To date, the incubator has helped more than a 100 startups, resulting in an investment of more than $5M in new ideas to activate New Brunswick’s economy.
Venn Garage, Venn Innovation's non-cohort based incubator program won the Innovative Member & Client Services award at the 2021 TECNA Innovation Awards, during the virtual 2021 TECNA Summer Conference on July 21. TECNA recognized Alicia Grayeb, Program Manager, Startup Services and Norbert Demps, Venn’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, for their their innovativeness and ability to go beyond daily operations and member support. The nominations for the category, from across the United States and Canada, were evaluated by TECNA's panel of judges.
"As a not-for-profit focussed on developing New Brunswick's technology and innovation ecosystem, we are honoured to be recognized for our work in supporting innovative tech start-ups and entrepreneurs," said Alicia Grayeb. "After the pandemic, we restructured and adapted to the new virtual reality and the challenges that it brought, and extended our support throughout the province. The incredible startups we work with provide the energy to push our limits," she added.
Alicia Grayeb (L), Program Manager, Startup Services with Norbert Demps (R), Venn’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence
TECNA has been compiling the Innovation Awards since 2019 to honour forward-thinking members who are integral to developing and implementing innovative and impactful work on behalf of their tech associations or councils. Ryan Weber, TECNA Board Chair and President & CEO of KC Tech Council said, “It is a privilege to recognize this year’s award winners and all of the nominees who showcased the innovative and creative programs Tech Councils provide to our industry and their communities.”
Venn Garage was founded in 2014 when Venn identified a gap in the ecosystem to support tech-based startups. The mentors and team bring unique technical expertise, business acumen, and a global network that are valued by startups across growth stages.
Some of the innovative and unique offerings include:
Technology validation right from inception that can reduce risk and challenge at the growth stage
The Venn Garage Platform (VGP) that prioritizes data security and GDPR compliance for participating startups. It includes a private, secure cloud for collaboration and project management
Support in acquiring early adopter customers and initial funding
Financial planning and investment pitch coaching
Meaningful partnerships with other innovation hubs and ecosystem players to maximize professional learning and development for founders and entrepreneurs
To date, the incubator has helped more than a 100 startups, resulting in an investment of more than $5M in new ideas to activate New Brunswick’s economy. The participants and alumni are tech-based New Brunswick companies that solve real world challenges, in various stages of growth and maturity.
The incubator also believes in fostering entrepreneurship among post-secondary students and has unique partnerships with UNB-TME and the Université de Moncton, Campus de Shippagan. All this is made possible through the support of our partners ACOA, the Province of New Brunswick, and the City of Moncton.
Some of the noteworthy alumni of the Venn Garage include The Farmers' Truck, Fitiv and Welkom-U.
According to Tosin Ajibola, the CEO of Welkom-U, "The Garage has been instrumental in creating awareness about the company. Through Venn, we have been able to network with people and organizations, within and outside the Atlantic bubble. Leveraging these contacts is key, as we scale up in other regions of Canada. The Venn Cloud is also a valued service, and we will migrate our infrastructure there once we complete the set up."
Learn more about the Garage program and intake process, or test your Garage readiness.