Ryerson Startup School

Led by: Waffa Karkukly Outsourcing is a rising trend for businesses of all sizes. Dr. Karkukly will explore outsourcing, its benefits and challenges, and how can startups can leverage the practi

Led by: Michelle McBane You’re starting to raise funding from investors – you’ve heard that you may be required to provide due diligence materials. Find out what this means and how to properly execute due diligence.

Led by: Mina Mikhail Entrepreneurs should know how to code. Whether you’re writing your own apps or hiring a developer, understanding code is key to building the prototype that gets you funded. Mina Mikhail, head of Instruction at Bitmaker, has a decade of experience building web apps. Learn the fundamentals of HTML and CSS, and build your very first web app.

Led by: Michael Carter You probably need less money than you think. Bootstrapping is for existing entrepreneurs, wannabe small business owners and the experienced corporate person ready to take the entrepreneurial plunge. This session emphasizes proven, practical tips requiring little or no money, and where and how to get free assistance.

Led by: John Love Understanding financial fundamentals is key to survival in today’s fiercely competitive economy. This session will help you bridge the gap between functional business knowledge and practical financial information. Learn the difference between bookkeeping and accounting, five bookkeeping habits that every entrepreneur should adopt, common mistakes, and more.

Led by: Mike Murchison The strength and quality of a product’s community are key predictors of defensibility and success. Learn how to build a community from the ground up, and leverage it for growth and sales.

Led by: Rustin Smith If you want to scale at pace, you need to be lean and agile – let’s talk about how you can get your back office (or lack there of) into shape to support your current size and your impending growth. The Three Little Pigs is a tired old story but the lessons are still true: don’t build a straw house

Led by: Jason Silver How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you get people to listen? Sales is very much a study in human relations. Learn how to sell offline, over the phone and in front of your clients.

Led by: Maya Medeiros Intellectual property (IP) is essential. Startups need to know how to protect core assets such as brands, patents, copyrights and confidential information. Learn best practices for practically identifying, developing and protecting key IP.

Led by: Liz Evans Successful innovation in retail is driven by understanding the target consumer, and keeping an eye on their journey. Learn how retailers do it and how it can apply to startups.

Led by: Sean Wise When it comes to investors, startups only have one chance to impress them. Your pitch needs to be good! After hearing more than 20,000 investor pitches and writing two book on the topic, Dr. Wise is an expert at pitching investors. Learn the 10 slides that rule them all, the biggest pitch mistakes and how to craft an elevator pitch.

Led by Jeff Dennis (LL.B, ICD.D), Lawyer and serial entrepreneur Finding money can be tough! Learn about how to find government grants, friends and family, angel investment, venture capital and public venture capital financing.

Led by Jennifer MacInnis (LL.B) Senior director of Applied Research and Commercialization, Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation, at Ryerson University Government grants can make or break an early-stage startup. Learn which grants to apply to, and how to increase your probability of success in getting them.

Led by Matt Loszak Founder of JamCam You’ve launched and you have your first customers. How do you scale and add users at a cost lower than the revenue they generate?

Led by Dr. Jeremy Shtern Assistant professor, School of Creative Industries, at Ryerson University Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin — how can startup founders should use these platforms to maximize their return.

Led by: Carol Roberts Key Partners is a critical segment of the Business Model Canvas. Managing key relationships is not only an art but a refined skill and most successful relationships are cultivated with intentionality.

Led by: Chris Gory & Jennifer Tyrwhitt-Gory The insurance industry uses countless acronyms — E&O, D&O, CGL, etc. — that busy entrepreneurs don’t have time to translate. Chris Gory and Jennifer Tyrwhitt Gory from Insurance Portfolio will discuss types of insurance, what insurance your startup needs, cyber risk and more.

Led by: Alan Lysne You might have a great idea, but do you have capital? Alan Lysne has raised angel and venture capital, and has invested in numerous startups. He’ll teach you about the different types of capital, the pros and cons of each, and what you need to know before pitching to different groups.

Led by: Brent Stirling Do you know about the “burrito principle?” This is a crash course on SEO, website set-up, audit checklists, social media strategies and how to build one, which platforms to use, execution and measurement.

Led by: Kobi Bessin Let’s talk about the pitfalls and things to avoid throughout the life cycle of your business by exploring the advantages/disadvantages of different corporate structures, aspects of shareholders agreements, employee stock options plans and startup financing.

Led by Dr. Steven Gedeon Associate professor, School of Business Management, at Ryerson University. Entrepreneurship expert Design thinking is a formal method for practical, creative resolution of problems and creation of solutions, with the intent of an improved future result. Learn how to apply design thinking to your startup.

Led by: Eric Rafat / Founder & CEO of Keyobi Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Solo founders don’t succeed. Find out who to hire, where to find them and how to build a killer team.

Led by: Phil Walsh No idea is unique. There are always others trying to solve similar problems. Learn how to analyze the efforts of others and how to position your venture as a result.

Led by: Ian Chamandy and Ken Aber “Why should I choose you?” is the most important strategic question in business; its answer will guide everything your company says and does. Learn how to answer it in 7 words or less, and how to use it to make decisions.

Led by: Dave Valliere Ready, Fire, Aim is the new battle cry of startup founders. The lean startup methodology is a way to go from idea to launch: faster, better, and with a much lower fail rate.

Led by Dr. Rafik Loutfy (BSc, MSc, PhD) How do you know your idea is worth pursuing? Learn how professional investors evaluate ideas and how to reevaluate your own for value, uniqueness and validity.