Co.Labs 

With 145 startups and 457 jobs created since its launch in 2018, Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator, Co.Labs, continues to see success in the ecosystem and anticipates tremendous growth in the startup community.

Born from a project by Innovation Saskatchewan to foster the innovation ecosystem in the province, Co.Labs has been working with startup founders and teams with product-based tech to navigate the path from idea to $1M in annual revenue through the following programs:

Co.Learn

This phase is centred on semi-annual events for future founders and tech employees. The Founder Summit is an opportunity for future founders to learn ideation, market validation, sales, and other aspects of what it takes to be a successful founder. The Employee Summit, on the other hand, is an opportunity to learn from experts how to build a career in tech, and the opportunities to work in development, marketing, sales, product, and other areas pivotal to the industry.

Co.Launch

Co.Launch is a 12-week program where individuals in the ideation & MVP (Minimum Viable Product) stage will work towards progressing to the revenue-generation stage. Participants will receive assistance in their market research process and learn about product/business feasibility, customers, and opportunities to maximize their potential.

Co.Link

Co.Link is an opportunity to connect with mentors with different expertise and experiences through an “office-hours” structure, allowing both participants and mentors to have flexibility in their schedules. Mentors will conduct working sessions where founders can bring forward a problem they are working on, and brainstorm solutions in cohort-style learning.

One of the supports available in this stage is the Expert Program wherein the companies receive 30 hours of consulting work in areas like digital marketing, finance, and accounting.

“These sessions are available primarily to the companies participating in Co.Labs programs, which allows them to really get to know each other’s businesses. They start to mentor and help each other too, so we found that the cohort system works really well,” Matt Stefan, Executive Director of Co.Labs, explains.

Co.Lead

The last step of the Co.Labs journey for companies is Co.Lead, a program focused on startups ready to scale up as they receive highly curated support to complete the journey to $1M in annual revenue. This stage also includes the Expert Program like Co.Link, but is geared towards investment readiness preparation.

Recently, Co.Labs has finished a pilot program called GrowthX, which offers a due-diligence preparation course for founders who will undergo the process of raising capital, equipping them to be able to present their products, sales processes, and financials to investors.

One of the program participants, Founder & CEO Jay Maharaj of TeamLinkt (Sports Team Management App), shares “Even as a founding team with startup experience, we’ve found excellent value in the Co.Labs and Co.Lead programs. Their team, resources, and network have accelerated our growth and fundraising efforts. We’re extremely proud to be a part of their community and what they’re doing for Saskatchewan's tech sector."

Stefan adds, “The future of the Co.Lead program is to offer support to these companies one step further. We want to be able to help them scale globally, identify more investors, conduct greater market research, and focus on recruitment of people and building culture.”

Other Support

Along with these four programs, Co.Labs offers office space to startups, virtual learning resources, and community events. Each year, they host Uniting the Prairies (UP), a conference that brings together the top startups from across the Prairies (Saskatchewan, Alberta & Manitoba) to connect with global investors and tech leaders. 

Through Co.Labs programs, as well as other supports from the ecosystem, many startups have seen tremendous growth and expansion. Recently, Salon Scale Technology, a salon colour management software company that participated in all four Co.Labs programs, has hit $1M in annual revenue – so exciting!

“We’re grateful for Innovation Saskatchewan as well as Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) that continue to fund and support us, along with the University of Saskatchewan, McKercher LLP, PwC, RBCx, Innovation Place, and others for sharing resources like industry expertise, service, and in-kind donations,” Stefan says.

What’s New?

With so many exciting things happening in the tech sector, Co.Labs Program & Marketing Lead, Dallas Price, shares, “We’re seeing an upward trend in health and cleantech, as well as agriculture and construction tech. Many other tech solutions are also being discovered, especially as more and more Ph.D. and Masters students commercialize their research and work.”

As trends emerge, Co.Labs hopes to see more startups develop, ideas flourish, and companies reinvest in the ecosystem. Stefan shares, “In five years, I think we’ll see a very healthy tech ecosystem in Saskatchewan, one that we plan to be at the centre of, in all corners of the province. We want to leverage the opportunities that the virtual world has opened and be able to open our doors to support even more people and ideas.”

“We also want to see a more vibrant angel investing community and larger fundraising rounds!” Price adds.

In 2022, Co.Labs anticipates to ‘graduate’ more companies as they continue to see a 30% increase in applications year over year, grow their small-but-mighty team, and host events like the UP Conference in person.

If you’re looking to learn more about what it takes to thrive in the startup and tech world, or perhaps you’re ready to present your idea, check out the opportunities to get involved with Co.Labs!

 

Other Info: 

Executive Director: Matt Stefan

Employee Count: 6

Establishment Date: 2018

Social Media Channels:

Website: https://www.co-labs.ca/