SFU’s RADIUS Ventures launches second Slingshot cohort

RADIUS has announced its second annual Ventures Slingshot cohort.

An online marketplace for BC wineries, a company with an innovative organics processing technology, and a student talent crowd-sourcing platform are among the social ventures that will receive expert mentoring in the second annual SFU RADIUS Ventures Slingshot cohort.

RADIUS Ventures is a social innovation lab and venture incubator based at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business.

With the ongoing funding support of Vancity Credit Union, RADIUS Ventures focuses specifically on “radical ventures” with a strong mandate to create social and environmental well‐being.

The Slingshot Ventures program is a six-month accelerator designed to take growth-ready social ventures to the next level.

Ventures participating in the 2014 Slingshot cohort include: Ethelo Decisions, an online decision-making service designed to unite groups of all sizes; Homesteader’s Emporium, a one-stop shop for urban homesteading products; self-watering garden manufacturer LifeSpace Projects; and New District, an online marketplace for independent wineries in British Columbia.

The cohort is completed with Riipen, an online platform enabling companies to crowd-source student talent; Transformation Projects, an innovative event planning organization; Urban Stream, which aims to reduce carbon footprint of urban communities through collection and composting of organic waste; and Youth in Development, an organization devoted to engaging youth with international development.

“Each of the ventures coming into Slingshot represents an innovative solution to a meaningful societal challenge,” says Donovan Woollard, director of RADIUS Ventures.

“Our role is to harness the resources of Beedie School of Business, Vancity, and our amazing network of mentors to help these ventures to succeed.”

Through an immersion in design thinking, lean start‐up methodology and hands‐on mentorship and collaboration, RADIUS Ventures will work with the eight ventures over the coming months to refine their offerings, optimize their operations and prepare them for growth and investment.

For more information about RADIUS, visit www.radiussfu.com/