Innovation Factory provides valuable programs and services for entrepreneurs at various stages. Learn about them below!
Programs & Services
SERVICES FOR START-UPS
Starting a business can be tough. How do you decide what to tackle first, who to reach out to or how to strategize? At Innovation Factory, we help innovative startups navigate the first steps to building a viable business and we’re dedicated to seeing them succeed. Learn more.
ENTREPRENEUR'S TOOLKIT
The MaRS Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Intensive Program is a set of workshops that is run three times a year (Fall, Winter and Summer Intensives). It’s a great opportunity for highly motivated entrepreneurs to take their startups or small-medium businesses to the next level, and has become popular as a boot camp for local innovators. Learn more.
SERVICES FOR SCALING BUSINESSES
In a rapidly-changing economy, companies must be innovative to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive. This is especially true for small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that can sometimes lack the time, resources, or support to strategize for the future. Innovation Factory can help them meet these challenges. Learn more.
FUNDING AND INVESTMENT
Building a business takes hard work, dedication… and well… money! Although we are not a funding agent, our team can work with you to help identify and navigate possible funding programs, loans or investors that could be best for your business. Not to mention, we offer training and workshops to help you prepare for an investment or product pitch. Learn more.
CENTRE FOR INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY
The Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility (CITM) is a an integral part of Innovation Factory. CITM supports start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises that are developing the next generation of connected and autonomous vehicle, smart mobility, and smart transportation technology. Learn more.
ACCELERATOR FOR WOMEN IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Accelerator for Women in Entrepreneurship (AWE) supports success for women entrepreneurs through inclusive, educational programming and focused engagement that accelerates results for women-founded and co-founded companies. Learn more.
ACADEMY AT INNOVATION FACTORY
Academy at Innovation Factory is an online learning platform featuring on-demand courses, available when and where YOU learn. Featuring everything from sales, marketing and brand building to legal, operations, human resources and more; Academy at iF can help you conveniently gain the know-how to launch, build, and scale a successful tech business. Learn more.
‘THE FORGE’ ACCELERATOR
The Forge
Innovation Factory is a proud partner of The Forge, the startup incubator for McMaster University and Hamilton Region. They work hands-on with tech entrepreneurs to help them build successful startups. The Forge offering includes an 8-18 month incubator program, 4 month accelerator, an annual $100,000 Startup Pitch Competition, and more! Learn more.
pitch COMPETITIONS
LION'S LAIR
LiON'S LAIR is an annual competition presented byInnovation Factory and The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, that brings together the entrepreneurship and innovation community in Hamilton. The competition gives 10 companies the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of our city’s top business experts - the “Lions” - for a chance to win big prizes! Learn more.
SYNAPSE
The Synapse Life Science Competition is designed to help move innovative life science products and services out of the lab and into the market, by pairing up life science innovators with business and entrepreneurship students. Learn more.
iF Pitch Night
iF Pitch & Networking Night showcases companies who have a product in-market (or close to launch) in an investment-style pitch presentation. The event is designed to help connect our Partners, Volunteer Mentors and the Hamilton community with up-and-coming startups, is open to the public, and awards cash prizing to the Pitch Night winners. Learn more.
GROUP WORKSHOPS
LUNCH & LEARNS
Our Lunch & Learn events, while currently postoned, are a great way to get out and network while enjoying lunch and learning something new. Keynote speakers include industry experts that share their wisdom on a topic of relevance to our ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs. Learn more.
SALES PEER2PEERS
Sales Peer2Peer sessions are great opportunities for business professionals from all industries and companies to collaborate with each other, share sales best practices, and network with peers. Each session features a guest speaker specializing in an aspect of sales strategy. Learn more.
OTHER WORKSHOPS
Often times, our clients will express interest in learning about a specific trend or topic in order to better understand the business landscape. Our workshops bring in experts from a broad range of industries, leading interactive discussions on anything from Bitcoin to content marketing.
