Have a bold idea or research discovery? Transform your idea to impact with Innovation UBC’s flagship program, Venture Founder!
Innovation UBC creates pathways for UBC’s research community to bring their inventions to impact. Through our entrepreneurship and venture building team, we unlock the potential of promising UBC startups, supporting researchers to drive change beyond academia and transform their groundbreaking ideas into real-world impacts.
Take your next step with Venture Founder
Venture Founder equips you, an aspiring UBC entrepreneur, with a business skillset, highly skilled mentors and community to nurture your start-up-building process.
As part of the 16-session program, you will participate in experiential workshops to define and validate your venture opportunity, gain support from experienced mentors, and cover foundational and operational topics to establish a viable startup company.
As part of Venture Founder, you will:
- Develop an understanding of your industry ecosystem and the potential paths to market
- Evaluate and articulate your compelling value proposition for your venture opportunity
- Build a credible business and revenue model
- Work to build a viable and fundable startup opportunity
- Identify and connect with key subject matter experts, advisors, investors, potential business partners and customers
Who is eligible to apply?
- The key applicant and co-founder must be an existing UBC student, staff or faculty member.
- We strongly recommend that a team of at least two participants apply to join Venture Founder to pursue a start-up opportunity, due to the intensity of the Venture Founder process. Solo founders are typically not accepted, but will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Key dates
Applications close October 27, 2025 with the program running February - June, 2026. Don’t miss your chance to take your idea or research discovery to the next level!
Questions? Get in touch with our team
