Call for Applications: ECHO | Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities

The Translational Biology & Engineering Program (TBEP), at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub (H2i) is pleased to announce a call for applications for the 2023-2024 Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) program.

ECHO is a specialized national training program that provides entrepreneurship training, mentorship, networking and funding opportunities for early ventures in the cardiovascular health sector.

To reach teams across Canada, ECHO is a fully virtual program.

What Is Offered

A 12-month online training program, involving a unique combination of five complementary modules delivered by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors:

Module 1 – Principles of Entrepreneurship: The MaRS Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshops focused on fundamental entrepreneurship business principles. (Oct – Dec 2023)

Module 2 – Health Venture Rounds: A series of interactive workshops focused on key subjects pivotal to the success of early stage start-ups in the health sector. (Jan – Jun 2024)

Module 3 – Lessons from Leaders: A webinar series in which successful entrepreneurs and business leaders share their experiences in commercializing technologies in the health sector. (Jan – Jun 2024)

Module 4 – Community of Mentors: Successfully ranked ventures will become clients of H2i, a University of Toronto campus-linked accelerator, with access to H2i’s extensive network of mentors, professional funding and events.

Module 5 – Ignite Start-up Funding: The program will culminate with pitch training, private pitch sessions and ECHO PITCH 2024 – a public pitch competition, where the program ventures will have the opportunity to win start-up funding from a $250,000 pool. (Jul – Oct 2024)

Eligibility

Any Canadian-based researcher, clinician, student and/or entrepreneur developing cardiovascular technologies and innovations is eligible to apply.

Competitive Enrolment Process

a) Application: Complete the following two forms and submit by deadline.
*Deadline has been extended to Monday August 21, 2023*

1. ECHO Application Form: submit to Soror Sharifpoor
2. H2i Venture Application Form: submit online

b) Interviews: Interviews will commence September 2023 for select applicants. The program begins October 2023.

For full program information and enrolment instructions, please visit the ECHO program page or contact Soror Sharifpoor (Director, Strategy & Translation; TBEP)

The ECHO program is funded and organized through TBEP in partnership with H2i. TBEP is the University of Toronto component of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, focused on heart failure research across the lifespan. H2i is a University of Toronto campus-linked accelerator facilitating the commercialization of health matters.