YukonU I&E is partnering with Yukonstruct and Yukon Venture Angels to develop interest and participation in a growing investment culture for entrepreneurs and investors in the Yukon Territory.
Building on our experience launching Yukon’s first Investor Challenge together, we are now offering a hands-on Investment Readiness Training program to equip startups in the Yukon with the right tools to prepare for investment and funding.
The program is open to and intended for businesses at any stage – whether they are raising debt financing and equity capital now or considering the possibility in the future. The training focuses on what angel investment is about, what it takes to raise funds, and more generally how this fits with their entrepreneurial journey.
Through 8 sessions, running from September 2022 to January 2023, of interactive learning with experts, guest speakers, and other entrepreneurs from Spring Activator and Volition, this program will provide the tools, frameworks, and best practices to help entrepreneurs gain confidence to seek strategic impact funding.
At the end of the program, the participants will have the opportunity to apply to the Yukon Investment Challenge.
This Investment Readiness program is designed for founders who are seriously considering about the investment process or ready to raise funds but are overwhelmed by the daunting and mysterious process.
This program is also suitable for non-profits/charities who are operating social enterprises, ready to think about scale finance as a tool to grow or scale.
- Strengthen your sales and marketing strategy with practical hands-on tools adapted to your business
- Get a solid understanding of what raising funds will mean for your business and how to structure your approach
- Understand the legal implications when raising funds
- Hone your investor pitch and get a chance to practice it
- Come out of the program with a draft data room to use for your conversations with funders and investors
All sessions will take place on Wednesday from 9:00 – 11:00 AM, virtually online.
Spring’s Learning Management System will be available to all participants to access supplemental videos, tools, and resources.
Session 1: Sep 14, 2022 / Fundraising and data room fundamentals
Provides the cohort with a thorough overview of the basics of capital raising, including process, ideal investor, and paperwork.
Session 2: Sep 21, 2022 / Sales & scaling
The goal of this Masterclass is to build a solid foundation of the basics of being “sales-ready”. By the end of it, participants will know the key elements in building a predictable, manageable, scalable, and profitable sales process.
Session 3: Oct 5, 2022 / Marketing fundamentals
In this masterclass, we will explore key marketing fundamentals, providing takeaways and tools to build an actionable marketing strategy that you can communicate to stakeholders and investors.
Session 4: Oct 19, 2022 / Financial forecasting kick-start
Building strong and compelling financial projections, case studies, templates, and feedback
Session 5: Nov 2, 2022 / Main legal concepts and fundraising
Understanding cap tables, investment tools, and legal setups for investment
Session 6: Nov 16, 2022 / Pitch & presentation masterclass
Volition’s Pitch Masterclass has been designed to teach founders and startup teams how to build and deliver an investor-ready pitch that is clear, concise, and compelling.
Session 7: Jan 18, 2023 / Master the money model behind your business model
Understand how your business model will dictate revenue strategy, unit economics, key performance indicators, and essential financial milestones over time. Confidently present how your company will make money to investors, in detail.
Session 8: Jan 25, 2023 / Master the sales model behind your money model
Learn a systematic way to design a scalable sales engine that can achieve the target revenues your money model calls for, and that your investors want to see. You will be able to develop and present a sales model for your business to Investors.
Content of the training: 8 interactive sessions + access to the learning management system for asynchronous learning
Cost: thanks to support from the Government of Yukon, Yukon’s entrepreneurs have a discounted rate of $25/class for a total program fee of $200* per participant.
*Normal price for the Investment Readiness Training is $1,200.
Fee waiver opportunity
If you think this fee creates barriers to your participation and your company needs support with the program’s cost and wants to participate, please get in touch with us.
Financial support is available thanks to the Yukon Government.
Send a request to: innovation@yukonu.ca
If you would like to learn more about the program please book a call with one of the Investment Readiness Program team members:
Daniel Tan (Yukonstruct Society) - Book a Call
Cat Kelly (Yukonstruct Society) - Book a Call
The Yukon Investment Challenge is a 10-week program facilitated by Spring Activator and consists of weekly interactive sessions and a pitch night that will run again in Spring 2023.
Accredited and aspiring local investors will be introduced to investment-ready ventures in the region, along with early-look companies with high future investment potential. Participating investors will learn how to evaluate prospective investments in emerging startups in and around the Yukon, and entrepreneurs will be guided towards being investment-ready for a chance to win $50,000* of investment funding from the investor cohort.
This collaborative initiative between Spring Activator, Yukon University, Yukonstruct, and Yukon Venture Angels is funded in partnership with the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
At the end of the program, the investor cohort will award up to $50,000 in investment to one Yukon-based startup.
The Challenge is a 10-week training program that consists of an investor track and an entrepreneur track. It is for individuals seeking to make angel investments in Yukon-based startups, and also for purpose-driven entrepreneurs in the region looking to fundraise.
Investor track participants will navigate the ins and outs of early-stage investing while those in the entrepreneur track will prepare for the capital-raising process. Across the program, investors will select five companies to accompany them into the core program where both parties will collaboratively go through a due diligence process. The program will culminate in a final pitch night where one winning startup will be selected to receive investment.
Throughout the program’s 2-hour weekly sessions—delivered live and virtually—participants will hear from industry experts and have the chance to gain insights, build their networks, and acquire resources to become successful in their respective domains.
The Yukon Investment Challenge is about more than one final investment winner and will leave all participants with a community of purpose-driven investors, key players in the Yukon startup and innovation ecosystem, and startups looking to enrich the Yukon and beyond with their innovative ideas.
Program timeline details from our 2022 program are available here. Applying for the investor track will lead you to a discovery call with our team so you can learn more prior to committing to the program.
Investor track participants will navigate the ins and outs of early-stage investing while those in the entrepreneur track will prepare for the capital-raising process. Across the program, investors will select five companies to accompany them into the core program where both parties will collaboratively go through a due diligence process. The program will culminate in a final pitch night where one winning startup will be selected to receive investment.
At the end of the program, the investor cohort will award up to $50,000 in investment to one Yukon-based startup.