IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Upcoming events and opportunitiesEntrepreneur Spotlight – The new Centre for Research and Innovation’s MakerSpace welcomes our first clientCalling all mentors!
How to connect with us!
Upcoming events & Opportunities
Experience Ventures – Drop by Navigate on October 5 and 6 to learn more about this exciting paid internship opportunity!
Become a change maker!
Experience Ventures creates paid entrepreneurial thinking placements for students with innovative companies in Canada, providing students with the opportunity to make an impact alongside real-world innovators. Memorial University is pleased to be a partner in Experience Ventures again for the 2022/2023 academic year, powered by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary.
To find out more about Experience Ventures, and how you can apply, check the Experience Ventures page. The application deadline for Fall 2022 opportunities is October 11, 2022. If you have any questions, contact Enaya AbdElGaber, Experience Ventures Program Coordinator, at amahmoudfahm@mun.ca. Open to Grenfell and CNA students.
Students of Grenfell Campus and CNA Corner Brook Campus! Experience Ventures Program Coordinator, Enaya AbdElGaber, is coming to Navigate for in-person info sessions this October. Sessions will be taking place at our Navigate locations as follows:
Grenfell Session
Wednesday, October 5 from 11am-1pm
Navigate Grenfell Campus (AS2001 just off of the main Arts & Science Atrium)
Masks recommended.
CNA Session
Thursday, October 6, from 11am-1pm
Navigate CNA Corner Brook Campus (2nd floor, Room 2001)
Masks required.
Snacks and refreshments provided!
Register
BDC Small Business WeekTM Networking and Info Sessions with Navigate
Join us for coffee and snacks at the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centres to learn more about the many supports and opportunities available for aspiring entrepreneurs, and come network with the local entrepreneurial community over lively discussions about how the next gen of entrepreneurs can dare to do things differently to power up their growth!
Grenfell Session
Wednesday, October 19 from 11am-1pm
Navigate Grenfell Campus (AS2001 just off of the main Arts & Science Atrium)
CNA Session
Thursday, October 20, from 11am-1pm
Navigate CNA Corner Brook Campus (2nd floor, Room 2001)
We look forward to meeting you! Open to students and the general public.
Register
BDC Small Business WeekTM – October 16-22, 2022
BDC Small Business WeekTM is an annual celebration of entrepreneurship that the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has organized for 43 years. Every year, close to 10,000 entrepreneurs gather to learn, network and celebrate Canada’s dreamers and doers. This year’s theme for BDC Small Business Week is “Dare to do things differently: Power up your growth.”
The economic recovery has brought new challenges for Canadian entrepreneurs. High on the list are inflation, worker shortages and supply chain challenges. Can we find better ways of working? Certainly. Business owners are finding ways to succeed despite these challenges. They are also making their businesses more inclusive and sustainable, while driving the Canadian economy. See how it’s being done, as we all celebrate the passion, daring and impact of Canada’s dreamers and doers during BDC Small Business WeekTM 2022.
For more information on the many events happening during the week, visit BDC online. 
Navigate presents: Jose Lam Startup Event – November 4-5
Calling all aspiring entrepreneurs! This event is for you!
The Jose Lam Startup Event is the perfect opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs, ‘wantrepreneurs’, and anyone who has ever dreamt about starting their own business one day. This event will turn your “one day” into “day one’!
In a day and a half, participants will work as part of a team to experience the thrills and pains of starting a real company, while engaging with skilled mentors, coaches, and potential investors. The event will start with an initial Meet and Pitch on Friday evening followed by a Work and Learn session on Saturday morning and a final Pitch Competition on Saturday afternoon. The event is open to students and members of the general public who are interested in entrepreneurship and in learning more about starting a business. Meals will be provided for the duration of the event.
Friday, November 4, 2022
Meet, Mingle, Ideate and PitchHave dinner and brainstorm with the other entrepreneurs and ‘wantrepreneurs’Pitch an idea to have it included in the vote for which projects will proceed to the pitch competition on SaturdayParticipants vote on the projects they would like to see move forwardBuild a dream team by pairing up with participants who want to work on the same idea as you!Saturday, November 5, 2022
Morning: Work, Learn and Build your Business ModelWork with your group to further develop your idea, brand, product, service or prototype, develop a business model, and start testing your idea on potential clients. We will provide you with some of the things you will need to make this happen.Receive help from experienced mentors to solve some of the tougher challenges that you will inevitably encounter.Afternoon: Pitch your Idea!Build a compelling pitch with the help of assigned coaches. You will have 5 minutes to pitch your business idea to a panel of judges and to the other participants.Watch the presenting teams, have fun, and celebrate the work that you have done!Space is limited. Please register in advance HERE to reserve a spot.
This event pays tribute to one of the biggest fans of Startup Weekends: the late Dr. Jose Lam.
Register
Let’s Get Digital Guide to the Good MasterClass – CDAP Grant
Date: October 20th, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Register NOW for this fun, friendly session that makes DIGITAL Do-ABLE.The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) supports getting small businesses online to give their e-commerce presence a boost or help digitize their business’s operations. Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400.
