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Brianna Goldberg

Many aspiring entrepreneurs at U of T will be kicking off 2014 with resolutions to launch their passion project into a fully-fledged business. But for new entrepreneurs, words of wisdom from a trusted mentor can mean the difference between success and failure.

At U of T, there are many places to find mentorship tailored specific to a variety of fields and entrepreneurship approaches.

This series profiles the many entrepreneurial efforts growing from the hundreds of companies spun out from research and connections sparking at the University of Toronto:

U of T hosts more than 50 enterprise-fostering courses, programs, labs, clubs, contests and speaker series across its faculties, departments and campuses — and then there are all the innovations developing in informal settings. U of T ranks No. 1 in North America for number of startups launched. And its roster of spin-off companies driving innovation in Toronto and around the world continues to grow.

For those just starting to consider a career in entrepreneurship, what follows are some hard-earned kernels of wisdom and suggested resolutions from U of T startup founders who received support from just a few of these development programs.

U of T News asked these successful university entrepreneurs what they wish they’d known when they were just starting out. 

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Test your assumptions early so you don't waste time on something no one will buy; you need to give yourself time to pivot if necessary. Don't ignore negative feedback; it's often the most useful and can steer you in the right direction. When you launch a startup, you have about 1/100 chance of being successful. Every year, that gets cut in half. Companies will be crashing and burning around you. If you can survive, you will become stronger and stronger every year.

Also, it will take at least a couple years before you can pay yourself even a small salary. Make sure you are truly prepared for that, both financially and mentally. Nothing keeps you focused on your goals like that stress of where the next dollar will come from.

Jonathan Keebler, CTO and co-founder of
Supported by the among other U of T programs.

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• Do not start a business unless you believe in the value of your technology. It's hard work and you'd better make sure you believe in the value.
• Search out and take advice from people who have expertise, but be picky about whom to listen to.
• Make sure you have a strong team, because at one point it will be all about the team. Value and trust your team.
• When it comes to your startup, there is nothing you cannot do, so don’t let people tell you otherwise.
• Don't avoid decisions, however big they are.
• Business is NOT like academia.

Christina Mueller,
Supported by The Impact Centre’s workshop among other U of T programs.

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I wish I'd known to rely on ourselves more. When we first started, we thought that the 'giants' in our industry knew everything – they have deep pockets, thousands of incredibly bright people, a long history and experience. Working with them is an obvious option. But with a good team, you can move much faster than the giants. You can't do more, but you can do more of what's important.

Darren Anderson of
Supported by the for Innovation and Entrepreneurship among other U of T programs.

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Make sure you know what you're getting into! There will be a lot of late nights and early mornings, you'll have a huge amount of responsibility and there will definitely be a lot of ups and downs. You have to be able to respond and adjust quickly and you have to be looking to continuously learn and improve every day. Know that for every success story that you read online, there are a few dozen failure stories that you don't end up reading about.

Hooman Bahador, CTO and co-founder of the
Supported by the among other U of T programs.

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Get used to feeling unqualified. You'll feel it all the time and it's completely normal. The quantity and variety of things that must get done is staggering, and no one person can be an expert in all of them. Figure out what you need help figuring out and go learn from other's mistakes. U of T has a number of programs through which you can access domain experts, and I've been amazed at the willingness of top people to help newbies.

Abe Heifets, CEO of
Supported by The Impact Centre’s workshop among other U of T programs.

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