Content Library

Welcome to the Startup School Content Library. Browse past sessions by category or scroll down to search our entire library.

Content Categories

Startup Building Blocks

Everything you need to know to get your startup started, from bootstrapping and design thinking to building a lean canvas and opportunity evaluation.

Online Tools & Prototyping

Grow your social media presence, build an online store, learn the basics of code and explore prototyping.

Strategies for Growth

Create a profitable business model and build a community around your company. Learn how to scale your business and adapt to market trends while considering the ethics of your business.

Getting Funded

How to apply for grants, pitch your company, manage investors and maintain basic bookkeeping for your business.

Customer Relationships

Create an online presence, get to know your customers, improve your sales skills and learn the basics of public relations.

Wellness for Entrepreneurs

Learn to be resilient and find balance in the stressful life of entrepreneurship.

Startup Operations

Everything you need to know about startup law, intellectual property and insurance as a new startup.

Building a Team

What to consider when bringing on co-founders and how to manage team dynamics as your startup grows.

Search the entire library below

Searchable tags

Range	Tags
# - B	10 magic slides, 4 word story, A/B testing, Accountability, Agenda, Agile, Analysis, angel investor, Apps, April 1st, ARPU, artificial intelligence, Bootstrapping, border investment, brand essence, brand promise, breakthrough innovation, burn rate, business agreement, business architecture, business development, business due diligence, business ethics, business growth, business model, business model canvas, business models, business plan, buyer persona, buyers journey, buying cycle
C - D	C100, canadian startup, capital efficient, case study, cash flow, CCPC, Coding, cold calling, commitment clarification, Communication, communication agreement, competitive advantage, competitive analysis, Conflict, Content, content marketing resources, convergent thinking, convertible debt, core proposition, core story, cost of customer acquisition (COCA), creative destruction, Crowdfunding, CSS, customer acquisition, customer archetype, customer development, customer journey map, Customer-centric, DAU, deal terms, Deontology, design thinking, disciplined entrepreneurship, disruptive innovation, disruptive technology, Distribution, divergent thinking, double diamond, due diligence
E - I	early users, elevator pitch, emerging technology, Empathy, entrepreneurial method, entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial process, entrepreneurial traits, Equity, equity financing, ethical concerns, ethical theory, exit strategy, exponential benefit, extreme users, facial recognition, Facilitator, fed dev, feddev investing, financing plan, find funding, follow up, founding team, funding resources, Fundraising, giving feedback, good story, google analytics, government funding, government program, growth mindset, healthy conflict, HTML, human rights, hypothesis test, IBI program, ideal customer, ideal headline, Improvisation, incorporate, incremental innovation, inelastic demand, Influencer, Innovation, Insights, Interview, Invest, Investor, Investors, Irap
J - Q	journey map, key message, Laws, Lawyer, Leadership, lean canvas, lean startup, legal due diligence, lifetime customer value, LTV, March 31st, market fit, market gap, market segments, marketing funnel, MAU, media prep, media relations, mindfulness meditation, minimum viable product, mission statement, mock up, mockup tools, Morals, nervous system, neuroscience , North star, November 30th offline sales, Opportunity, opportunity screening, origin story, outbound prospecting, pain point, preferred shares, prefrontal cortex, pro bono, problem solution fit, problem solving, problem-solution fit, product-market fit, Prototype, public relations
R - V	qualitative validation, quantitative validation, receiving feedback, Referral, reliability agreement, reoccuring revenue, Resiliency, risk averse, Runway, sales meeting, screening due diligence, self awareness, SEO, Seungsahn, shared economy,shred credits, social contract, social media, social media audit, social media live, social network, stakeholder theory, Stanford school. story telling, strategic partner, Strategy, Sustainability, Take 5 Executive Meditation, talent triangle, target audience, term sheet, the Ask, third party validation, Trust, unique selling proposition, uniquely remarkable, Utilitarianism, validated learning, value creation, value proposition, VC, venture capitalist, venture capitalists, virtue

