Entrepreneurial Resources

 Why Become an Entrepreneur?

Why everyone will become an entrepreneur
Infographic explaining how employees will be replaced by entrepreneurs in the future.

We Are All Entrepreneurs: It’s a Mindset, Not a Business Model
A Forbes article that debunks what most people believe it takes to be an entrepreneur.

10 Best Reasons to Be an Entrepreneur
Responses from members of the Young Entrepreneur Council.

 Getting Started

What’s a Startup? First Principles
Silicon Vally entrepreneur and author of Startup Owners’ Manual, Steve Blank, defines what a startup is and why they exist.

Ready to Start-up? Ask These 5 Questions First
Find out if you are ready to starting your company with a few simple questions.

Traction and Sustainable Growth – A How-to Guide for Startups
A basic guide from 500 Startups article on how to start your own business.

Your Playbook to Starting Up On the Cheap: 10 Steps to Launch for Less Than $1,500
Infographic guide to launching a startup.

How to Build a Startup
Online course taught by Steve Blank.

Startup How-To Guides
Guides from how to laying groundwork to how to find the best location.

Newcomer’s Guide to Vancouver Startup Community
A comprehensive list of resources to help anyone new to Vancouver or new to startups.

 Business Model

No Plan Survives First Contact with Customers – Business Plans Versus Business Models
Steve Blank compares the business plan and business model.

Business Model Canvas Template
Download this strategic management and entrepreneurial tool, which allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent and pivot your business model.

Business Model Canvas
A series of 6 short animated videos, developed by the Kauffman Foundation, to boost executives’ and entrepreneurs’ chances of success in their search for a scalable and profitable business model.

Search = Design, Test, Learn, and Iterate
A guide to help you shape your canvases and validate your ideas in the real world.

 Lean Startup

Get moving, go lean to start a business
Rhonda Abrams, The Planning Shop president and publisher of entrepreneurial books, explains how and why you should go lean when starting up.

Why the Lean Start-up Changes Everything
Harvard Business Review article by The Startup Owner’s Manual author, Steve Blank.

The top five Lean Startup myths
.net magazine debunks the most popular Lean Startup myths.

Applying Lean Startup Beyond Silicon Valley
The Lean Startup Conference writer, Lisa Regan, discusses how the Lean Startup methods can be applied to different cultures.

 Customer Validation and Development

What is customer development?
“Very few startups fail for lack of technology. They almost always fail for lack of customers.” This article explains what customer development is, and why it is important for your startup.

Customer validation: Developing your business model
4 phases of validating your sales process and the assumptions that underpin your business model.

The Phantom Sales Forecast – Failing at Customer Validation
Steve Blank shares an example of a CEO who was “too ‘busy’ for to personally get involved in Customer Validation.”

The Customer Development Manifesto:
Part 1 – Reasons for the Revolution
Part 2 – More Reasons
Part 3 – The Death SpiralPart 4 – The Three Market Types
Part 5 – The Path of Warriors and Winners
In this 5-part series, Steve Blank describes how the failures of the Product Development Model led to the Customer Development Model.

 Pitching

Elevator pitch
Tips and advice from MaRS for an elevator pitch with impact.

A Small Business Pitch Investors Can’t Refuse
The Huffington Post shares 5 tips to delivering a brief, yet effective, elevator pitch.

Your Elevator Pitch Stinks. Here’s How to Fix It
4 tips to a better pitch.

 Funding

entrepreneurship@UBC Seed Fund
e@UBC’s $10 million Seed Fund is a for-profit venture fund owned and operated by UBC for the purpose of investing in new and innovative entrepreneurial initiatives related to the university.

Where Do Startups Get Their Money?
Fundica founder, Mike Lee, identifies four main sources of funds for startups in Canada.

Three tips for finding and funding your big idea
Entrepreneur Shradha Agarwal shares a few tips for you to get started on your business.

 Branding

What is Branding and How Important is it to Your Marketing Strategy?
A brief description of branding and its important, along with links to building your brand.

An Entrepreneur’s Quick Guide To Branding
A brief introduction to the importance of branding and how to get it right.

The Makings of a Great Start-up Name: 6 Tips
Inc. shares a few advice for picking the right name for your company.

How to Choose the Best Name for Your Business
A guide to “help you choose a defensible trademark and a search-friendly, recognizable name.”

9 Essential Elements of Choosing a Domain Name
An infographic with tips to consider when coming up with a great domain name.

Ten best practices to help brands get on Twitter
The Globe and Mail’s 10 steps you should complete before signing on to Twitter.

 Books

  • Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help by Edgar H. Schein
  • The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf
  • What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith

 Resources

UBC

entrepreneurship@UBC
A joint initiative between UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science, the Sauder School of Business, the Faculty of Science and the University-Industry Liaison Office, to nurture and foster entrepreneurship at UBC, and to assist in the growth of start-up companies emerging from UBC.

UILO Startup Services Voucher
Program that supports new and emerging UBC entrepreneurs with up to $5,000 worth (40 hours) of business services from UBC’s University-Industry Liaison Office.

Small Business Accelerator
The SBA program is an initiative of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC to provide free access to reliable resources for industry researcher, market exploration and business management.

Government

National Research Council Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
Canada’s innovation assistance program provides advice, funding and networking for small business.

Other Resources

Small Business BC
A Vancouver-based resource centre dedicated to helping you with your business needs.

2014 Guide to Vancouver Startup Community
A handy list of events, office spaces, and other resources for those new to Vancouver or startups.

Business Model Canvas
A strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model.

Startup Canada
A national, grassroots entrepreneur-led movement to strengthen Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Inc.com
Inc.com, publishers of Inc. Magazine, provides resources for entrepreneurs and business owners, including how-to guides and small-business tools

Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner
A free online archive of resources for teaching and learning entrepreneurship.

Launch Academy
A program that provides mentorship, collaborative learning and network opportunities to help startups.

GrowLab
A Vancouver-based startup accelerator dedicated to help entrepreneurs with seed funding, mentorship and programming.

a place of mind, The University of British Columbia

genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC
103-6190 Agronomy Road,
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
Tel: 604-827-3508
Email:

Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC  | © Copyright The University of British Columbia