Fleming College

FastStart opens the door to entrepreneurship

Looking to learn more about starting your own business or social enterprise?

Fleming College and its partners are pleased to introduce FastStart, an extra-curricular program that opens the door to entrepreneurship for all students and community members 29 years of age or under.

This ground-breaking new program will support you - whether you're simply looking to broaden your horizons by exploring entrepreneurship, or you already have an idea or innovation to take to market.

FastStart will increase entrepreneurship skills and an awareness of this type of career path on campus and in the community. It will also help students and community members develop solid business plans and implement them.

Fleming and Trent University, along with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College, are working with the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster (GPIC) and the Spark Centre to deliver this powerful new resource. Students in Peterborough and at Trent In Durham will have ample opportunity to access programs and services.

FastStart will meet you wherever you are on your journey toward entrepreneurship. Take a look at our "Upcoming Events" learn and mark your calendar about:

• entrepreneurship cafes - opportunities to meet young entrepreneurs
• guest speakers & seminars - the nuts and bolts of starting an enterprise (establishing a business model, registering a businesses, intellectual property information, etc.)
• business boot camps - mentors working intensively with students over the course of a weekend
• accessing the GPIC’s business incubator - The Cube is a "one-stop-shop" to help innovative start-ups find their best path to market

FastStart events in Peterborough will be held in partnership with Fleming College in community locations including the downtown core.

Background

FastStart is funded through an $800,000 Government of Ontario grant being shared equally among all four post-secondary institutions under the province’s $ 5 million On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEA) program, managed by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE).

The OCEA program is part of Ontario’s Youth Jobs Strategy, which is seeing the province invest $295 million over two years to help 30,000 more youth from across the province connect with the tools, experiences and entrepreneurial support they need to find employment or start their own businesses.

"Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among students is a key component of Ontario’s Youth Jobs Strategy, through programs that help transfer their ideas and skills to the marketplace while creating rewarding careers," said Reza Moridi, Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation, and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. "By partnering with colleges and universities to support entrepreneurship, we are ensuring our province’s business leaders of tomorrow are getting the support they need to succeed today."