It’s not a lack of great ideas or imagination that stifles innovation. More often than not, it’s an inability to access resources—both in terms of capital, as well as education and mentorship—that stops many great ideas from making their way into a reality.
That’s because as any founder can attest, success in the startup space can often rely on having the right connections or following a set path. But for individuals with big dreams who want to start on their path to entrepreneurship (and ultimately found a startup), the barrier-to-entry can feel high for any number of reasons—whether they’ve recently immigrated, lack the formal business training, or simply need partners with know-how to set them on the right course.
On this episode of What The Tech, Maria Konikov, Director of Operations for the York Entrepreneurship Development Institute—also known as YEDI—joins the show to discuss how her organization is looking to change all of that.
YEDI is a mission-oriented charitable organization providing top-tier business education and mentorship to innovative entrepreneurs from any sector or industry.
Serving Toronto, the York Region and internationally based ventures, YEDI offers an array of programs to for-profit and not-for-profit innovators from a diversity of sectors, both across Canada and internationally. At its core, however, YEDI is committed to ensuring that ideas with high impact are not lost due to lack of knowledge during the start-up process.
It’s a tall order for sure, and as Director of Business Operations, Maria brings a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs. I’ll leave it to her to get into the nitty gritty of what her and her team at YEDI does every day and how they’re supporting the local and global tech ecosystem.
Update: Boast AI’s What The Tech podcast was recently ranked #8 in Feedspot’s Top 70 Venture Capital Podcasts on the Web ranking! Listen to What The Tech and other leading podcasts for the latest guidance and startup strategies.