Topic	Speaker	Category	Tags
Design Thinking (Steven Gedeon)	Steven Gedeon	Getting Started	customer-centric, problem-solving, qualitative research, empathy, design thinking, interview, empathy, lean startup, Stanford D school, prototype, business model canvas, extreme users, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, value proposition, investors, double diamond, agile, customer journey map, entrepreneurial process, quantitative validation, qualitative validation, Stanford school, business plan, business model design, two-stage divergent-convergent process, human-centric innovation framework, value proposition design, VPD process, D4G process, prototype business model, BMC
Design Thinking (David Senior)	David Senior	Getting Started	How Might We, lean startup, observations, interviews, prototype, Balanced Breakthrough model, diverge, converge, user experience, ethnography, MVP, value proposition design, insights, feedback loops, journey mapping, double diamond model, empathy map, Yes and Ideas, case study, user personas, design thinking, problem solving
Opportunity Evaluation (Rafik Loutfy)	Rafik Loutfy	Getting Started	opportunity, analysis, product-market fit, lean startup, entrepreneurial traits, shared economy, market gap, value proposition, value creation, problem solution fit, product market fit, disruptive technology, breakthrough innovation, incremental innovation, disruptive innovation, business opportunity identification, business opportunity evaluation, entrepreneurial process, innovation
Why Should I Choose You	Ian Chamandy and Ken Aber	Getting Started	core proposition, strategic partner, uniquely remarkable, core story, business architecture, unique selling proposition
Business Model and Lean Canvas	Sean Wise	Getting Started	validated learning, business model, lean canvas, creative destruction, hypothesis test, disciplined entrepreneurship, venture capitalists, social contract, inelastic demand, value proposition, ARPU, LTV, A/B testing, Ryerson Futures Fund, The Lean Canvas, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, Y Combinator
Bootstrapping	Michael Carter	Getting Started	bootstrapping, cash flow, business plan, pain point, risk averse, social media, exit strategy, talent triangle, business agreement, capital efficient, reoccuring revenue, burn rate, runway, pro bono, incorporate, minimum viable product, Adobe Photoshop, QuickBooks, Alliance Atlantis, StartUp HERE Toronto
Lean Startup Method	Dave Valliere	Getting Started	competitive advantage, business model canvas, lean startup, opportunity screening, customer acquisition, value proposition, prototype, mock up, investors, lifetime customer value, cost of customer acquisition (COCA), customer archetype, BMC
101 Ways to Successful Failure	Michael Carter	Getting Started	insurance, write off, HST, bootstrapping, runway, incorporation, burn rate, freelancer, force majeure, ownership, grants, personal taxes, HR specialist, sole proprietor, exit strategy, tax credits, talent triangle, corporate taxes, cash flow, capital efficient, pivoting, turnaround, line of credit, bootstrapping, funding resources
Opportunity Evaluation (Tarek Sadek)	Tarek Sadek	Getting Started	opportunity, analysis, product-market fit, value proposition, customer discovery, patent, customer segment, business model canvas, lead users, lean startup, venture capitalists, personal fit test, economic test, competitive advantage, MVP, market research, opportunity validation, BMC, end-users
Intro to (Fear Free) Code	Mina Mikhail	Prototypes & Tools	HTML, CSS, coding, apps, closing tag, image tag, head section, text editor, JavaScript, end user, forward slash, body section, CSS file, web development, line height, apply styles, free resources, anchor tag, double quotes, angle brackets, web design, GitHub, software, web applications, dynamically typed programming lanuages, world wide web, Sublime Text, Lynda.com, Code Academy, Python, SRC, Ruby
Mockups to Launch	Amir Jaffari	Prototypes & Tools	ecommerce, mockup, blog, traffic, subreddit, niche, Facebook ads, landing page, grants, social channel, press, social media, MVP, feedback, investors, elevator pitch, community, email marketing, influencers, market research, target audience, marketing funnel, target market, competitive analysis, free tools, prototypes, Google Analytics, Magic Mockups, Noun Project, JavaScript, Product Hunt, Leadpages, Hotjar, Woopra, Balsamiq
Content Marketing for the Scrappy Entrepreneur	Braveen Kumar	Prototypes & Tools	content marketing resources, distribution, blog, traffic, social media, lead magnet, influencer, distribution channel, community, e-commerce, feedback, resources, search results, customer, target audience, scale, marketing funnel, interview, empathy, keyword research, traffic sources, competitive advantage, target customer, email list, Google analytics, SEO, impressions, long-tail keywords, content strategy, marketing strategy, search engine optimization, Adobe Spark, Google Analytics, BuzzSumo, Youtube Analytics, Uberflip, Sprout Social, Upwork, Social Blade, ideation, creation
