Boston's Canadian Technology Accelerator ramps up with new business offerings

Canadian firms seeking expertise and investment in Boston now have an enhanced menu of services and mentors with the expansion of that city's Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA). The Canadian Mentoring Service (CMS) and active affiliation with the non-profit Canadian Entrepreneurs in New England (CENE) organization are the newest tools in CTA Boston's arsenal.

They will be joined this fall by the Fast Runners program, designed to assist high-potential growth-stage firms also known as gazelles.

"It will be launched as a pilot. High-growth companies are at the stage where you reap the most economic benefits. They hire people and pay taxes," says Thierry Weissenburger, a DFATD consul and senior trade commissioner.

The Boston CTA's suite of programs is attracting an increasing number of Canadian firms eager to receive advice and coaching from a growing cadre of globally experienced entrepreneurs. As one of 12 CTAs funded and administered by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (a division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development – DFATD), CTA Boston has tailored its offerings to capitalize on the unique attributes of the Boston region with dozens of post-secondary institutions, including Harvard Univ and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Firms are also keen to interface with an engaged community of venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs willing to give back including many Canadian expatriates.

"There's a lot of deep diving. We provide sessions with an agenda for companies with good management to come up with a roadmap for the next six months. Then we unleash the power of our commissioners, of whom we have 160 around the world, to help these growth-stage companies," says Weissenburger. "It works better away from headquarters. The pool of globally experienced people firms want to meet are mainly in Silicon Valley and Boston."

CTA Boston is located in the Cambridge Innovation Center, overlooking the MIT campus in Kendall Square — an area that has undergone extensive changes with new housing, laboratories, research and innovation space as well as retail and a dedicated facility for an MIT Museum.

Weissenburger says the hub is ideal for the new Fast Runners program particularly in the life sciences as virtually every company in the sector has a presence there with a heavy emphasis on R&D.

CMS enjoys successful launch

The CMS was launched a year ago and has already mentored more than 20 companies and approximately 50 entrepreneurs through its 48 Hours in the Hub — an annual two-day program of workshops, strategic partner visits, mentorship and networking in the region.

Adapted from the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, CMS is a partnership between the CENE and the Consulate General of Canada in Boston, condensing a regimen of structured team mentorship over four months. The core of the program is a group of 16 lead mentors who operate in groups of three or four, offering free advice to firms that successfully enter the CMS program.

"The CMS is working very well. It's unique within the CTA in that it mobilizes an array of Canadian mentors. Most other CTAs use consultants," says Weissenburger, who pioneered the CTA concept in Silicon Valley. "MIT created an outreach program to train organizations like the CTA and three of my team have participated. In fact quite a few groups from Canada have been through it. Our advantage is that we operate in the same ecosystem as MIT."

CTA scheduled for renewal

The CTA program is up for renewal for another three years. Although it has proven to be a highly effective tool for providing Canadian firms with global contacts and opportunities that can't be offered from Canada, it's likely some of the CTAs will be refocused and there may be some consolidation.

"CTAs work very well in global technology hubs like Boston and Silicon Valley," says Weissenburger. "They possess deep knowledge in technology transfer and marketing, depending on company needs. We take a horizontal approach rather than a vertical or sectoral one."

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