MaRS, a non-profit that supports high-growth startups and scale-ups tackling issues in the health, cleantech, and fintech sectors, has announced the launch of the Growth Acceleration Program, a multi-sector initiative designed to support executives of scaling, high-growth companies on their way to reaching C$20 million in revenue.
The Growth Acceleration Program, funded by FedDev Ontario, is ideal for ventures with total funding of C$10 to C$20 million and/or annual recurring revenue of C$5 to C$20 million that have a core product in the market with traction beyond early customers.
“Given the state of today’s economic environment, supporting Canadian ventures has never been more crucial. We need to help companies look beyond capital markets to economic opportunities, to really be able identify the threats and risks to their business models,” said Krista Jones, chief delivery officer, ventures and ecosystems group at MaRS. “This program will equip companies with the necessary tools of business fundamentals to optimize their growth inside whatever market conditions come their way.”
The program supports ventures within the Canadian ecosystem, and offers them one on one expert advisory on topics such as revenue and growths strategies, marketing and branding, media opportunities, international expansion, and data tools.
“By guiding founders and their teams and ensuring their systems and processes are engineered to drive their desired outcomes and valuation milestones, these companies will have the capability to become world class category dominators,” said Dennis Ensing, chief venture advisor and vice president of venture growth at MaRS.
According to participating member Louis Brun, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Sollum Technologies, the knowledge that the program provides will help his company succeed and grow.Â
“I feel even more confident that we’re going to succeed because whether it’s engineering, supply, logistics, sales or marketing, we will have access to knowledgeable people that can help us do what we’ve been very good at, but we can be even better at,” he said. “The Growth Acceleration program will help the whole team get aligned even more and get us even closer to success.”
There is no cost to join, and no set timeline for the program; MaRs will work with companies based on their priorities and timelines.
Those interested can apply here.