30 Nov 2021 New Immigrants get a Head Start on their Entrepreneurial Journey
BC Tech’s HyperStart Entrepreneurial Bootcamp gives new immigrants a head-start on their entrepreneurial journey. Seventeen (17) graduates completed the 4-week program this Fall, which focused on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, delivered in partnership with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) and jointly funded by BC Tech and the Provincial Government.
Throughout the course of this program, participants participated in a series of in-depth educational sessions which were run by industry professionals providing their expertise regarding each individual session topic. Graduates had the opportunity to learn from some of the most established entrepreneurs in Vancouver on topics such as marketing, capital raising, customer analysis and business development.
This year’s cohort was unique in its mission as the focus was on entrepreneurs from new immigrant backgrounds with the goal of helping newcomers to Canada who are bringing diverse skill sets to our country translate those skills to Canadian businesses. GVBOT President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson said that “By giving new Canadians the skills and knowledge to succeed as entrepreneurs, HyperStart is helping our province to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.”
“It was such a pleasure to be a part of BC Tech’s HyperStart program. As an entrepreneur and immigrant myself, it really hit close to home and it meant a lot to me personally to be able to share some of the learnings from my journey with the participants”, guest speaker, Bruce Qi from Launchpad shared, “I am looking forward to staying in touch with some of the entrepreneurs that I met in the program, and seeing where their journeys take them in the future!”
Program graduate, Darya Bakum shared “When guest speakers shared their stories of how they started and showed their vulnerability, it resonated a lot, it feels very supportive to know that they were in place where I am at right now.“
Fellow graduate, Misha Samorodin also commented, “This program has been an eye opener for me all along and I am beginning to see a clearer picture of what needs to be done and how to go about doing it in terms of customer and market validation. It’s awesome, very informative.”.
About the BC Tech Association
BC Tech is a non-profit dedicated to the growth of BC’s tech sector, increasing tech jobs, and advancing technology and innovation across every sector of BC’s economy. By supporting small and medium sized businesses to understand and adopt technology, BC Tech builds business resilience, accelerates growth and empowers BC’s economic recovery. To learn more visit wearebctech.com.