York University

Located in Toronto, Canada, York University has been a strong player in the start-up and Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem. The university houses Innovation York which is the research and innovation office of York University. This initiative assists researchers, offers entrepreneur development, and provides industry collaboration.

One of the notable success stories from York University is the digital education start-up called Top Hat. Mike Silagadze, a former student of York University, co-founded Top Hat. The business has received significant Venture Capital (VC) funding and currently serves millions of students at three-quarters of North America’s top 1,000 colleges and universities.

Another notoriety from York University is Joey Brander, a young prominent American sports media entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He graduated from York with a degree in Business and Society and went onto become the youngest Angel investor in the US.

The YSpace initiative taken by York University supports start-ups by focusing on food and beverage, social venture, online and retail commerce, and technologically-based businesses. This has had a positive impact on the university's startup culture.

York University has also launched The Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology (BEST) lab aimed at training scientists and engineers into future tech entrepreneurs. The program's ambition is to help students go beyond theory and translate it into a successful business practice. It has blended together elements of entrepreneurship, business, and engineering to develop unique curriculum for student innovators.

The entrepreneurial spirit is nurtured through competitions and incubator plans like the Innovation York Entrepreneurship program that allows the students to participate and pitch their business ideas in order to win funding to make their idea a reality. This contributes to creating a strong startup and VC ecosystem at York University.