MindFrame Connect Joins Canada’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
New initiative launched today has bold vision to upskill Canadian mentors and entrepreneurs – providing access to expert training, resources, and tools designed to improve performance.
HALIFAX, NS (October 13, 2021) – MindFrame Connect, a new initiative co-created by Dalhousie University, Ryerson University, Globalive, I-INC, and Davis Pier, announced its launch today with a unique focus on building resiliency skills in entrepreneurs as well as helping mentors adapt their skills to be more effective in today’s entrepreneurial climate.
Beginning in June, the MindFrame Connect team embarked on an extensive discovery process speaking with over 50 leaders from across Canada to determine where gaps are in the ecosystem. The process confirmed that mentors are looking for the opportunity to improve while entrepreneurs recognize the importance of integrating psychological and behaviourial techniques into venture-building. Based on these findings, MindFrame Connect will offer two streams of programming focused on: enabling mentors to improve their craft and building resilient/high-performance skills in entrepreneurs.
MindFrame Connect will share lessons from leading experts, entrepreneurs, and mentors in workshops, how-to videos, masterclasses, literature pieces, podcasts, and more. There will be two core focuses of programming – creating more resilient/high-performing entrepreneurs and improving the craft of mentorship. All content will be designed to provide practical learnings and advice that entrepreneurs and mentors can efficiently apply in real life scenarios pertaining to start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises.
What makes it unique is that it will be offered at no cost to entrepreneurs and mentors, and everything put forward by MindFrame Connect is vetted and facilitated by people who have been there before.
“MindFrame Connect was developed in response to our team’s own journey as mentors and entrepreneurs. COVID-19 and its residual effects has brought prominence to the idea that entrepreneurs need to develop the skills and tools to withstand (and even thrive) the onset of significant stress and pressure,” says Brice Scheschuk, Managing Partner, Globalive Capital and former co-founder and CFO of WIND Mobile. “There’s lots of support in the ecosystem for developing venture-building skills, but nothing that helps entrepreneurs harness adversity into high-performance. The same is true for mentors – there’s little support out there for improving how one performs in what is arguably one of the most significant relationships an entrepreneur can have. We’d like to change that.”
Through a two-and-a-half-year funding agreement announced today by Future Skills Centre, MindFrame Connect will make its programming and learnings available to accelerators, incubators, venture capital firms and academic institutions. For year one, the initiative will focus on piloting its workshops and learning aids with organizations from across Canada to test, iterate, and ultimately, land on its suite of offerings. The response from the entrepreneurial ecosystem has been significant with 17 pilot partners and over 100 participants confirmed to date.
The MindFrame Connect team is led out of Dalhousie University, Ryerson, and I-INC with an extensive group of partners and advisors lending their support and expertise to the initiative.
“Dalhousie University is incredibly excited to have the support of Future Skills Centre to bring an initiative like MindFrame Connect to fruition”, says Dr. Alice Aiken, Vice President, Research and Innovation, Dalhousie University. “We intend to work closely with our partners to ensure everything we do is supported by research, evidence, and the guiding principle of inclusivity.”
"Through our network of innovation zones at Ryerson University, and work supporting entrepreneurs in Canada and internationally, we have seen the value and exciting potential in developing entrepreneurial skills," says John MacRitchie, Assistant Vice-President, Zone Learning and Strategic Initiatives, Ryerson University. "These skills drive new ventures that are vital to the economy, and that bring innovative talent to industry and communities. With the support of the Future Skill Centre and in working with our partners on this project, we look forward to demonstrating this potential across Canada."
“The impact of COVID-19 on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been significant. With SMEs acting as the backbone of Canada’s economy, the need for solutions that address the imminent skills and labour shortages is imperative for Canada’s long term success,” says Pedro Barata, Executive Director of the Future Skills Centre. “The MindFrame Connect project bridges the gaps often felt by SMEs and entrepreneurs by testing evidence-based programming needed to support and cultivate entrepreneurs.”