Startup Social Media Strategy	Brent Stirling	Prototypes & Tools	SEO, content, market segments, competitive analysis, social media audit, hashtags, pixel, website, organic, strategy, audience, blog post, users, funnel, social platform, content theme, campaign, community, influencer, promotional partners, target segment, content marketing, tools, investors, end user, look alike audience, scale, portfolio, scale, portfolio, competitive analysis, trends, email list, website audit, social media strategy, strategy creation, target segments, strategy flow, social media execution, hashtags, Google Analytics, promotional partners, Tweetdeck, Social Blade, online tools, Google My Business, Tweetbinder, Canva, Squarespace, Sprout Social, Shopify, Open Graph, Hootsuite, Crimson Hexagon, Brandwatch, Gratisography, Buffer, Sprout Social
Competitor Analysis	Phil Walsh	Strategy & Growth	competitive intelligence, key success factors, social media, competitive analysis, early adopters, business model, competitive positioning plot, venture capitalist, competitive strength analysis, exit strategy, driving forces, strategic positioning, competitive strength assessment, market size, growth rate, economies of scale, buyer needs, Porter’s 5 Forces, competitive advantage, positioning
The Scalable Office	Rustin Smith	Strategy & Growth	business plan, income tax, sales tax, staffing, funding, grants, lean startup, CRA audit, incorporate, sole proprietor, cash flow, independent contractor, consultants, lifetime customer value, SR&ED, startup accounting, input tax credit CRA audit, Rotessa, SOFII, Wave Accounting, GoDaddy, QuickBooks Online, IRAP funding, Plooto
Leveraging Outsourcing Practices: How Can Startup Businesses Leverage Outsourcing	Waffa Karkukly	Strategy & Growth	project management, intellectual property, core service, tax relief, success criteria, cost reduction, quality assurance, process speed, defined roles, free zones, stakeholder management, due diligence, economic conditions, procurement management, subcontracting, service level agreement (SLA), offshore outsourcing, near-shore outsourcing, on-shore outsourcing, transformational outsourcing, organization change management
Building a Community Around Your Product/Company (Mike Murchinson)	Mike Murchison	Strategy & Growth	retention, ambassador program, delight, empower, social network, defensibility, shared interest, social media channels, differentiation strategy, empower, delight, shared interest, social network, defensibility, ambassador program, building community, understanding community, growth, retention, Volley, FreshBooks, Version One Ventures, Hacker News, Indiegogo
Growth Hacking from 10,000 to 100,000	Matt Loszak	Strategy & Growth	social network, social media, business development, influencer, google analytics, DAU, MAU
Growing a Startup to 100M in Revenue in Canada	Yona Schtern	Strategy & Growth	customer, mentor, business idea, business plan, equity, resources, business metrics, angel investor, consignment, venture capitalists, audience, customer acquisition, target customer, quantitative analysis, validated learning, lean startup, bootstrapping, unmet market, retail, TechCrunch, Futurpreneur Canada, The Naked Entrepreneur, Kiva
Business Planning	Ken Grant	Strategy & Growth	balance sheet, income statement, target market, investors, business model canvas, financial plan, cash flow, supporting schedules, The Ask, executive summary, value proposition, sales forecast, target audience, unit price, cash flow, balance sheet, income statement, target market, investors, value proposition, business model canvas, executive summary, financial plan, supporting schedules, sales forecast, the Ask, target audience, unit price, business plan, business model, market research, the 4 Ps, the 7 Ps, BMC
Building a Community Around Your Product/Company (Khierstyn Ross)	Khierstyn Ross	Strategy & Growth	wait list, influencer, affiliate commission, giveaway contest, black friday effect, organic methods, paid methods, landing page, ideal customer, product market fit, social media, blog post, quality leads, case study, problem solution fit, customer validation, content marketing, The New Model, PLS, predictable launch system, ideal customer, defensibility, success, growth, sales
Entrepreneurial Ethics	Ann Dulhanty	Strategy & Growth	laws, artificial intelligence, business ethics, facial recognition, morals, human rights, deontology, innovation, ethical theory, emerging technology, virtue, utilitarianism, ethical concerns, business models, stakeholder theory, sustainability, ethics, corporate social responsibility
Canadian Financing Landscape	Jeff Dennis	Money	invest, VC, CCPC, lawyer, preferred shares, term sheet, deal terms, equity, competitive advantage, fed dev, competitive advantage, lawyer, border investment, crowdfunding, IBI program, convertible debt, C100, canadian startup, investor, equity financing, border investment, angel investors, venture capital, due diligence, pitch
