Discovery Foundation’s Strategic Mindset Program, presented by WeBC, is a Peer Mentorship program that unites women entrepreneurs all over BC to build their networks in small groups led by experienced women tech leaders. Using the award-winning WeBC Peer Mentoring model, we use action learning to solve real business problems in real time so you can grow your business!
Who is this for?
This program is designed to support women entrepreneurs in the first five years of business as they build and grow their tech-focused or tech-enabled businesses.
Examples of businesses that may qualify:
- Communications and social media firms
- Coaches and consultants who use digital collaboration or marketing tools
- Retail stores with eCommerce sites
- App and game creators
- Healthcare and environmental technologies
- Engineers, designers, and IT businesses
Program components
What’s included?
- Peer Group Mentoring – Join a small group of women entrepreneurs to work with a mentor for nine sessions. Together, you’ll offer feedback and fresh perspectives on each others’ business challenges using a solution-based approach.
- Leadership webinars
- Negotiate Naturally: Tips for Women Entrepreneurs – Acquire the skills to negotiate effectively, preserve your integrity and learn how to be yourself to get what you really want.
- Setting New Goal Posts: Growing Your Business from a Tactical Perspective – Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and learn how to use them to create strategies to reach your business goals.
- Strategic Alliances: Business Growth Strategies – Explore new ways to partner up to expand the marketing and/or operational capacity of your business.
About the program
Key dates
- May 10 | Application Intake Opens
- May to August | Intake & Applicant Interviews, Group Placement
- September to November | Peer Groups and Leadership Webinars
- Exact mentoring session dates dependent on group placement
Program details
- Where: ZOOM
- When: September to November, 2023; exact schedules set by each Mentor
- Cost: $150 thanks to generous support from the Discovery Foundation. Free for WeBC loan clients! Includes:
- 9 Peer Group Mentoring Sessions
- 3 Skills development webinars on negotiation, strategic planning and strategic alliances
- Eligibility:
- This program is designed to support women entrepreneurs who are actively operating their business and generating revenue
- Be in the early stages of business operations (in the first five years of business) and ready to grow
- Your business must operate in the tech sector, use technology as a significant part of your business (such as an eCommerce site), or create innovative products, services or processes
- How groups are formed:
- Mentoring groups will be formed based on applicants’ business goals and degree of tech usage. For example, women who focus on the creation of technologies (like apps and innovations) will be placed together, while those who use technology as a tool to expand their reach and/or improve their processes (like communication technologies and digital marketing tools) will be united. All women will come together to expand their leadership skills in the webinars!
How to apply
The Fall 2023 program is now full! To be notified of the next time this program is offered, please join our mentoring waitlist >>>
Also, check out other mentoring programs from WeBC >>>
Please note: If you are accepted into the program, you will have 2 business days to pay the program fee of $150 to confirm your spot.
Meet our facilitators
Bobbi has over 30 years of experience in business and a proven track record of driving consistent growth for new ventures. After graduating with an honours degree in business, the early part of her career was with a marketing firm, where she was a partner. Clients she managed ranged from large corporate retail giants like Gillette, Avon and Smith & Nephew, to government departments health, security and natural resources. During that time Bobbi also earned her Executive MBA, focusing her studies on entrepreneurship.
Moving back to her home town of Victoria, Bobbi has been working in the tech sector for two decades, mostly with online businesses. She has held three CEO roles with tech companies, as well as co-found three startups. As co-founder of StudentCounsellor, she launched an online counselling tool with hundreds of high schools, helping students plan their academics to improve their chances of being accepted to a post-secondary institution. Another company she co-founded, FuturePay, provided eCommerce merchants with the ability to offer instant credit to their customers. She’s also been actively involved in many volunteer roles from mentorships and board positions to organizing community events and supporting women in business.
Cassandra Hui, Founder and CEO of Heal Mary, has a background in data science and 10+ years in marketing and community building, Cassandra was also part of the Scotiabank financial hackathon winning team in 2016. Heal Mary, a digital health platform using AI to close the gap in clinical trial participation, was started after Cassandra began looking into treatment options when her mom and 2 sisters were diagnosed with cancer.
Business2Mobile Communications Inc. (founded June 2011) is a cutting-edge consulting & software development company. Using operational intelligence, they build customized mobile solutions for various small to mid-sized industrial or resource companies to specifically solve their business challenges.
Their customized software allows them to build solutions to fit each company, rather than a company adapting to fit a software solution. They have spent the last 3 ½ years developing their proprietary mobile offline system to address one of Northern BC’s biggest challenges for technology: remote data collection in a no network environment. Business2Mobile currently has 4 team members and they are anticipating substantial growth in the next two years as a result of their new product.
Cheryll is always looking for ways to help her community: “This opportunity to mentor fellow women in entrepreneurship is the perfect opportunity for me to make a difference and share my knowledge, my biggest mistakes and my wins to encourage others who may be struggling. Specifically, women in tech are few and far between and I want to do everything in my power to change that.”
Jennifer is a serious entrepreneur… however she tries not to take herself or life too seriously!
Jennifer’s entrepreneurial passion started in university when she found herself running a business with a professor offering fitness assessments and teaching adult education classes. After university, she worked for a company that specialized in preventing absenteeism and promoting retention and productivity through in-house corporate health initiatives. Soon after, the company had 20 clients and she was a co-owner of Tri Fit.
Economic downturn led to the sale of her share of the business and a move to the west coast. From there, Jennifer has been involved in various businesses. After managing and owning two restaurants, she started a cooking school called STIR Cooking where she shared her passion for healthy, delicious food and featured noteworthy chefs from the community. As takeout food started to ramp up during the pandemic, so did the huge environmental footprint of single use food packaging. Jennifer co-founded Reusables Vancouver Island, a stainless-steel returnable container business to replace single use packaging. They recently sold Reusables Vancouver Island to centralize the company in Victoria.
Jennifer says, “I am never afraid to learn something new and I love hearing other women’s stories…we have so much to learn from each other! I also strongly believe in achieving work/life balance. After working from home for the last 10 years, I have learned how to set boundaries and make dates with myself to fit in exercise, friends, and a healthy lifestyle.
I am finally settling down to write a cookbook… although I am sure I will think up some crazy marketing ideas to go along with it! I find purpose in my entrepreneurial spirit that seems to constantly propel me to my next initiative. I hope to grow with an amazing community of women entrepreneurs as we learn and support each other at WeBC.”
A partnership of
Community partners
WeBC is supported by Pacific Economic Development Canada
The Strategic Mindset program is part of the Discovery Foundation Technology Education Program
