Our Program

Lab2Market Validate, formally known as Lab2Market, gives researchers the opportunity to critically test and evaluate their idea in the entrepreneurial landscape. This carefully curated 16-week experience is complemented by funding, exercises, workshops, and mentorship from industry experts – all with exploration at its core.

The program will take participants through the process of unlocking the business potential of a research idea – from meeting customers, building a network, and most importantly, developing entrepreneurial grit. The 16-week program is a full-time commitment broken into the following phases:

Phase 1: Pre-Program (4 weeks)

Get inspired to take the first steps toward validating your idea. You will be welcomed into a community of like-minded and driven individuals with diverse research backgrounds, hearing from successful founders who have been there and done it. You will learn principal market research methodologies and techniques to put into practice.

Phase 2: Core-Program (8 weeks)

“Get out of the building” and put your learnings into action by meeting with your customers. This is an intense and fast-paced period, but you will be supported by a vast entrepreneurial network of industry experts and will also receive in-depth presentations on various entrepreneurial topics.

Phase 3: Post-Program (4 weeks)

Analyze your findings and determine the appropriate path forward for your project and celebrate your successes with the Lab2Market community.

Eligibility

Lab2Market Validate is offered free of cost and is open to researchers (Masters, Ph.D., and Postdocs) in Canada, with the National Lab2Market Health Cohort being open specifically for those with Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Med-Tech, Human and Animal Health, and Health IT projects. The program will be run nationally, hosted by Dalhousie (Atlantic Canada), the University of Toronto (Ontario), and the University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University (Western Canada).

Still have questions? Email us at validate@lab2market.ca to request more information.

For those interested participating in the Quebec region, please visit our Validation program section, found here.