A Discovery Foundation Technology for Good Program

Incubator for Entrepreneurs with ASD

Learn the skills you need to take an idea and turn it into a business.

The Incubator for Entrepreneurs with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a comprehensive 13-week, mostly-virtual program that helps you develop, test and refine your business idea.

Through two in-person sessions, a guided online learning program, and active support from business mentors, you will learn how to:

Understand what it means to be an entrepreneur
Clearly define and articulate the problem you are solving
Identify your target customer base
Learn how to get quality actionable feedback from customers
Effectively communicate your short business pitch and supporting story
Build a path to validate your idea and next steps
Learn sales and marketing approaches
Understand how to test and adjust your business to changing market conditions
Learn how to establish accountability partners and relationships with mentors
Develop project management skills
Create clear goals and an action plan for your next steps

Whether you choose to progress from your business idea to launch or not, you’ll leave with transferable personal and professional skills that will be useful in your future career

The Incubator for Entrepreneurs with ASD is a great fit if…

You’re 18+ with ASD living in BC
You have a business idea you want to test, refine, and develop

What's included?

Two in-person sessions

You’ll be invited to join us in person in downtown Vancouver for a kickoff event the week of November 25th and a wrap-up session the week of March 2nd, 2020.

Weekly online learning topics including two webinars led by mentors and guest speakers

Learn the skills you need wherever you are most comfortable. Training will be delivered online via our online learning management system.

Planned topics include:

Finding your why
Problem definition
Lean methodology
Customer discovery
Accountability partners & mentors
Sales
Marketing
Pitching & presentation skills
Goal setting & productivity skills
Launch planning & project management

Community

Once accepted into the program, you’ll be invited to join our private community forum. This is a space where you can connect with instructors, meet other entrepreneurs and Spring alumni, ask questions and get ideas.

Mentoring

Our mentors are seasoned entrepreneurs, business experts and advisors who can help you think through challenges, connect to resources and more. Based on your business idea and your needs, we’ll connect you to a business mentor who will be available to meet one-on-one weekly for the duration of the program.

Scheduled breaks

We’ll be taking a break during the weeks of December 23rd and 30th to allow everyone to enjoy the Holiday season.

Meet the Spring team

Learn from Vancouver’s top entrepreneurs, investors, and business experts. With a combined experience of over 30 years in entrepreneurship, lean methodologies, growth hacking strategies and impact entrepreneurship, the Spring team delivers the highest quality of startup education.

Keith Ippel

Co-founder & CEO @ Spring

Caroline von Hirschberg

Program Director

Program Partners

As a certified B-Corporation, Spring is a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to build better businesses and change the world. Through its global advisory services, it has helped more than 70 different incubators, accelerators, foundations, and governments on 5 continents enhance their capacity to maximize impact both in their local communities and globally. With their impact programs, they have helped more than 700 entrepreneurs create 350 companies and raise more than $21M in funding.

A registered charity, the Discovery Foundation has been an enabler of the science and technology sector in BC since its formation in 1979. Its principal activity is the delivery of the Technology Education Program via agents that provide education and guidance to entrepreneurs in BC. The foundation also provides funds for research and scholarship.

Community Futures offers a variety of services and tools to help entrepreneurs and small business owners achieve their goals, including business support services, business planning advice, loans, and self-employment assistance. The Community Futures Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP) provides assistance to entrepreneurs with disabilities or ongoing health conditions to start or grow their businesses.

Venue Partners

As one of the world’s largest software companies, SAP is at the centre of today’s business and technology revolution. Their diversity and inclusion strategy, including the Autism at Work program, helps fuel our innovation as we work to help our customers become the best run.

Ready to apply? Here’s how it works.

Program Participation is Free For Qualifying Participants

Step 1: Apply by completing a short survey about yourself and your business idea.

Step 2: Attend a video call to help us understand more about your business idea and assess if this program is the right fit for your business stage.

Step 3: Meet our team in person for final confirmation of a mutual fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the program cost?

The program is free for qualifying participants thanks to our generous supporters, Discovery Foundation & Community Futures

How many participants are you accepting into the program?

This intake is limited to 6 participants to ensure we can provide tailored support across the program.

What commitment am I required to make as a participant?

Attend both in-person sessions in Vancouver.
Be able to spend at least 3 hours a week working through the course materials and supporting activities.
Be willing to give regular feedback!

My organization would love to support this program. How can we get involved?

We’d love to hear from you! Please click here to get in touch with our team.

Participation is Free For Qualifying Participants

Applications now closed