British Columbia Innovation Council

Delivered by Mark Dance (former COO & President of Creo) with support from BCIC, NRC-IRAP, BCTIA and ACETECH, the Entrepreneurship & Technology Commercialization Workshop is now accepting applications. This three-day workshop is focused on helping entrepreneurs assess the commercialization potential and positioning of their product idea. Followed, by three one-hour mentorship sessions with Mark, this workshop is a fantastic learning opportunity for new or very early-stage tech entrepreneurs in the clean tech space. Apply now!

Need more perspective? Here's a testimonial from Mischa Steiner-Jovic of Awesense Wireless, who took the workshop in March:

I recently learned that BCIC was running its Entrepreneurship & Tech Commercialization Workshop again, and I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences with the workshop from my participation earlier in the year. The workshop is run by Mark Dance and BCIC. During my workshop Dean Prelazzi from BCIC was present and was able to speak with the participants and offer his insights as well. So we got two very experienced guys to bounce ideas off and learn from.

I was lucky to be selected into the program earlier this year, but I didn't really know what to expect. I had spoken to Dean about it and he encouraged me to participate, and in short, I'm very thankful that I did.

Mark puts a tremendous amount of time and effort into this course, and it's easy to tell that he truly deeply cares about what he is teaching. Mark is able to effectively distill market hype into reality, and will challenge you to think about what really makes a good company. I could tell that he was really passionate about helping young companies succeed and thrive, and he is really good at showcasing his experience on what worked, and what didn't work with real life examples.

We covered various topics in the course from product positioning, to market analysis and strategy, to pricing, operations, and go-to-market techniques. Basically everything that is needed to be covered to figure out if what you have, is really a business or not. I'm going to warn you, you will leave the first day with so many questions, that you probably won't be able to sleep. By the end of the third session, you'll have the tools you need to develop a solid strategy and the foundations of a business plan. But you'll still have questions. And this, is what is really cool about the course. You get 3 one-hour sessions with Mark one-on-one. These sessions are gold, and I was truly blown away by how fluent about my market and how prepared Mark was for my one-on-one sessions. If you prepare you questions ahead of time, you will get a lot out of these sessions.

In short...

Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
Would I take the course again? Absolutely.
Is it a good value? Absolutely.

I think you see a trend here.

To apply, please visit the workshop webpage or download the application form and send to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with "Workshop Application" in the subject line.

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