Here Are The Entrepreneurs Selected As The 2017 Bears' Lair Finalists

The Top 6 businesses were selected from a group of 21 Bears’ Lair semi-finalists on Tuesday (March 21st) by local business community judges. Chair Diane Richard announced the finalists on stage at the Showcase event at The Venue, where contestants had that opportunity to display the best of their businesses. Three of the finalists are innovation based businesses, and the other three finalists have a focus on Goods and Services.

The 2017 Innovation Stream finalists are: Dock HitchHinge, Lab Improvements and Mont Pellier for the Innovation Stream. The finalists for the Goods & Services Stream include That Dam Tea (TreeWell Limited), Loch, and Ship Shape Service.  

Since the inception of the Bears’ Lair Entrepreneurial Competition, $120,000 in cash and business support services has been made available to contestants. This year, finalists are competing for more than $45,000 in cash and business support services.

2017 Bears Lair Finalists on stage at the Bear' Lair Semi-Finalist Showcase at The Venue on March 21st, 2017. From left to right: That Dam Tea (TreeWell Limited), Loch, Ship Shape Service, Mont Pellier, Lab Improvements and Dock HitchHinge.

“We had such a strong and talented group of entrepreneurs this year—regardless of tonight’s outcome, everyone here is a winner,” says Chair Diane Richard. “Every Bears’ Lair contestant has used the entrepreneurial competition to take their business to the next level."

Bears’ Lair invites everyone to come to the finale event on April 25th at The Venue. The finale event will expose the finalists to a cross-examination, challenging questions and feedback by the judges before a live audience at The Venue. The selected finalists’ presentations will be scored based on innovation, commercialization, diversification, business plan quality and the benefit to the local economy, and two final 2017 winners will be selected.

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Peterborough Economic Development Launches New Program For Entrepreneurs

Peterborough Economic Development (PED) has launched Starter Company Plus, a new program funded by the Government of Ontario that will support entrepreneurs as they start and expand their businesses in Peterborough & the Kawarthas.

The Starter Company Plus program will support all entrepreneurs over 18 who are out of school and looking to pursue full-time entrepreneurship. This program has been designed to support business start-ups and expansions for companies under 5 years old.

PED's Start and Grow Fair at Lansdowne Place Sunday, March 5th, where announcement was made about Starter Company Plus Program

The program builds on the success of the B.L.A.S.T. Pilot Program that was created and administered by Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre last year, as well as the previous iteration of Starter Company that was geared at youth ages 18-29.

“This program will provide entrepreneurs in Peterborough & the Kawarthas with the tools and tangible takeaways that they need to succeed in business,” says Peterborough Economic Development’s Director of Business Development, Suzanne McCrimmon. “The training will focus on business planning fundamentals—including financial literacy, operations and market research.”

Crowd gathered at Start & Grow Fair for announcement of Starter Company Plus program

Upon completion of the training program for each intake period, participants will have the opportunity to submit their business plan and compete for one of seven micro-grants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. These grants will be awarded based on merit and announced at an event hosted by Peterborough Economic Development.

There will be three intakes to the Starter Company Plus program in 2017. March 31st is the application deadline for the first intake. Those interested in applying are encouraged to attend a “Starting Point” workshop taking place every Monday in March at Peterborough Economic Development’s office at 210 Wolfe Street from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For full details on the Starter Company Plus program, go here.

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A Lakefield Woman's Hooded Owl Blanket Has Gone Completely Viral Around The World

Lakefield's Michelle Moore has gone viral before with her shark blanket designs from her company MJ's Off The Hook Designs, but the mother of four has never seen anything like what she's experiencing now with her hooded owl blanket design she just released.

Michelle Moore

Moore, whose crochet patterns (shark, dolphin, dragon, to name a few) sell around the world, did a Facebook post Tuesday, January 31st on her new hooded owl blanket that has gone crazy viral, with more than 25 million views and counting, and hundreds of thousands of shares.

This is the picture of the hooded owl blanket design she posted to Facebook, announcing the release of the pattern...

Moore, who is blown away by the response, tells PTBOCanada how the design came together, and how the "Likes" to her Facebook page have gone from 37,000 to an astounding 104,000 and counting since the post:

Michelle

"I just recently designed a hooded unicorn blanket before Christmas and its sales have been doing amazing. After making the unicorn, I could totally see it working amazing for an owl, the fringe replicating the feathery wings. I also used a more detailed shell stitch to give the blanket a beautiful feathered look. I was certain that people would love it because the continuing popularity of owls. When I started designing hats, owls were always a top seller and one of my favourite designs to make. I had no idea that this design would go viral but the blanket is beautiful and people are obsessed with owls so I guess it just clicked like magic for people to rapidly start sharing. The design was brand new—just released on Tuesday. That evening's Facebook post had 1.6 million views when I woke up Wednesday morning, and has continued to skyrocket in views since. Before the owl went viral, I was at 37,000 page Likes and now my Facebook page is at 104,000 and growing."

We can hardly wait to see what pattern this entrepreneur releases next.

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Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre Launches Free Business Start-Up Program For Aboriginal Community Members

The Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre—a Peterborough-based non-profit culture and community organization providing programs and services to urban Aboriginal people—has announced a new business start-up training program geared at supporting and growing entrepreneurship within the city's urban Aboriginal community.

The objective of the program is to increase the participation of urban Aboriginal people in the economy. Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre is offering the program in partnership with Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre, who will be providing the training in order to support program participants in creating a viable business plan.

“In our recent community assessment, a high percentage of our urban Aboriginal community members responded favourably to becoming an entrepreneur,” says Lori Flynn, Executive Director of the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre. “Owning your own business can be challenging, but a rewarding way to participate in the economy.”

“We are pleased to partner with the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre on this new business start-up training program geared at supporting our local Aboriginal community,” adds Sandy Greenberg, Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre Lead. “The programming that we are delivering will support participants in navigating the path to a successful business start."

The team at Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre

The business start-up training program will consist of six training workshops starting in late November. Participants will receive one-on-one support from local business leaders and explore practical solutions to get their business ideas off the ground. Workshops will offer topics such as sales, marketing, operations and budgeting.

Each participant will work towards putting together a professional business plan to connect with potential funding sources. The deadline to apply is November 18th, 2016. Child care and transportation may be provided to successful applicants based on need. Interested applicants can visit nogofc.ca for more information or contact the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre at 705.775.0387.

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Startup Coffee 2.0 Launches At Silver Bean Café For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Startup Peterborough, a place for budding and seasoned entrepreneurs to gather, learn from each other and get access to invaluable resources, is launching a special Startup Coffee 2.0 event Thursday, June 9th at the Silver Bean Café from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

"We've re-energized Startup Coffee, bringing a pitch element to the table," according to a Startup Peterborough release. "Think of Startup Coffee 2.0 as a bit of an 'Open Mic' for pitches, where startups and entrepreneurs are able to pitch their business ideas, products, services/new offerings to the attendees for feedback."

The idea of adding the pitch concept element for the Startup Coffee event is to really help give entrepreneurs the confidence they need to pitch their ideas to investors, potential business partners, prospective/current clients, friends, family, etc.

Wanna take a stab at practicing your pitch? Join us June 9th at 8-9:30 a.m. @ the @silverbeancafe for #StartupCoffee 2.0.

— @StartupPtbo (@startupptbo) June 6, 2016

Don't miss this great networking event!

For more information about this event, contact Startup Peterborough's Ash Matheson at AMatheson@peterboroughed.ca.

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