Trailblazing

Trailblazing Winter 2024

What is Trailblazing?

Are you tired of sitting on your idea, unsure of how to bring it to life? Unsure if your idea has what it takes to succeed? Perhaps you're looking to start a side-hustle or a side-gig to earn some extra income. Maybe you're considering contract work but want to refine your brand and offerings first. If these questions have been on your mind, look no further than Trailblazing - the ultimate early-stage entrepreneurship course!

Trailblazing is designed specifically for individuals who have the ambition to start their own business but lack the knowledge and guidance to get started. Our comprehensive program will take you through the initial steps of developing and refining your business idea. Whether it's defining your target customers and early adopters, understanding financial aspects and pricing models, or building your first prototype, Trailblazing equips you with the essential foundations for a successful business.

What sets Trailblazing apart is our commitment to supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in defining, validating, and preparing their business ideas. We provide you with the tools, resources, and expert guidance needed to transform your idea into a thriving venture. To give you a better idea of what to expect, take a look at our past course syllabus.

Don't let your idea go to waste. Join Trailblazing and unleash your entrepreneurial potential today!

Spring 2024 Schedule

Dates: January 30th, February 6th, 13th, 27th, March 5th and 12th

Time: 6:00-9:00PM

Location: Agility Innovation Zone (SA6304).

Register Today!

What You’ll Learn

In this program, you will flesh out your idea and build a pitch deck to help communicate your idea to others.

Trailblazing is broken into 6 main topics:

  1. Find customers for your new business
  2. Make your idea unbeatable
  3. Beat out the competition
  4. Make money in your business
  5. Build your new business idea
  6. Pitching your new idea for results

View the Spring 2023 Program Syllabus to get an idea of what we have planned for the summer.*

*Content subject to change.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Set yourself up for success in the Trailblazing cohort by following these tips:

  • Prepare to spend ~4 hours/week on Trailblazing, and schedule time in your calendar to focus on your business idea
  • Utilize the 1-1 sessions with a mentor
  • Say goodbye to perfection
  • Come to Trailblazing prepared with a business idea in mind

Frequently Asked Questions

No entrepreneurial or business knowledge is needed to be part of the program. Entrepreneurial skills will be developed throughout the course of the program. 

Yes! Trailblazing can be done multiple times to further refine your business idea. If you have multiple products in your business, going through Trailblazing with a focus on each product is also beneficial.

Trailblazing is completely free! There is no cost to enrolling or participating in Trailblazing

You can expect to spend around 4 hours per week on Trailblazing activities. This includes your weekly mentorship meetings, instruction, and activities.

Yes! Trailblazing is meant for early-stage entrepreneurs to help flesh out their idea. It covers the foundations of starting your business, with little jargon and steady guidance. Working with your mentor, you will be met at your level and guided through the program at your own pace.

Yes! This is a good opportunity to refine things you already know and make new discoveries about your business. Working with your mentor, you will be met at your level and guided through the program at your own pace.

Participant Highlights

 

Rejoice Maikiwa

 

Rejoice Makiwa 

My company, Vhudzi, addresses the need for more equity in the hairdressing industry. We will help customers find a hairstylist qualified for their hair texture and able to get them their desired outcome. My app will provide a wide variety of reliable recommendations for local hairdressers. It will help customers connect and support of local black hairdressers. 

 

     

I initially joined the trailblazing program because at the time I was working on selling my crochet projects online. After the first lesson I realized there was a problem that I wanted to tackle through creating a business. I have experienced the exhaustion and stress that comes with the trouble of finding a hairdresser in Lethbridge for most of my life. Around the time of hearing about trailblazing, I was turned away form a salon because they said they had little experience working with the texture of my hair. That experience sparked my passion to create Vhudzi. The trailblazing program helped guide me on developing my business idea.   

