Move ideas into action
$1.5 MM
Raised in 2024
300
Startups Since 2008
13
Mentors-in-Residence
The Chang Institute's early-stage Incubator (formerly Venture Connection) provides students, staff, faculty members, and recent alumni from all faculties with direct support to develop their own startup ventures with mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs.
The Incubator supports all business models and sectors, including not-for-profit. With startups ranging from hand-made cookies to advanced materials, and with over 50% of teams women-led or as co-founders, the Chang Institute provides a supportive environment for all founders to thrive.
Entry is by invitation, following successful completion of the SPARK program and an intake panel.
Each team is assigned a lead Mentor-in-Residence (MIRs) who works with the team to set and meet milestones for their next stage of development.
Starting with 4-month terms, startups have regular review panels with MIRs and Industry experts in order to extend participation for up to 3 years or more.
INCUBATOR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AT NO CHARGE TO PARTICIPANTS.
Services include:
- 1:1 Mentoring
- Specialized workshops & roundtables
- Drop-in access to SFU-Surrey coworking space
- Dedicated desks or offices for select teams
- Access to industry events
- Networking opportunities
- Connections to industry experts and business advisors
- Room access for team and customer meetings
- PR support
- Opportunities to engage with SFU entrepreneurship class teams and capstone projects
- Additional in-kind resources from partner organizations such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Hubspot for startups
Admission Requirements
INCUBATOR PROGRAM
Our Incubator program supports SFU entrepreneurs through the business launch of their ventures, securing sales channels/customers or readying the team for investment. Individuals or teams must meet all of the following prerequisites and agree to the following criteria.
- At least 25% of its ownership (or expected ownership if not yet incorporated) or management control held by SFU students, staff, faculty members or recent alumni.
- Annual revenue for the last 12 months is less than $500k
- Investment to-date is less than $1 million
- 6 founders or fewer
- All team members/employees are the legal age of majority in BC (19 years old)
- At least one founder must be a permanent resident within the Province of BC or if the client is a company, it must have significant activity in BC
Selection Process
- Interested applicants must submit a completed SPARK workbook, signed off by a mentor through the Mentor Meet program
- Applicants may then be invited to present to an intake panel.
Applications are received on a continuous basis.
For more information, please contact Fiona Li cip_changinstitute@sfu.ca.