\u201cWe have a highly educated talent pool in Mississauga. We want to make sure we\u2019re tapping into that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donna Heslin, IDEA<\/p>\n
That kind of growth is exactly what the Step-Up Program<\/a> is designed to support. It\u2019s aimed at early-traction companies entering a more structured phase of growth, when founders shift from building a product to pulling together the strategies, teams, and processes that support it. Often called the \u201cmessy middle,\u201d this is where leadership and discipline are put to the test, and where startups are most likely to stall<\/a> without the right foundation in place.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Step-Up focuses on foundational company practices like fundraising, strategy, sales, and hiring.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes [founders] have a sense of what they need, but it\u2019s very high level. They haven\u2019t really drilled down into what it actually takes to get there,\u201d said Alieu Jallow, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Specialist at IDEA Mississauga and Step-Up program lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about advising them. It\u2019s working with the companies to fix their systems.\u201d<\/p>\n A boutique model\u00a0<\/p>\n Step-Up runs as an accelerator and venture studio hybrid,built to support companies as they move beyond early traction. It focuses on revenue-generating, mostly pre-seed companies in the $100,000 to $2-million range<\/a> across life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and tech sectors\u2014sectors where the city has an established ecosystem but also ones where companies often need extra backing to reach the next level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe city had programs for first-time entrepreneurs and for later-stage scale-ups, but little for what came in between. Over time, that gap became harder to ignore,\u201d said Donna Heslin, Manager of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IDEA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Founders were leaving for Toronto, Waterloo, or the United States to find the next level of support. \u201cWe were losing companies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Step-Up launched five years ago. The program is deliberately small, with cohorts of about 10 to 12 companies, and is designed to feel less like a classroom and more like a working session with founders sharing experiences and insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not workshops. I call them conversations,\u201d said Jallow.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a more hands-on layer. Through its Executives-in-Residence program, Step-Up brings in senior leaders to work directly inside the businesses, helping founders build out key areas like financials, sales, and hiring. Mentors are brought in as needed, depending on what founders are working through, and founders are connected to investors through introductions and sessions designed to give a clearer view into funding decisions. In total, participating companies can access up to $200,000 in resources, support and perks through the program.<\/p>\n In some cases, that work leads founders in a different direction than they expected. Jallow points to a founder focused on event-based drone services who came to the program through IDEA\u2019s partnership with the Black Entrepreneurs Alliance<\/a>. She had the technical skills and certifications, but her business was stuck: growth was tied to how many events she could book. Through conversations and strategy work, she pivoted into defence and advanced manufacturing, with Sheridan College\u2019s Centre for Intelligent Manufacturing<\/a> now piloting her autonomous drone prototype.<\/p>\n Jallow said the first conversation with a new cohort member often starts with a basic but clarifying question: \u201cTell me what your goal is. How do you want to scale in the next six months?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A startup showcase<\/p>\n The latest Step-Up cohort is set to wrap up in June with a Pitch and Showcase, where founders will present the companies they\u2019ve spent the past six months sharpening to investors, partners, and the broader business community.\u00a0<\/p>\n For founders in the room, it\u2019s a real milestone. For IDEA Mississauga, it\u2019s also a measure of how the program is evolving.<\/p>\n Step-Up alumni have collectively raised about $15 million over the past two years, and each cohort has arrived stronger than the last.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting higher-quality companies coming in, the engagement in the cohort is stronger, and the type of support we can pull together is getting better, too,\u201d said Jallow.<\/p>\n For Heslin, progress is also about keeping those companies, and the jobs they create, anchored in Ontario and Canada. As they grow, she sees Mississauga as well-positioned to supply the talent and innovation they\u2019ll need.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a highly educated talent pool in Mississauga, with so many newcomers in the region, over 50 percent born outside of Canada<\/a>,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re tapping into that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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