Holy Moly! That could be you!As part of CDAP, the Government of Canada has partnered with CBDC to deliver the Grow Your Business Online grant to small businesses across Newfoundland & Labrador.Join Guide to the Good’s Kim Todd and special guest, CBDC’s Jill Jubabir, for this Let’s Get Digital session.Jill is a program coordinator for the NL Association of CBDC’s and runs the CDAP program for Newfoundland and Labrador. He’s the go-to!In this session, you’ll learn the broad strokes of CDAP and Jill will show you how to navigate the application process. There will be time for questions! Here is where you can see the money!
As always, start where you are. Know where you want to go.
Digital Is DoAble!Let’s Get Digital is led by Kim Todd, founder and Digital Guide, Guide to the Good, graduate of Memorial’s Digital and Social Media Program, Accredited Business Communicator (IABC), Accredited Communications Training Facilitator with McLuhan Davies Communications, and Dip. Applied Ethics, Phil, MUN.CBDC assists in the creation of small businesses and in the expansion and modernization of existing businesses by providing financial and technical services to entrepreneurs.This online session will run on Google Meet. Registration is free but space is limited.
Register
Find Your Way to Your Google Profile – Digital is DoAble tips and tools from Guide to the GoodDate: October 12,2022
Time: 10:20am – 10:30amMost companies know how important their Google Business Profile is. It’s the sleepy giant that shows up when people search – usually!
Google recently retired the Google My Business App, and now encourage us all to use the Google Maps App to update and create. Not the same!In this stream, we’ll look at how to do the things the new way – join us!Digital Is DoAble is a free livestream of social enterprise Guide to the Good to help local companies thrive and build sustainable communities. We show up in the Digital Is DoAble facebook group usually on the second Wednesday of the month, around 10:20 am. Join us! Kim Todd is the host, and sometimes there are guests!REGISTER
Are you an under-represented businesswoman in NL?
NLOWE is excited to announce TWO ways for you to explore and build your own business this fall and winter.
Both programs are for women from under-represented groups in Newfoundland and Labrador who are in the early stages of starting and growing their businesses.
REGISTER
We’re switching it up.
In view of the upcoming launch of the new Centre for Research and Innovation in Corner Brook, the Ocean Startup Activator is being moved to a later date.
Please stay tuned for our new date when you can join Navigate Small Business, Memorial’s Research Innovation Office, and the Ocean Startup Project for the Western NL edition of Ocean Startup Activator.
This event is designed to help prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs, students, researchers and innovators explore and pursue business ideas in Canada’s Blue Economy. Participants will learn about various resources available for business development support regionally and nationally and have the opportunity to connect with support organizations, industry experts, researchers, mentors, investors, funders, peers, potential business partners, and other key Blue Economy stakeholders.
More information coming soon! NAVIGATE MAKERSPACE ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT
“Vanlife” brought Michael Royal of Charleston, South Carolina, to the new Centre for Research and Innovation’s MakerSpace.
Vanlife is an alternative lifestyle whereby people live and work out of their vans, rather than renting or purchasing traditional living spaces.
“I’d seen something on the internet that got me interested in so-called van life, or living and working in a van, and so I decided that rather than rent an apartment that I would try this van life thing, with an eye towards whenever I didn’t have to be on location, I could explore the wilderness in other areas that I hadn’t seen before,” said Mr. Royal.
He said there were two emerging technologies that convinced him to give van life a go: advances in battery technology, allowing him to be off the grid for longer periods of time without the use of a generator, and “Starlink,” which provides high-speed satellite internet.
“I find beautiful places and explore the world while doing my job,” said Mr. Royal, explaining that he customized his Mercedes Sprinter van to meet his specific needs. “The full-time office is as important as the house component,” he noted.
He took out the bed and built a more robust storage system to maximize space, with a “hide-away” bed that is stored during the day. Mr. Royal’s van is complete with stove, prep area, shower, toilet, computer desk – everything he requires to live his personal and professional life.  
Entrepreneur and avid “maker”, Mr. Royal stopped into the Navigate MakerSpace, which is housed in the new Centre for Research and Innovation Centre in Corner Brook, NL, to continue making modifications on his storage design.
“I’ve been travelling in Canada for a couple of months, and I noticed I have a design flaw in my system; I was on the east coast of Newfoundland and googled to find a place I could work out of for a few days, and found this location and drove here right away,” he said.  
Mr. Royal has spoken with the company that originally outfitted his van; he said they are curious to learn more about his design. And once he has worked out the kinks in this stage of the system’s development, it’s back on the road.
“I’ve really enjoyed being in Canada. I was in Nova Scotia for a few weeks, and I’ve been here now for a few weeks,” he said. “I’m just astonished by the beauty everywhere I go.” Navigate is recruiting mentors!
Eligibility Criteria and Expectations:Looking for mentors with 5+ years entrepreneurship experience or 10+ years corporate experience in a pivotal roleAvailable to work with an entrepreneur mentee for a minimum of 4 hours per monthWilling to work with a mentee to set goals and expectations in addition to providing knowledge, advice, networking connections, etc.Agree to provide feedback and updates to Navigate Manager on the progress of the mentee and goals and targets attainedFor more information, contact Allison Rowe at allison@grenfell.mun.ca to become a mentor with
Navigate.
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