While studying engineering at McGill University, Samuel Bruneau, Gabriel Bernatchez, and Paul Achard developed together an electric snowmobile prototype for fun. When they were approached by potential customers, they realized they could disrupt a highly competitive and polluting industry. They founded Taiga in 2015 to offer the world's first powerful electric snowmobile at a competitive price. But they lacked business knowledge. The Taiga team submitted their first business plan to the Dobson Cup in 2016. The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship provided the support they needed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Taiga won the first prize in the Dobson Cup -Innovative Driven Enterprise Track and secured a seed grant for their prototype. However, their most important takeaway was the networking opportunities. Bruneau states: “The different rounds of the Dobson Cup helped us build out our business case. It was a great launchpad. The network we built is what allowed us to launch Taiga to where it is today”. The knowledge and contacts acquired through the Dobson Centre’s program gave founders the credibility to stake their claim in a highly competitive and capital-intensive industry, playing a key role in their first two financing rounds. Taiga went public on the TSX in April 2021, with more than 200 employees and after raising over $160 million. The success of Taiga is not only a testament to the hard work and determination of the founders, but it also highlights the importance of an inclusive, robust, engaged, and diverse network in supporting entrepreneurs.

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship aims to accelerate emerging innovation and discovery through access to a wide network of resources, various specialized learning pathways, and mentorship opportunities. Our approach is tailored to every stage of the entrepreneurial journey, from the ideation stage up to the funding rounds. As we specialized in business development and international-level coaching for investment pitching, we recognized the importance of inclusive partnerships. To customize our offerings in different industries, we partnered with the Weston Family Foundation, a leader in sustainability efforts, Healthy Brain Healthy Lives, an interdisciplinary McGill program for neuroscience and global neuroinformatic excellence, and the McGill Innovation Fund to ensure that technology translation of innovations is done with the latest trends of entrepreneurship, and the McGill University Health Centre, the largest hospital system in Canada with more than six hospitals and research sites. Through close relationships with key players in the innovation community, we facilitate access to expert mentors and stakeholders to entrepreneurs. Additionally, the McGill Dobson Centre uncovered the importance of diversity of thinking for transformative ideas and social inclusion. Focused on diversity at four levels (gender, culture, expertise, and generational) we are proud to be intentional in mirroring this diversity in our advisory board. With the amount of innovation stemming from our programs, and with diverse governance, we are confident that we can continue to be engaged in the community beyond an economic impact and provide socially conscious solutions to major global problems.

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship is dedicated to customizing programs to cater to entrepreneurs from different fields throughout their journey. Recently, McGill University has ranked #1 in medical and health sciences research in Canada multiplying the innovations stemming from these faculties. With over 25% of our start-ups working on innovations in life sciences, we are focusing on developing a new pathway to support entrepreneurs in this industry catering specifically to challenges in regulatory approvals, capital-intensive development, and clinical validation. The Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship to focus its efforts on this new pathway for life sciences start-ups. We are looking forward to further exploring our partnership with the McGill University Health Centre and other partners in the life sciences ecosystem, in Quebec and internationally, to strengthen the support offered to entrepreneurs innovating in health and health care. Another current area of focus for the Dobson Centre is its efforts in sustainability innovation. Funded by the Weston Family Foundation, we recently launched a new learning pathway to support entrepreneurs focused on sustainability. Currently underway, the 19 enrolled start-ups are working on diverse sustainable technologies including vertical farming, food waste, clean technologies, and gas emissions transformation. We are looking forward to providing a robust network of mentors and experts to support these start-ups as they advance to the next stages of the learning pathways at the Dobson Centre.