]
]] ::]]