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September at the SVZ: What You Missed

October 5th, 2020

By: Annemarie Cutruzzola

The fall semester at Toronto Metropolitan is well underway and as the Social Ventures Zone continues to operate virtually, we have lots of opportunities for students and community members to get involved. Keep reading to learn about the virtual events and workshops we hosted this month and catch up with the SVZ's September news and happenings!

Caffeinated Innovators

screenshot of Caffeinated Innovators Zoom call

Virtually Caffeinated Innovators is a weekly discussion group hosted by the Social Ventures Zone. Members of our community gather every Friday on Zoom to discuss issues in entrepreneurship and social impact. There's always meaningful conversations, connections, and of course, coffee, and this month was no exception! Here's what we talked about in September:

Scaling Social Enterprises Globally

For our first Virtually Caffeinated Innovators of the month, we discussed the various factors involved social enterprises scaling globally. Scaling globally can increase social impact, but sometimes social ventures face market, cultural, or other barriers in doing so. 

Idea Validation for Startups

Idea validation is the backbone for any successful business launch. At this session we discussed the importance of being open to feedback and new ideas, defining the "why" of your business, and knowing when to pivot. Entrepreneurs from our community at different stages of their journey joined us to share their own experiences with idea validation.

Working Remotely as an Entrepreneur ft. Christal Earle, Founder of Brave Soles

For this special edition of Virtually Caffeinated Innovators, SVZ member and Founder of Brave Soles Christal Earle joined us to share her experience with working remotely while building a business. We discussed productivity, time management, relationship bulding, and long term effects of remote work, especially for entrepreneurs.

Asking for Help as an Entrepreneur

Asking for help can be daunting for some, but it's necessary for entrepreneurs to grow! At this Virtually Caffeinated Innovators conversation, our community talked about how entrepreneurs can effectively ask others for help with their business. 

Stay in the loop about upcoming Caffeinated Innovators sessions by signing up for weekly  (google form) Google Calendar invites (external link) !

IRP Workshop with Wayne Miranda

Wayne Miranda from the McConnell Foundation provided a comprehensive overview of the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) (external link)  administered by Community Foundations Canada. The IRP supports social purpose organizations to build their capacity to become investment ready.

Zoom event screenshot. Wayne Miranda with presentation slide that reads "Upcoming Calls for Proposals"

Goal Setting Workshop with Aliya Ladhani 

Professional Career and Leadership Development Coach & SVZ coach Aliya Ladhani hosted a workshop for SVZ members about how to frame and structure effective and sustainable goals to move their ventures forward.

Screenshot of Zoom meeting with Aliya Ladhani and slides about goal setting

Talk Media Accepted into Google News Initiative

Talk media logo

SVZ-incubated journalism startup Talk Media has been accepted into a new Google News Initiative Startups Lab Bootcamp! Founder Adam Chen will participate in this 8-week boot camp alongside 23 other journalism ventures that aim to serve their communities with better news. Read more about the program.

Wes Hall Social Entrepreneurs Award

Image of Wes Hall that reads 'Wes Hall Social Entrepreneurs Award. Apply by October 16th'

This month we launched the Wes Hall Social Entrepreneurs Award, which will support five Toronto Metropolitan undergraduate students of Caribbean descent interested in social entrepreneurship. Recipients will take part in the SVZ Ideation program and complete a work placement with an SVZ startup during the 2020-2021 academic year. Learn more about the award and apply by October 16th. 

Applications for our Fall 2020 Ideation and Incubation cohorts closed in September and are currently under review. 

Coming up in October

  • View our upcoming Caffeinated Innovators topics for the month of October.
  • We’re co-hosting a workshop about building social purpose organizations as part of the launch of the book “Building Unity: Leading a Non-Profit From Spark to Succession” with author Michael 'Piecez' Prosserman. Sign up via the Eventbrite page. (external link) 
  • We’ll also be hosting an event as part of Toronto Metropolitan’s Social Justice Week. Stay tuned for more details.

To stay up to date with the SVZ, subscribe to our weekly community newsletter (external link) , and follow us on social media @RUSocialVenture!