Take Your Startup to the Next Level with Venture Forward
Accelerate Your Business Growth
Venture Forward is designed to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses sustainably. You’ll work with mentors, industry experts, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, all striving to make an impact. The program is open to University of Toronto students, alumni, staff and Peel region residents.
What You’ll Gain:
- Mentorship & Advising: Regular meetings with ICUBE staff advisors to stay on track and connect with experienced industry mentors.
- Access to Student Talent: Collaborate with talented University of Toronto students through volunteer opportunities, class projects, or team placements.
- Grants & Investors: Compete in pitch competitions and, if ready, connect with potential investors in the ICUBE community.
Exclusive Benefits for Venture Forward Teams:
- One-year membership to ICUBE’s resources and programs.
- Free co-working space with wi-fi and printer access.
- Opportunities for volunteer or co-op student placements.
- Personalized mentorship and start-up coaching.
- Workshops and training sessions on key business topics.
- Office hours with professionals (IP, legal, finance, etc.).
- Eligibility for ICUBE pitch competitions and other funding opportunities.
- Access to capital (grants, investors, loans).
- Networking with leaders in Peel region and beyond.
- Free 50 hours at ICUBE Studio.
- Feature opportunity in The Varsity publication.
- $3,000 grant towards IP legal services.
- PR office hours with BetaKit editors for media opportunities.
Program Commitment:
- Meet bi-monthly with your advisor to set goals and track your progress.
- Actively participate in workshops and events to maximize your growth.
How to Apply: Eligible applicants are required to prepare a brief slide deck (maximum 10 slides) explaining their project and why it’s a good fit for ICUBE. Pitches should be no longer than 10 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis each month, and feedback will be provided for those not accepted.
Who Should Apply: You are a great fit for Venture Forward if:
- Must have a launched initiative or MVP with demonstrated market fit and some traction
- Must be dedicated to solving a compelling problem (all venture structures/industries welcome)
- We are looking for diverse, coachable and collaborative teams
- Must be a University of Toronto student, recent alumni (within the last 5 years), or a Peel region resident
- The business idea must be in alignment with University of Toronto’s applicable policies and legislation and ICUBE’s values
Equal Opportunity at ICUBE: At ICUBE, we believe entrepreneurship should be accessible to everyone. We actively create space for diverse leaders from all identities, ensuring our teams reflect the UTM community. Marginalized and under-represented entrepreneurs are especially encouraged to apply.
Frequently asked questions
ICUBE builds and plans, innovative experiences to execute a bold entrepreneurial vision. Can’t find the question you’re looking for? Get in touch with us.
A business incubator is a program that gives very early-stage companies access to mentorship, investors and other support to help them get established. Business incubators work with early-stage companies to get them to move beyond their embryonic phase.
A business accelerator is a program that gives developing companies access to mentorship, investors and other support that help them become stable, self-sufficient businesses. Companies that use business accelerators are typically start-ups that have moved beyond the earliest stages of getting established. They have basically entered their “adolescence,” meaning they can stand on their own two feet but need guidance and peer support to gain strength. Less developed companies not ready for an accelerator would instead use a business incubator for support.
No! All of ICUBE’s programs are free. We are fully funded by grants and the University of Toronto.
No! ICUBE does not take any equity or ownership interest, including but not limited to shares, stocks, membership units, or any other equivalent form of ownership in our ventures business in exchange for providing programming or services. However, please note that when being connected to investors, or when using particular UofT resources (i.e. research facilities), founders are responsible to review those terms separately, as we cannot guarantee what parties external to ICUBEUTM require.
All of ICUBEUTM’s programs are open to students, staff, or alumni of any of the UofT three campuses. Additionally, our programs are open to members of the Peel region. ICUBE Studio’s paid services are open to any business in Canada.
No, ICUBEUTM is not a student club, we are a university student life unit under the Institution of Management & Innovation at University of Toronto Mississauga.
ICUBE hires work study students every term! Keep an eye out for our job postings on CLNx at clnx.utoronto.ca.
Venture Forward is a one-year program designed to accelerate your business growth in a sustainable way. This is ideal for businesses who are already set, have a product, or are currently selling products/services and need an extra push to grow and scale their business.
Ideation Lab is a one year program that is ideal for teams who have identified a business idea and are in the ideation or early startup phase.
This program is open to self-identifying Indigenous people across the GTA, with preference given to U of T students, staff, and faculty which focuses on bringing an Indigenous and non-Indigenous lens to entrepreneurship.
Yes absolutely! In fact it’s encouraged to do so. It is very common for ventures to be part of multiple different incubator programs to help solve different problems and raise more funding.
Not particularly. While we do highlight social innovation more, we accept ventures from all different fields and categories as long as they are ethical businesses and are not against any of University of Toronto’s policies.
An ICUBE membership is for one year from the date of acceptance into Ideation Lab or Venture Forward program. After the one year is up, you are encouraged to apply again.
