We champion entrepreneurship for humans
The Conestoga Entrepreneurship Collective (CEC) was created to support the specific needs of Conestoga students, deliver unique offerings to the entrepreneurship community and provide programming that would create room for collaboration in the broader ecosystem. The result has been more than we ever could have imagined.
Multiple pathways have been created so that students can choose an experience that matches their skills, aspirations and definitions of success. We’ll help you join the entrepreneurship ecosystem on your own terms. The future of entrepreneurship is democratic, inclusive, diverse and profoundly human.
Our vision
We champion entrepreneurship for humans.
Our mission
Incubating founders, freelancers, and talent for the innovation community.
Our values
- Community: It takes a village to launch a person. We proactively curate connections and collaboration within the Collective, in the Conestoga community, and in the broader ecosystem to support the success of our clients.
- Fast and lean: We move at the speed of the real world. Focus and urgency inform program development, iteration, and delivery to enable our clients to learn fast and succeed swiftly. No wasted time, no wasted effort.
- Potential first: We see you. A dedication to empowering our clients to reach their full potential is at the core of all our interactions and communications. When you succeed, we succeed.
- World x Conestoga: We live at the intersection between what the world needs and what Conestoga offers. Opportunities can start with the students or the market, but they all converge in a space that serves both.
Our team
At the Collective, every team member has deep experience and expertise and is committed to leveraging their knowledge, connections and know-how to support the vision and goals of our clients. We are united in our passion for people who work hard and dream big, and the opportunity to help human beings pursue their potential.
Hear directly from our coaches and staff.
Entrepreneur in residence
We are excited to welcome Conestoga College alumni, Meti Basiri, CEO and co-founder of Apply Board as the CEC’s first entrepreneur in residence.
After facing many challenges of their own as international students, Meti and his brothers saw an opportunity to break down barriers and democratize education. Apply Board was founded in 2015 and is now valued at $4 billion.
We look forward to the wealth of knowledge that Meti has to share with our CEC community.
CEC Advisory Committee
The CEC Advisory Committee is a steering committee that provides knowledge and direction on trends, best practices, developing issues and emerging opportunities relating to current and future programming and initiatives. Members provide links to potential mentors, partners or collaborative projects, participate in major CEC events, and may offer SME-related advice on major projects.
Advisory committee membership is comprised of distinguished leaders from industry, the innovation ecosystem, the community, as well as internal Conestoga members. We are honoured to have the following members included in our first CEC Advisory Committee and look forward to doing great things together over the next two years.
CEC Advisory Committee
- Director, Rose Mastnak, CEC
- Associate Director, Christian Snyder, CEC
- Vice President, Michelle Chrétien, Research & Innovation, Conestoga College
- Vice President and COO, Troy Miller, IMA Ltd.
- CEO and Co-Founder, Amber French, Catalyst Ventures
- Founder, Sandra Reimer, CoLabourNation
- Head of Sales, Shane Gamble, Elevar
- Executive Director, Cory Bluhm, Economic Development, City of Kitchener
- CEO, Jay Krishan, Accelerator Centre
- CEO and Entrepreneur in Residence, Meti Basiri, ApplyBoard