Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship

🌟 Reflecting on a Transformative Year at SFU's Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship 🌟   In 2024, we proudly supported entrepreneurship and innovation across all 8 faculties at SFU, empowering changemakers through mentorship, education and experiential learning.   📌 Highlights of 2024: ⭐Fully integrated Venture Connection (est. 2008) into the Chang Institute, creating a seamless entrepreneurial ecosystem. ⭐Delivered 1,100+ mentoring hours across programs like Mentor Meet, early-stage incubator, and Venture Prize. ⭐Micromobility hardtech startup Fingerprint Technologies won SFU’s 13th Coast Capital Venture Prize. ⭐Opportunity Fest showcased students’ innovative solutions at a 200+attendee event, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world impact. ⭐Our early-stage incubator supported 41 startups, from registered charities to medical devices, which generated $2.5M in revenue and raised $1.5M+ in funding. ⭐Supported 9 students through paid entrepreneurship work-integrated learning (eWIL), via co-op, eCo-op and eGrad placements. ⭐Engaged 100 middle school entrepreneurs on campus through PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs. ⭐Hosted 70+ events engaging 1300+ participants. ⭐Our community provided 525 volunteer hours as jurors, speakers and event volunteers.   🎉 Notable Startup Success Stories: ⭐Naloxhome: Educated 16,000+ high school students on drug awareness and overdose prevention. ⭐BAK’D: Opened its first storefront, baking 1,000+ cookies daily. ⭐HigherEd AI: hosted its first conference with 270+ attendees from 30 institutions ⭐PhyCo Technologies: Won international awards and raised $235K for its seaweed biomaterial innovations ⭐NovaSense: won the $50K Age-Well Emerging Entrepreneur Award for pressure injury prevention innovation. Alumni achievements: ⭐Moment Energy: Raised $28.1M CAD for EV battery innovation. ⭐Spexi Geospatial: Secured $16.2M CAD for drone-based imagery. ⭐Tenzr Health: Raised $2.8M CAD to transform remote care. These achievements highlight the resilience and creativity of SFU’s entrepreneurial community. 🚀 Here's to an even brighter future for innovation and entrepreneurship at SFU! Learn more: https://ow.ly/8KBM50UuB0E #ChangInstitute #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #SFU #YearInReview

🚀 Practicing Entrepreneurship for Career Readiness | How an Entrepreneurial Mindset Can Propel Your Career 🚀 In today’s fast-paced job market, it’s not just about technical skills—developing an entrepreneurial mindset is key to standing out and succeeding. In his latest article, Dr. Simon Ford of SFU's Beedie School of Business explains how embracing entrepreneurship, both inside and outside the classroom, fosters creativity, resilience, and adaptability—skills that are increasingly valued by employers, especially in the age of AI. 🌟 Whether you’re launching your own startup, excelling in a corporate environment, or contributing to a nonprofit, an entrepreneurial mindset equips you with the versatile skills needed to thrive in any career path. 📚 Dr. Ford also shares how SFU’s Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship offers valuable programs and networking opportunities to help students and professionals cultivate these skills. 💡 Exciting News! In 2025, we’ll be sharing a new story series highlighting SFU alumni who have achieved career success, thanks in part to their entrepreneurial mindset training and practice. Stay tuned! 🔗 Read the full article to learn how to start developing your own entrepreneurial mindset today: https://ow.ly/5xsv50UuAzY 👉 For more insights like this, sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on upcoming content! https://ow.ly/8tu050UuAE9 #EntrepreneurialMindset #CareerSuccess #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #SFU #ChangInstitute #AI #CareerReadiness

We're so proud to be supporting these unique and innovative product entrepreneurs at SFU! Check out these holiday gift ideas and treats made by the SFU community. 🎁🌟 Check out: 🍊Second Savour - Redefining sustainability through up-cycled Citrus Treats, you can indulge environmentally conscious https://ow.ly/fg1O50UnY53 🍪BAK'D - Ooey gooey freshly made and baked 5oz cookies https://ow.ly/sfKJ50UnY2k 🌯Brightside Foods - Handmade from fresh and whole ingredients, Brightside meals are handy, delicious, and convenient meals that bring sunshine to your freezer https://ow.ly/PIbs50UnY2w 💖Clovere - Helping you feel beautiful anytime, and anywhere with their reusable, magnetic false eyelashes ⛳Gameday Golf Gear- Bringing you premium jersey-shaped golf accessories https://ow.ly/Xe5f50UnY4b 🕯️Mala the Brand - Earth-friendly candles that evoke nostalgia https://ow.ly/U84U50UnY4F 🔗Click to shop local and support these SFU ventures: https://lnkd.in/g7Wq8F4y

