A hybrid summer entrepreneurship program helping newcomers, first-generation and Italian descendant students in the GTA.
Compete for a paid trip to Italy!
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Italia360 is an 8-week part-time incubation program that helps first generation and Italian heritage student entrepreneurs create innovative and disruptive businesses.
At Italia360, students tap into their potential and learn how to develop and market business ideas with the help of other young innovators, industry mentors and successful entrepreneurs. This is an opportunity for students to start real companies and gain experiential learning opportunities to apply what they’ve learnt and solve the world’s biggest problems.
This program has been developed in partnership with the Canadian Italian Business & Professional Association Of Toronto (CIBPA) and the DMZ.
What's in it for you?
- 1:1 mentoring with DMZ staff, alumni companies, and CIBPA mentors
- Connection to Toronto Metropolitan University's 10 entrepreneurial zones
- Customized coaching with DMZ experts on marketing, product development, lean canvas business models, consultations, and financing
- Bi-weekly mentor meetings with DMZ staff and CIPBA's advisory council members
- Opportunities to engage with other leading startups and experts from across Canada
- Exclusive workshops conducted by CIBPA mentors
- A dedicated workspace at the DMZ during the summer
- Compete for a paid trip to Italy!
What you'll learn
Sales and negotiation
strategies
Legal advice
Marketing strategies
Product and brand
management
Value proposition
design
And so much more
Week by week
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Program Validation & PrototypingWeek 1: Entrepreneurship 101 & Goal Setting
Week 2: Design Thinking & Customer Discovery
Week 3: Mock Ups & Prototyping -
Go To MarketWeek 4: Messaging & Marketing
Week 5: Financing & Legal
Week 6: Product Launch & Sales -
Pitching & StorytellingWeek 7: Pitching
Week 8: Italia360 Finals!
Application criteria
Students interested in the program must:
- Have at least one team member commit to the program part-time (2-4 hours/week),
- Be entering a higher education institution in the fall or have graduated post-secondary within eight months of the program start dates, AND be under the age of 29,
- Identify as:
- having Italian heritage, or
- a first generation Canadian
- Have an innovative business idea that they are looking to grow, and
- Have a driven, coachable, and collaborative team
Ready to validate your business?
APPLY NOWTimeline
ADMISSION PROCESS
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Application DeadlineMay 24th
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Application ResultsMay 28th
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Interview DatesMay 29th - June 7th
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Final DecisionJune 10th
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Italia360 OnboardingJune 14th
About the DMZ
The DMZ is a world-leading incubator for tech startups around the world. We help startups build great businesses by connecting them with customers, capital, experts and a community of entrepreneurs and influencers. For us, this means creating an environment where you can focus on scaling your business. We help with the rest.
About the CIBPA
We are a community of members dedicated to building vibrant business and professional networks as well as investing in the future through our student education fund. The Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA) was formed in 1952 and is the premier non-profit business association representing Canadian-Italians in the Greater Toronto Area.
