Entrepreneurial Thinking Month

March 2023

For the second year in a row, UCalgary has been named the top startup creator among research institutions in Canada. One week would not be enough to celebrate this milestone, so this year we are dedicating the month of March to entrepreneurial thinking. Join our community of innovators for a month of celebrations and see what they are starting.

Entrepreneurial Thinking Month will feature events showcasing top innovators in social, tech, and health innovation across all disciplines, alongside panel discussions with innovators and community leaders.

Explore the ingenuity happening across UCalgary and beyond.
Learn from panels of successful entrepreneurs who have taken their ideas to commercialization.
Be inspired to start something on your own and join the innovation community at UCalgary.

March 2

Launchpad Live: Negotiation

Learn how to effectively negotiate with key stakeholders to create win-win scenarios for your startup. This week will feature guest speaker Duane Alexander. Duane has more than 30 years of negotiation experience in the energy industry. He recently retired from an executive role at TC Energy after a 25-year career spanning law, business development, mergers & acquisitions, finance, major projects, and strategy.

March 7

Experience Ventures National Hackathon Finale

More than 150 Canadian students have been working alongside community innovators to develop breakthrough resilient food system solutions to enrich the lives of Canadians. The final competition will feature the top three teams from nine post-secondary institutions across Canada that will be invited to pitch their wellness solutions for $5,000+ in cash prizes.

March 8

Entrepreneurial Leaders: Celebrating International Women’s Day

We will be celebrating International Women’s Day with our first Entrepreneurial Leaders series of the year. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we will be inviting inspiring female entrepreneurs for a panel discussion on how they “found” their idea and built their venture. Our guests will be:

Alessandra Amato, Co-Founder and COO of Algi
Karen Benzies, CEO and Founder of Liminality Innovations
Ghada Nafie, CEO and Co-Founder of Litus Inc.
Diana Frost, Founder of Colouring It Forward

March 9

Launchpad Live: Go-to-Market Strategy and Sales

This week's Launchpad Live will go over your sales call, as well as how to develop a strategy for your startup to go to market. Our guest speaker will be Carey Houston. Carey is passionate about helping startups grow, and is the founder and partner of 321 Growth Academy and OnRamp.

March 16

Launchpad Live: How to Scale

Our final Launchpad Live of the semester will be a panel discussion with founders to hear how they grew and scaled their businesses. The moderator of the panel discussion will be the Hunter Hub's Venture Programs Specialist, Alessandra Amato. Stay tuned for the announcement of our panelists.

March 28

Map the System UCalgary Finals

The top students in the Map the System program will be presenting for their share of $5,000 in cash prizes and a trip to the University of Oxford. The winning team will also have an opportunity to compete at the Canadian Regional Semi-finals. Don’t miss the finale of this exciting challenge featuring some of UCalgary’s brightest social changemakers.

March 30

Launchpad Liftoff! Competition

Through a series of free weekly presentations (Launchpad Live), the Launchpad teams have been working with coaches all year to refine and develop their social venture or startup. The Launchpad program culminates with the Launchpad Liftoff pitch competition, where the top teams will compete for over $20,000 in prizes to take their startup ideas to the next level.