✨A heartfelt thank you to our Opportunity Fest 2024 community!✨ As Opportunity Fest comes to a close, we'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this event possible. 📚 Instructors - Thank you for dedicating your time and expertise in guiding students to showcase their entrepreneurial projects 🎓 Beedie - Thank you for advocating and supporting the Chang Institute through all our programming and events 🌟 Guest Mentors – Your insights and guidance have left a lasting impact on future changemakers 🚀 Incubator participants - You brought your innovation and passion to the forefront 🙌 Volunteers - Your dedication and commitment ensured everything ran smoothly And to the stars of the show, our student participants - thank you for your creativity, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit. You made this year’s Opportunity Fest truly special. We appreciate everyone who contributed to our community by attending or supporting this celebration of entrepreneurship. Together, we’ve experienced what’s possible when learning, creativity, and collaboration come together. Here’s to the amazing ideas and ventures that will continue to grow beyond Opportunity Fest! 🚀 #SFUBeedie #OpportunityFest24 #Beedie #Business #Entrepreneurship

Congratulations to our Opportunity Fest 2024 Category Award winners! 🏆 We're so proud of the entrepreneurial mindsets unleashed at this year's Opportunity Fest. We hope you get inspired and keep up with the standout teams of each category. 🎿 Gear2Peer - Tache Sato, Lachlan Ramsay, Kobe Sam, Jaime Morales 🏡 Green Grid Homes - Simrin Hair, Luca Mezzacapo, Sam Allen, Diego Cloma, Maya Kaur 💸 IDK Wealth - Lance Chen, Jae Hyun Kim, Jaden Lee, Raphael Dai 🤖 DataBotix - Ahbitej Khosa, Saranpreet Singh, Harjap Singh Dhatt, Arshdeep Khosa 🦺 XO FORM - Catherine Cui, Min Young (Daniel) Kim, Ifeanyichukwu Victory Obanye, Catherine Ho, Daniel Furlot Congratulations to all the category winners for your creativity, collaboration, and hard work! We can't wait to see what's next for each of you. 👏 #OpportunityFest2024 #OppFest #Entrepreneurship

The people have spoken, Justin Cheung earned your votes to win this year's Entrepreneur's Choice award at Opportunity Fest! Congratulations to Justin, an eCo-op student this semester and special guest at our annual showcase. This well-deserved recognition reflects the community support behind Second Savour's mission. We can't wait to see where Second Savour goes next! 🚀 #SecondSavour #OppFest #OpportunityFest2024 #studentaward

Happening this Friday at the Downtown campus! Before heading out to catch the Taylor Swift concert a few blocks away, step into your own spotlight and get pitch perfect 🎤🌟 Learn how to deliver compelling 30-second, 1-minute, or 3-minute pitches. Not quite ready to pitch yet? No worries—come watch, share feedback, and support others! 📍 Where: Charles Chang Innovation Centre ⏰ When: Friday, December 6, 1–3 PM 🔗 Follow the link to register: https://ow.ly/fFaC50Ukor6

🏆 A big congratulations to XOFORM on winning the High Impact Innovator Award! 🏆 The High Impact Innovator Award recognizes the student team with an exceptional startup idea that demonstrates both high impact potential and strong feasibility. From BUS477, XOFORM stood out at this year's Opportunity Fest with their protective headgear for workers who wear turbans - bridging the gap between faith and functionality. Their solution tackles a systemic barrier in industrial work environments, paving the way for a more inclusive future where no one has to choose between their identity and livelihood. 🚧🌟 #oppfest #OpportunityFest2024 #StartupIdea #StudentEntrentrepreneurs #Innovators #InclusiveWorkGear

✨ Today’s the day! ✨ SFU Surrey's Mezzanine is about to be filled to the brim with innovation and creativity as students showcase their ventures at Opportunity Fest. Tonight, we celebrate and strengthen the thriving entrepreneurial spirit at SFU amongst industry experts, academic leaders, and alumni. 🚀 Come by to see the latest projects, support our students, and celebrate the power of innovation at SFU! 🎆 🕕 Time: 6:00-9:00pm 📍 Location: SFU Surrey Be sure to stay tuned to find out which student teams are awarded! #OpportunityFest2024 #OppFest #SFUEntrepreneurs

What a standout round of final presentations from BUS 338 (Foundations of Innovation)—shoutout to the students for their creative solutions 🙌 Our Director of Operations, Ben Chow, was impressed by the comprehensive analysis and strategic recommendations the students provided as business consultants! A big thank you to Amyn Somani for having our incubator startups, PhyCo Technologies and Tech Maple Works, participate as clients!💡🌱