Altitude Accelerator’s Startup Bootcamp is an intensive program that connects early stage entrepreneurs with professional service providers to teach foundational intellectual property, legal, financial and funding basics that will provide a strong start to their business.
We are proud to offer our startup entrepreneurs access to professional service providers during bi-monthly bootcamp workshops to help provide basics of starting a tech-based business. Our professional service providers will also offer a follow-on opportunity for Altitude Accelerator’s entrepreneurs to meet one-on-one for a more detailed discussion.
We’ve forged strong partnerships with top tier organizations, such as Bereskin & Parr LLP, Pallett Valo LLP and BDO Canada LLP, who are committed to helping entrepreneurs and fostering innovation. Professional representatives from these organizations meet with our clients to understand their business and offer strategic advice catered to each client’s business needs and requirements.
Upcoming Startup Bootcamp
DATE Wednesday, July 8, 2020
TIME 8:30am – 4:00pm
VENUE Brampton City Hall
ADDRESS 2 Wellington St. W, Brampton, ON L6Y 4R2
Agenda:
Morning Session – Startup Fundamentals (Legal, Intellectual Property, Finance & Funding)
8:30am – 9:00am Arrivals and Quickfire Startup Pitches
9:00am – 9:20am Introductory Remarks
9:20am – 10:05am Legal Boot Camp by Andréa Brinston, Lawyer at Pallett Valo LLP
10:05am – 11:00am Intellectual Property Boot Camp by Stephen Beney, Partner at Bereskin & Parr LLP and Joanna Ma, IP Lawyer at Bereskin & Parr LLP
11:00am – 11:30am Financial Literacy Boot Camp by Maria da Silva, Senior Manager at BDO Canada LLP
11:30am – 12:00am Government Funding Boot Camp by Richard Burdeniuk, Senior Manager at BDO Canada LLP
Lunch & Networking
Afternoon Session – Business Model Canvas (Value Proposition & Customer Validation)
1:00 PM- 2:00 PM Value Proposition, Customer Validation and Problem-Solution Fit
2:00 PM- 2:50 PM Value Proposition Design
2:50 PM- 4:00 PM Business Model Validation, Product-Market Fit
Only interested in attending the morning or the afternoon session? Good news! You can register for the breakout session of your choice or register for the full day to take advantage of the whole experience!
Legal Boot Camp
Andréa Brinston, Lawyer, Pallett Valo LLP
Andréa Brinston is a member of the firm’s Business Law Practice and Commercial Real Estate Practice.
Andréa practices in all areas of corporate and commercial law. She often advises both startup and mature clients regarding general corporate commercial advice, debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and both asset and share transactions. Andréa also has experience in all aspects of commercial leasing acting for both landlords and tenants.
Intellectual Property Boot Camp
Stephen Beney, Partner, Bereskin & Parr LLP
Stephen’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in the mechanical, electro-mechanical, and software fields. He advises on intellectual property (IP) management and strategic planning and has prepared many patentability opinions, as well as infringement and validity opinions.
Stephen works with clients to assess IP needs, and has helped to secure patents for a diverse array of clients, including startups, small- to medium-sized enterprises, major multinational companies, and university researchers. Stephen has been proven valuable to his clients in securing their patent rights in diverse technologies, including: automotive; medical devices and imaging systems; electronic devices; communication systems; video and signal processing systems; mass spectrometry; solar power devices and systems; fuel cell technology; internet systems; business methods; and clean tech devices and systems.
In addition to his extensive patent work, Stephen has experience in filing industrial design applications.
Joanna Ma, IP Lawyer, Bereskin & Parr LLP
Joanna Ma’s practice focuses on drafting and prosecuting patent applications related to software-based technologies, electrical innovations, and medical devices and applications. She enjoys learning about new technologies from inventors and advising clients on the development of an effective IP portfolio.
Through various technical internships, Joanna gained valuable industry experiences. She completed internships as both a Design Engineer and Marketing Engineer in the semiconductor industry, as well as an internship as a consultant. From these experiences, she recognizes the difficulties in managing and balancing the pressures of technological development with business needs. She, therefore, has a unique appreciation of the difficulties for clients of various sizes to manage their IP portfolio and endeavours to accommodate the needs of her clients.
Financial Literacy Boot Camp
Maria da Silva, Senior Manager, Outsourced Accounting Services, BDO Canada LLP
Maria has over 25 years of experience in public accounting and financial reporting, serving a wide range of clients. She joined BDO in 1989 and, three years later, obtained her CMA designation. Over the years, she has worked with a variety of clients providing accounting, audit and advisory services to privately-held and owner-managed businesses.
Maria manages the Mississauga office outsourced accounting department of over 12 dedicated staff. She has in-depth experience in providing financial reporting, as well as outsourced accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services to owner managed and small to medium sized businesses.
She helps businesses develop and implement strategies to capitalize on their opportunities and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of client service, such as planning, monitoring, and managing the engagement team. Her industry specialization includes manufacturing and distribution, law firms, and associations.
Government Funding Boot Camp
Richard Burdeniuk, Senior Manager, Government Incentives Group, BDO Canada LLP
Richard leads the GTA’s technology, media & life sciences team in BDO’s Advisory Services Practice. He specializes in government incentive programs, particularly tax credits to fund growth and innovation.
Richard has spent 12 years traveling across Canada helping companies reconcile their work with the government’s expectations. The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is one of the more controversial CRA programs and he has participated in CRA policy development, and managed CRA relations in hundreds of CRA reviews. His experience in private sector entrepreneurship and R&D helps him appreciate an owner operator’s bottom line while also applying the scientific know-how within the conventions accountants and lawyers require.
As an entrepreneur, Richard developed software technologies for distributed computation, image recognition, and Geographic Information Systems. He has worked with Boeing, Berkshire Hathaway Companies, garage.com, and The Ontario Geological Survey.
Validation Boot Camp
Alex Senson, Senior Business Strategist, Altitude Accelerator
Alex has been advising technology startups at the Altitude Accelerator for six years. He has worked with over 1000 companies each with their own unique products/services, business models, team and challenges. Alex has a science background and holds a Master of Biotechnology degree. He also has a strong business acumen; having worked in business development, licensing and project management at a successful biopharmaceutical company.