SIMCOE COUNTY, Ont.
The 2018 smOffice contest is in its fourth year, and has successfully launched seven unique enterprises throughout Simcoe to date. This year, the contest organizers are reaching out to Indigenous communities to launch three new startups this season Applications will be accepted until May 1.
Last year’s smOffice winner, Charles Catchpole, a member of Couchiching First Nation and his wife Jermaine, will be co-leading this year’s program.
“smOffice offers a great program that gives startups the support they need to get their business off to a running start. Our foodservice product will be launching into retail in the next few months and it wouldn’t have come to fruition without the assistance of smOffice and the possibility of dreaming bigger. So I say ‘meegwetch’ for that,” said Catchpole.
“Having served and supported First Nations community over the years, I’ve always longed for ways to see our (First Nations, Metis and Inuit) communities thrive as opposed to just survive,” said Chad Ballantyne, creator of the smOffice contest. “I think a unique incubator program like smOffice is perfectly structured for breaking down barriers and collaborating on dreams for any culture.”
The contest is now accepting applications which can be found online at smoffice.ca/smoffice-application. Three qualifying winners will receive free downtown office and meeting space for six months, professional services, mentorship sessions from top Simcoe entrepreneurs and $1,000 each in seed funding, lla to fuel their small business dream.
“We’re excited to meet that next creative entrepreneur who has a clear vision and brings passion to what they do,” said Ballantyne, owner of The Creative Space, who is hosting the contest. “Our goal is to accelerate their business in ways they could never do on their own.”