Snapshot
- Nova Scotia Community College & the Entrepreneur-in-the-Making Program
- Mashup Lab’s Dream Business Program
- Tool Leveraging & Further Ahead
Partner Introduction
Through the Entrepreneur-in-the-Making Program (EITM), Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) can provide up to $3,000 each to entrepreneurial NSCC students and recent alumni from equity-deserving groups across its 14 campuses. Since 2019, students have received $160,000 from the EITM funding.
Problem
Previously, the EITM program structure utilized a self-directed model, which could result in recipients taking longer to situate themselves in kick-starting or expanding their businesses. Before collaborating with Mashup Lab, Sheri Williams, Manager of Entrepreneurship at NSCC, shared that “they [the students] were all in different places. Some hadn’t done the work to recognize whether their ideas or direction they were going to take were viable.” Additionally, the students at NSCC require a certain amount of flexibility that is not always available in other [larger] organizations that work in entrepreneurship programming.
Solution
Mashup Lab collaborated with NSCC and their EITM recipients by giving them access to our six-week Dream Business Program. The goal of implementing our Dream Business Program was to see how it could better prepare the EITM recipients on their entrepreneurial journey compared to previous cohorts or those who chose not to participate in our program.
Results
The result of EITM recipients participating in our six-week program allowed them to leverage the tools they gained, and they were noticeably further ahead in their journeys than previous cohorts or those who decided not to attend the sessions. Sheri shared that implementing the program at the beginning of the recipients’ time in EITM was a “game changer” for them. Sheri further explained that the program assisted the students in narrowing down their audiences, niches, and markets, which increased their confidence and “when they came out on the other side, they were ready to hit the ground running.”
Conclusion
Through our continuous programming with NSCC and the EITM program, we are excited to help accelerate the students on the path to their entrepreneurial success!
The Mashup Lab Dream Business Program gets the best results and has the biggest impact on places where business and entrepreneurial programming is already happening!
CLICK HERE to book a call with our Founder & CEO, Andrew, to learn how we can help you amplify and accelerate the awesome things that are already happening in your community!