Pitching Investors	Sean Wise	Money	investors, patent, elevator pitch, scale, MVP, venture capitalists, crowdfunding, lean startup, business model, early adopters, customer discovery, explainer video, angel investor, problem solution fit, problem market fit, value proposition, bootstrapping, early sales, social ventures, investment thesis, investment readiness level, investor deck, lean canvas, fundraising, the Ask, runway, purchase order, 10x advantage, 10/20/30 rule, media pitch, investors
Media Pitch Session	Ian Portsmouth, Diane Buckner, & Rob Gerlsbeck	Money	media pitch, value proposition, prototype, press coverage, media, pitching
First Funding	Alan Lysne	Money	accelerators, referrals, cap table, dilution, stock options, term sheet, Go to Market plan, investors, seed funds, VC, venture capitalists
Applying for Government Grants	Jennifer MacInnis	Money	business growth, government funding, feddev investing, irap, government program, november 30th, march 31st, april 1st, shred credits, find funding,
Managing Investors	Corey Gross	Money	equity, board members, mentor, Board of Directors, VC, vesting, runway, agenda, fundraising, community, public domain, shareholder agreement, scale, burn rate, cap table, signing authority, MVP, business metrics, KPI, investor relations, investor, bootstrapping, Sensibill, Borrowell, IRAP, Accenture, MaRS
Public Speaking for Entrepreneurs	Mo Waja	Money	authority, foundation building, awareness building, conversion driving, technical credibility, perceived credibility, marketing mix, visual anchor, narrative arc, credibility, storytelling, conversation
Social Media Maximization	Jeremy Shtern	Customers	social media, earned media, strategic communication, investors, paid media, paid advertising, owned media, mainstream press, beta version, influencers, lean startup, social media strategy, social networks, social media presence, marketing, advertising, digital strategy, content, content creation, content marketing, strategic communication, user-generated content
Innovating in Retail	Liz Evans	Customers	competitive advantage, pain point, social media, ecommerce, e-commerce, online retailer, trends, retail store, customer validation, touchpoint mapping, innovation, retail, retail innovation, disruptive innovation, customer touch points
Sales 102: USP and Cold Calling	Jason Silver	Customers	unique selling proposition, cold call, follow up, offline sales, mission statement, sales meeting, customer development, North star, referral, ideal customer, USP, cold calling
Time to Embrace the Power of Storytelling	Mark Evans	Customers	buyer persona, origin story, story telling, ideal customer, buyers journey, target audience, 4 word story, value proposition, buyer’s journey, MailChimp, Method:CRM, Canva
Customer Acquisition and Sales Training	Alyshan Kara & Chris Gray	Customers	buying cycle, cold call, outbound prospecting, feedback, open rate, buyer persona, campaign, buyer journey, job postings, press releases, sales conversation, sales email, conversion, interviews, strip line, good rapport, end users, outbound strategy, customer journey, cognitive capacity, data aggregation tools, touchpoint, trends, empathy, Google Alerts, Owler, Feedly, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Cirrus Insight, Hunter MailTracker, Yesware, ZoomInfo, LeadIQ, Lusha, Newsela
PR Fundamentals for Startups (Deb Belcourt)	Deb Belcourt	Customers	brand promise, social media, good story, key message, media relations, communication strategy, public relations, ideal headline, brand essence, social media live, media prep, storytelling, content, Instagram
Business Improvisation for Entrepreneurs	Randy Sabourin	Mindset	improvisation, opportunity, leadership, empathy, external awareness, body language, sales conversation, forgetting curve, sales call, elevator pitch, good salesperson, low status, high status, overcoming objections
Mindfulness Meditation for the Entrepreneurial Mindset	David Schlanger	Mindset	mindfulness meditation, self awareness, growth mindset, entrepreneurial mindset, neuroscience, nervous system, prefrontal cortex, resiliency, Take 5 Executive Meditation,
Startup Law: 7 Things to Avoid	Kobi Bessin	Operations	intellectual property, vesting, insurance, incorporate, independent contractor, hybrid approach, investors, fiduciary duty, insurance, disclosure agreement, joint venture, sole proprietor, seed financing, startup law, shareholder agreements, regulatory compliance, investors, independent contractor, employment agreement, limited liability, fiduciary duty, insurance, seed financing, hybrid approach
Faultless Due Diligence	Michelle McBane	Operations	angel investor, due diligence, fundraising, term sheet, founding team, financing plan, referral, screening due diligence, business due diligence, legal due diligence, investors, early stage
IP Best Practices with Big Impact for your Start-up Business	Maya Medeiros	Operations	copyright, intellectual property, brand, trade secret, notice, NDA, ownership, investors, cease and desist, portfolio, patent document, intangible assets, physical assets, PCT, resources, IP assets, marked confidential, employment agreement, joint ownership, legal fees, IP strategy, clearance search, feedback, timing considerations, innovation culture, trends, value proposition, patents, patentability trends, branding
