City of Vaughan teams up with ventureLAB to provide consultation services to local businesses

Itbusiness.ca
October 25, 2019
Buckley Smith

In celebration of the kickoff of Small Business Week in Vaughan, the city announced a partnership with ventureLAB to bring business consultation services to tech businesses completely free of charge in Vaughan beginning in November.

Speaking at Paint Lounge in Kleinburg on Tuesday, Maurizio Bevilacqua, the mayor of Vaughan, spoke highly of the economic landscape in Vaughan, but noted the progress there’s another level to be reached.

“At the City of Vaughan, we take great pride in knowing that our community continues to be a leading destination for aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and established businesses to reach new and unprecedented heights,” said Bevilacqua at the press conference. “On the occasion of Small Business Week, Vaughan looks forward to working closely with ventureLAB to build on the city’s success and commitment to help entrepreneurs pursue their aspirations, reach their goals, and achieve unrivaled success.”

These free services will include professional coaching, mentoring, and strategic advice from an experienced growth advisor – as well as various workshops – and will be available at Vaughan City Hall starting in November.

“ventureLAB is looking forward to expanding our programs and services across Vaughan and York Region to better support tech entrepreneurs,” said Melissa Chee, the president and chief executive officer of ventureLAB, at the press conference. “Since 2011, we have supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs building and scaling their businesses, and have helped over 100 companies raise over $110 million in investment, and create over 3,500 jobs. We look forward to working with the City of Vaughan to broaden our reach, and support more entrepreneurs.”

Vaughan is currently home to over 12,000 businesses; employing more than 223,000 people, which represents over 80 per cent of all local jobs. Since 2010, Vaughan has maintained an economic growth rate of four per cent; bringing with it more than 60,000 new jobs.

The partnership is currently planned until the end of 2020 with funding coming from Vaughan’s Small Business Enterprise Centre while ventureLAB will provide its resources such as staff time and marketing capabilities.