This Series will connect entrepreneurs with information, access to resources and support to help with common challenges for startups, including raising capital, commercialization and going to market, and legal and accounting strategies for startup through growth stage. It is also designed to engage key stakeholders in the development of a more robust startup ecosystem in Richmond, and includes a workshop on the role that logistics and innovative workspaces will play.

In this session:

The first workshop in the Future of Richmond series is Funding 101 and Free Money - an introduction for early-stage entrepreneurs on raising capital to start and grow their businesses. Capital sources range from grants, to loans, to shareholder investment, and each startup can benefit from a unique combination of these sources. Come learn about capital raising from a panel of experts on dilutive and non-dilutive funding, and what steps to take next for your business or idea.

Speakers:

• Melanie Rupp, Women's Enterprise Centre - She is the Director, Loans & Advisory Services for Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC), based in our Vancouver office. WEC is a non-profit organization devoted to helping BC women start, lead and grow their own businesses, providing business loans, skills training, mentoring, advice and resources from our three offices in Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.

• Vivian Xu, BDC - She holds a Master Degree in Financial Management, has over 17 years of experience in the financial industry, specialized in Commercial and Corporate Lending. She also has been with the BDC for over 11 years as a Senior Account Manager, focusing on providing integrated lending and advisory solutions to medium and large sized entities. In addition to that Vivian also is an ambassador of the BDC Women Entrepreneur Team - #bdc4WE - and a committee member of Greater China Exchange Committee, a sub-committee of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

• Stephanie Sang, Granted - A true Vancouverite, vowed never to be an entrepreneur, though she comes from four generations of business owners. After ten years of fast-paced Asian living, and success in developing her family business to the pre-IPO stage, she returned to Vancouver in 2010 to start Granted Consulting. As head ‘grant angel’, Stephanie and her team impact businesses in B.C. by helping them leverage grant opportunities successfully.

• Vivian McCormick & Keith Ippel, Spring Activator - Vivian was a practicing lawyer in Vancouver for over 10 years, first with a national law firm and then as in-house counsel with Business Development Bank of Canada. Taking her knowledge and experience further into the business realm as an advisor, she started her own entrepreneurial journey with her first company Flax Sleep. She supports entrepreneurs with raising capital and oversees Spring’s talent and partnerships. Keith leads Spring, a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to build better businesses and change the world. To date, its global advisory work has supported entrepreneurs in over 30 cities across 5 continents while its impact programs have helped over 700 entrepreneurs launch 350+ businesses, and raise over $22M in early-stage capital.