Startup Insurance	Jennifer Tywhitt Gory and Chris Gory	Operations	defense costs, CGL policy, retroactive date, commercial insurance, business interruption, legal costs, WSIB, professional liability exclusion, commercial general liability, health insurance, private health services plan, life insurance, healthcare spending account (HSA), first dollar defense (FDD), insurance penalty, retroactive date, property insurance, cyber risk, employee benefits, employee dishonesty, E&O insurance, D&O insurance, co-insurance, claims example, cyber risk liability, first dollar defense
Finding Co-Founders	Eric Rafat	Teams	recruiting, landing page, core team, interview, web application, equity portion, value alignment, Founders Canada, resources, job posting, web developer, mock up, Matrix, Ruby, Founders
How Not to Kill Your Co-Founders: Strategies and Tools for Successful Teamwork	Lillian Blume	Teams	accountability, trust, reliability agreement, conflict, facilitator, agenda, receiving feedback, mission statement, healthy conflict, giving feedback, commitment clarification, communication agreement, teamwork, team dynamics, interpersonal communication
7 Relationship Management Imperatives for Startups	Carol Roberts	Teams	partnership agreement, business model canvas, joint venture, strategic alliance, cultural sensitivity, customer segment, case study, lean startup, partnership intangibles, partnership agreement, joint venture, strategic alliance, cultural sensitivity, case study, customer segment, business model canvas, lean startup, forming partnerships, partnership agreements, value proposition, BMC
Finding Your Founding Team	Cristian Villamarin	Teams	investors, feedback, press, Founders' Agreement, founding team, VC, SEO, influencers, testing hypothesis, user journey, sales plan, landing page, North star, KPI, email, funding, culture, mentor, backlink, search engine optimization, Flipd, AngelList
Side Hustles & Startups: Is Entrepreneurship For You?	Sean Wise	Getting Started	customer segment, side hustle, lean canvas, early adopters, business model, insights, customer discovery, investors, competitive advantage, minimum viable product, scale, inelastic problems, feedback loop, business planning, problem solution fit, product market fit, Y Combinator
Setting Up Shopify + Creating Your First Store	Phill Smith	Prototypes & Tools	pixel, budget, campaign, ad set, impression, traffic, business manager, ad account, primary text, scarcity, custom audience, hot traffic, SMART goal, CPM, cold traffic, scale, hard metrics, soft metrics, CTA, KPI, funnel. warm traffic, home page, benchmark, comparison price, search engines, short tail keywords, conversion API, influencer, value proposition, long tail keywords, PAS formula, AIDA formula, AOV, Bluehost, GoDaddy, Shopify
Digital Marketing Trends & Opportunities	Darrell Keezer	Strategy & Growth	strategy, website, social media, campaign, email, users, organic, referral, landing page, chatbot, conversion rate, budget, API, email list, Facebooks ads, traffic, influencer, task management, video asset, lead funnel, target audience, target market, case study, customer acquisition, inbound marketing, outbound marketing, conversion, call to action, remarketing, impressions, purchase power, purchase habits, search engine marketing, digital path, influencers, consumer habits, online advocates, customer value forms, social selling, traffic drivers, WIIFM, audience, website structure, baby boomers, milennials, A/B testing, Candybox Marketing, Google My Business, Basecamp
PR Fundamentals for Startups (Joy Yap)	Joy Yap	Customers	pitch, story, brand, email, key messages, press, blog, website, social media, interview, target audience, proof points, follow up, influencer, beat, contributed articles, PR goals, supporting visuals, business plan, reporter branding, call to action, Google analytics, value proposition, bootstrapping, organic PR, Truiloo, Google Analytics, PR Web, Muck Rack, Journo Requests, Ninja Outreach
The Science of Influencer Identification and Social Listening	Jaigris Hodson	Prototypes & Tools	social media, campaign, brand, hashtags, micro influencer, offline influencer, bootstrapping, target market, macro influencer, social media audit, trends, Google analytics, public relations, top users, 3 R's, meso influencer, measurement tools, conversion, target audience, niche market, Tag Sleuth, Google Analytics, Google Trends, Trendspottr, Hootsuite, Netlytic, Mention Map
Financial Literacy Tips for Start-ups & Entrepreneurs	John Love	Money	small business, financial statement, accountant, write off, insurance, tax return, wrongful dismissal, trend analysis, stock options, business structure, CCA, business journal, payment terms, accounts payables, side hustle, industry analysis, niche market, value proposition, cash flow, equity, prepaid retainer, strategy, finance, bookkeeping, income, accrual measurement system