Trailblazing was helpful in my entrepreneurial journey because it has given me the tools and support to be able to present my business idea and get funding. I’ve recently found it most useful when I attended a pitch competition hosted by the BIPOC foundation and won some money. Before I attended the pitch, I was able to run through it with the trailblazing coordinator, Brady Old. This helped me immensely because it gave me confidence in my pitch. Together we were able to make sure I had all the components in my deck that were required for the pitch.  

My main take-away from the trailblazing program is that a group of entrepreneurs is helpful. In the trailblazing program having regular meetings with other entrepreneurs was helpful for me because it provided a space where I talk about my challenges with people that can relate. The group was also supportive and provided something important, confidence, in myself and my business idea.   

 My advice would be to just go for it. Take a step to build that idea and find support, like the trailblazing program, to help you do that. As well, have confidence in yourself but don’t be afraid to change up what you’re doing when something isn’t working.   

I would recommend this program to a friend because It makes the path of developing your business idea easier through providing step by step lessons and support. 

 

 

Joan Barredo

Coffeehouse Marketing Studio offers different marketing services for small business owners whose first language is not English. Our services includes producing editorial content for different platforms, audio and video materials, web design, and marketing strategy. Our main clientele are immigrant women, older business owners who struggled with the fast paced change in technology, and stay-at-home moms who just moved to the country. 

Joan Barredo

I applied at a business school because I wanted to learn about the business side of doing good. I have more than a decade’s worth of experience working with nonprofits and advocacy groups until I stumbled upon the concept of social entrepreneurship in one of our projects. This sparked my curiosity and inspired me to pursue my own business. 

I was an international student in Canada and I was away from everything that was familiar, my friends, my family, my home when the pandemic hit the country. It was during the lockdown when I felt isolated, I felt like I was missing out on a lot of opportunities because everything was online. I was scrolling on social media when I saw a post from Agility, talking about Trailblazing Program and how you don’t have to have experience to join. Most importantly, they encouraged everyone to join. I was hesitant at the beginning because I know how limited opportunities are for international students. But Agility made sure that everyone who wants to learn more about entrepreneurship felt welcome. And I’m glad I applied because everything I learned in class was complemented by the things I learned from Trailblazing. 

I’ve learned a lot from the program, from honing my business skills to meeting likeminded students. But one thing that Trailblazing really helped me with was developing my confidence. As a marketer, I had the confidence to manage expectations and deal with different types of personalities, but I did not have the confidence to believe in myself, that I can succeed as a business owner. The modules were simplified, the goals were achievable, all I needed to do was do it and do it with conviction. Because of the program, I’ve met so many amazing people who shared my passion to do good and create a positive impact in my community and my planet. I’ve even met a business owner turned mentor, Wendy, who gave me a summer job and I’ve learned a lot from her. I also got introduced to a student club, Enactus, where their primary mission is to give student entrepreneurs the resources they need to use business models to help the community. I’ve seen first hand the impact of believing in yourself and the many wonderful things you can accomplish when you are surrounded by people who also believes in you. 

Done is better than perfect. In the past, I never release or submit anything that in my standards were not good enough. And most of the time, it would end up being parked or forgotten entirely because I never had the courage to show them to the world. A lot of unfinished books I’ve written, a lot of unspoken business ideas, a lot of missed opportunities. With the Trailblazing Program and its facilitators, I was encouraged to do what I can in a given period of time and that doing the modules and the assignments are better than taking so much time just to make one task perfect. 

Believe in yourself first and foremost. You may think that in this business climate, everything must have been said and done already. But no. Why? Because none of them is you. 

I would recommend this program a hundred percent. I’ve already shared this opportunity with my group of international students. I’ve mentioned it to a friend of a friend. I’ve followed and shared their content on socials and hopeful that I’ve contributed to the growth of the Trailblazing Community. It was because of the program that my lockdown experience was not so bad. It was of the program that opened so many opportunities for me. It was because of the program that I’ve met so many likeminded people who believed in the impact I can make.