U of T hosts Entrepreneurship Week 2025
U of T celebrates its vibrant start-up scene, through events including pitch competitions, workshops, panels, and more.
From March 3 to March 7, the University of Toronto (U of T) hosted its ninth annual tri-campus Entrepreneurship Week, a series of events to “showcase, celebrate, and reward innovation and startup activity,” according to U of T’s Defy Gravity page.
This year, 20 different events took place throughout the week, from panel discussions to competitions, alongside various opportunities to connect with startups, customers, investors, and resources for entrepreneurs.
U of T’s startup community has seen significant success in the past years, with C$12 billion in funding raised over the past five years and 17,000 jobs created through over 1,200 venture capital-backed startups, according to U of T News.
The week is designed to concentrate on the many “researchers, entrepreneurs, accelerators, investors, corporate partners and community organizations” which compose U of T’s startup ecosystem to shine a light on their innovations and offer a “front row seat to the people and startups that are quite literally changing our world,” according to Jon French, director of U of T Entrepreneurship, in a conversation with U of T News.
A key event during the week was the True Blue Expo, which took place on March 6 at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. It allowed attendees to connect with over 40 of U of T’s top startups, which demoed their products and services.
More than a dozen U of T’s campus accelerators and numerous innovation ecosystem community partners were also in attendance, offering entrepreneurs access to investors, support, and services.
The expo was a part of the week’s True Blue Impact Day, a full-day event which included U of T’s Entrepreneurship’s annual business pitch competition, Desjardins Startup Prize Pitch Competition, which awarded C$100k in prizes to “recognize, reward, and accelerate” the most innovative startups at U of T.
The competition featured 11 shortlisted startups, which ranged in focus from wearable tech to artificial intelligence to nano-armour, taking the stage to compete in either the early or late-stage prize categories based on their prior cumulative funding.
Winning teams in both categories also won a DELL Latitude laptop and access to Montreal’s StartupFest, while all winners obtained an ONRamp membership and up to C$5,000 worth of legal counsel from Canadian law firm, Cassels.
Also scheduled on True Blue Impact Day was a panel discussion featuring U of T Professor and recent physics Nobel Prize Winner Geoffrey Hinton and Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Radical Ventures, Jordan Jacobs. The talk, which was postponed to an undefined date, was set to discuss artificial intelligence and the opportunities, challenges, and obligations which arise when using it in entrepreneurship.
The week also featured numerous events focused on female entrepreneurship.
On March 4, MedEssist CEO Joella Almeida participated in FemSTEM’s final winter Fireside Talk to reflect on her success and provide advice for entrepreneurs.
At U of T Mississauga (UTM) on March 6 in the Innovation Complex, ICUBE, UTM’s startup incubator, hosted its sixth annual Pitch With a Twist event, which featured women-identifying judges and participants, to celebrate creativity and “stand in support of women entrepreneurs at a competition that promises to break down barriers and reward great ideas from diverse voices,” according to Defy Gravity’s webpage.
On March 7, the Be Her Summit celebrated International Women’s Day and Black female entrepreneurship success through various exhibitions, speakers, and fireside chats.
Additionally, there were various panels and events about the mental health aspect of entrepreneurship.
The first of these events, Stress Management & Mental Wellness for Entrepreneurs, held on March 3, featured a panel discussion comprising business founders and keynote speaker Dr. Lauren Brown and focused on the importance of stress management for entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: Mental Fitness for Startup Success, which took place on March 5, was a workshop centred on mental fitness and overcoming negative thoughts and emotions, such as uncertainty and stress.
Some of the other workshop and panel-based events of the week included a workshop on intellectual property in business; a panel discussion on the intersection between AI and musicians and other creative fields; and a panel for International Women’s Day, which discussed the significance of mentorship, diverse startups, and women supporting one another in business.
The week also catered to beginner entrepreneurs and presented students interested in startups, or those who have already begun a startup, with resources to support their potential or burgeoning entrepreneurship journeys.
The main event in this category was Launchpad: Campus Resources for U of T Startups, an “orientation to campus resources” including support, relevant courses and programs, library resources, funding opportunities, and other community resources.
Also geared to those yet to begin their entrepreneurship journey, was the Idea Market, which took place between March 4 and 6 and was hosted by The Hatchery, a U of T affiliated startup resource, which facilitates weekly Idea Markets at which U of T entrepreneurs can connect, share ideas, and problem-solve together.
