Alberta Catalyzer is a merit based, pre-accelerator that provides company support, resources, and coaching to entrepreneurs to launch and grow their tech-enabled company, preparing them to advance to the scaleup and acceleration stages. It consists of three programs, Engage, Traction, and Velocity, that support startups at various stages of development.
Launched in 2022, the pre-accelerator is developed and delivered by Platform Calgary and Edmonton Unlimited, with support from partners and organizations across the Alberta Innovation Network.
Alberta Catalyzer is a part of Alberta Innovates’ Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program for early-stage companies to scale, grow and propel Alberta’s digital transformation. Alberta Catalyzer is open to ALL founders launching and growing a tech-enabled business – which includes the development of a new solution, product or process that has the potential to improve or advance the industry with commercial viability.
Engage: 4 weeks, Virtual
Who: Businesses registered in Alberta with the following:
- Customer Discovery interviews with tracked learnings:
- 25 for B2C recommended
- 10 for B2B recommended
- An early-stage plan for an MVP
- Can demonstrate customer desirability
What you’ll learn:
- Ideal customer discovery
- Solution prototyping
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP) creation
- Testing and validating business models
Traction: 5 weeks, Virtual
Who: Businesses registered in Alberta with the following:
- Have completed or developing the first version of your tech-enabled business ie minimum viable product (MVP)
- Are actively pursuing initial sales or
- customer commitment
- have multiple beta users
- have a pilot in place or a commitment for one
- have a letter of intent
What you’ll learn:
- Use your customer discovery to start developing a go-to-market strategy
- Create or boost your sales pipeline and outreach strategies
- Build marketing strategy and campaigns
- Refine elevator pitch
Velocity: 8 weeks, in-person
Who: Businesses registered in Alberta with the following:
- Have a product or service market-tested with users
- Have initial recurring sales and gearing up to scale
- Are preparing to scale and generate exponential growth in operations
- Have at least one founder working full time in the business
- Are ready to commit 8-10 hours a week in-person in Calgary or Edmonton
What you’ll learn:
- Establish a go-to-market strategy
- Enhance sales efforts and strategies
- Understand investment readiness basics
- Enhance operations and team management
- Establish testing methodology toward product market fit
- Have a polished investment and community pitch
- Understand the different sources of funding and receive feedback from active investors
- Work towards qualifying for other scale-up accelerators
*If you are a RINSA client, please check in with your business advisors or Ecosystem Navigator prior to applying so we can help guide your application and check in with the accelerator program
Apply through the Alberta Catalyzer Website: https://albertacatalyzer.com/