Several expert groups have signed on to deliver workshops and content including The Roy Group, AIR Institute, Reticle, and Third Factor. Dalhousie Researcher, Dr. Lori Dithurbide and Canadian Sports Centre Atlantic have also joined the initiative to leverage sport performance psychology and sport coaching research to inform programming for MindFrame Connect.
“At the end of the day, the success of Canadian entrepreneurs, mentors, and our innovation ecosystem is the ultimate priority of MindFrame Connect,” adds Scheshuk. “This is our way of paying it forward.”
–30–Media Contact:
Meghann ColemanMeghann.coleman@dal.ca
902-880-0049
About MindFrame Connect:
MindFrame Connect is a not-for-profit created in partnership by Dalhousie University, Ryerson University, I-INC, Globalive, and Davis Pier. Funded through FSC, MindFrame Connect shares lessons from leading experts, entrepreneurs, and mentors in workshops, how-to videos, masterclasses, literature pieces, podcasts, and learning aids. All content is designed to provide practical learnings on two streams of programming – improving the craft of mentorship and creating more resilient, high-performing entrepreneurs. MindFrame Connect works with accelerators, hubs, and academic institutions to provide training complementary to their current program offerings and catered to the needs of their entrepreneurs and mentors. All offerings are vetted by a team of entrepreneurs, mentors, and academics and offered at no cost to the user with the end goal of upskilling Canadian entrepreneurs and mentors. Learn more at mindframeconnect.com
About Dalhousie University:
Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada’s leading research-intensive university. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an Agricultural Campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of the university’s 20,000-plus students coming from outside the province. Dal’s 6,000 faculty and staff foster a diverse, purpose-driven community, one that spans 13 faculties and conducts more than $194 million in research annually. Part of a cluster identified as one of the world’s top international centres in ocean research, the university proudly celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2018.
Learn more at www.dal.ca.
About Davis Pier:
Davis Pier is a consulting firm that provides innovative solutions to complex government and social challenges. They work with public, non-profit, and social sector organizations in Canada and internationally to deliver the services necessary to improve society and the lives of others by designing, planning, and implementing lasting change. Their projects include work in a variety of domains including healthcare, education, employment, social services, public safety, business regulation, citizen services and diversity and inclusion. Their core services include Strategy and Analytics, Design, Transformation, People and Technology.
About Future Skills Centre:
The Future Skills Centre (FSC) is a forward-thinking centre for research and collaboration dedicated to preparing Canadians for employment success. We believe Canadians should feel confident about the skills they have to succeed in a changing workforce. As a pan-Canadian community, we are collaborating to rigorously identify, test, measure, and share innovative approaches to assessing and developing the skills Canadians need to thrive in the days and years ahead. The Future Skills Centre was founded by a consortium whose members are Ryerson University, Blueprint, and The Conference Board of Canada, and is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program.
About Globalive:
Globalive Capital is the investment company of Anthony Lacavera and his team including Brice Scheschuk and Simon Lockie. The partners have a combined 70 years of operating and investing experience and have founded or co-founded and operated 13 companies including WIND Mobile, which was sold to Shaw Communications for $1.6 billion. Globalive Capital invests principal capital in multiple asset classes including venture, private equity, and real estate. The company has made over 100 investments and is well-known as a strategic, entrepreneur friendly investor. For more information, visit www.globalive.com
About I-INC:
The Innovation and Impact Network of Canadian Universities (I-INC) is a pan-Canadian, internationally connected network of high-performance university-linked accelerators, incubators and centres of research commercialisation. I-INC supports and enables efficient commercialization of University-based innovation, utilising collaboration, networks and shared services to allow for scale and impact at a national level.
About Ryerson University:
Ryerson University is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education. Urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the University is home to more than 46,000 students, including 2,900 Master’s and PhD students, 3,800 faculty and staff, and over 200,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit Ryerson.ca.
