01 Jun 2018 Spotlight on The Global Startup School at Tamwood Careers
This week’s Spotlight on Tech focuses on The Global Startup School at Tamwood Careers, a unique program bridging the gap between traditional business school and accelerators. Read on to learn more about how they set out to redefine how entrepreneurship is taught in Canada with a goal of cultivating the next generation of business leaders.
Describe your company and primary product(s) and/or service(s).
The Global Startup School aims to create a unique business education experience that uncovers, explores, and develops an entrepreneurial mindset. Our programs include:
- Applied Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (option to include co-op practicum)
- Applied Certificate in Marketing for Business & Product Startups
- Applied Certificate in Management for Business & Product Startups
How many employees currently work at your company?
The Global Startup School is a division of Tamwood Careers which employs both permanent administrative staff, but also sessional instructors with each co-hort. Sessional instructors are industry professionals with extensive experience in their respective fields. Our employees range from 10 – 20 people dependent on the time of semester.
Where are you located?
The Global Startup School is part of Tamwood Careers, our career training college headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. We’re part of a group of companies that has been offering educational programming to international students since 1993. Our campus is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver at 200-889 West Pender Street.
Describe the culture at your company.
We are balancing a traditional business education with an innovative approach of learning-by-doing. We encourage trying new things and not being afraid to fail. Our culture fosters an environment that allows people to be risk takers, push boundaries and learn how to be themselves.
What does your leadership team (and company as a whole) do to support/grow that culture?
GSS is customer oriented. We promote the best entrepreneurial experiences connecting our students through the innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Every week our students visit a startup, or we host a guest speaker session. We invite successful entrepreneurs to share some lessons learned during their journeys.
When your employees talk about your company, what do they brag about?
- GSS is a new, innovative program that breaks away from traditional classroom learning by focusing on learning through hands on experience. Students get to frequently practice pitching their business ideas, get feedback from industry professionals and learn from experts in their respective field.
- We take weekly field trips to successful startups, as a learning opportunity but also as a networking opportunity. Students can expand their professional network while also learning the day-to-day operations of a business.
- GSS has created a safe environment for students to explore, experience and engage with the world of entrepreneurship. Our program is designed to take students through the life cycle of starting a business – from ideation to launch – so that they can experience the ins and outs of what it means to be an entrepreneur.
Who is the ideal employee for your company?
The Global Startup School values individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset, has a solid academic background and loves early stage startups. We look for individuals who are looking to break traditional boundaries and consistently have new and innovative ideas.
What is the company goal for the upcoming year?
The Global Startup School is a new program offered by Tamwood Careers. Our goal is to engage and inspire at least 100 students with the skills and confidence to succeed in their entrepreneurial journey in the next year.
Tell us an interesting fact about your company.
Students at the Global Startup School practice pitching their business ideas at “Pitch Night”, in front of a panel of judges composed of industry professionals. During the first month of our Diploma Program, one of these Pitch Nights were hosted by our partner Volition Advisors. Even though the students hadn’t been in the program for very long, we had several students that won prizes, even one that achieved second place!