While the business school had been supporting startups for years through Schulich Startups, SVA co-creator Cherry Rose Tan said many of its portfolio companies were still struggling to access the mentorship and training they needed to scale their businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of what these founders were asking for was, \u2018Hey, can we learn from somebody who\u2019s been there and done that?\u2019\u201d Tan told BetaKit in an interview.<\/p>\n
\n\u201c[SVA has] become really the upskilling tool that we\u2019ve been missing in the ecosystem for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
After identifying a gap in the market, Tan and co-creator Chris Carder teamed up with Schulich Startups and the school\u2019s continuing education arm to build SVA. Since then, SVA has served more than 200 tech founders and professionals through three sold-out cohorts of courses led by experienced Canadian operators whose experience spans startup and scaleup talent, operations, finance, and venture capital.<\/p>\n
SVA graduates tell BetaKit they have appreciated the practicality of the courses, the opportunities to learn from experienced Canadian tech leaders, and the sense of community that Schulich has cultivated around the program.<\/p>\n
At an event in downtown Toronto last week, SVA alumni, instructors, organizers, and partners gathered to celebrate the third cohort\u2019s graduation. SVA leaders outlined the program\u2019s progress to date and shared a preview of its plans. The goal is to launch three new courses by 2029, three sector-specific clusters (including artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and cleantech), and double down on community support.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, SVA secured more than $3 million CAD from the Government of Canada via FedDev Ontario to help make that happen. FedDev Ontario and SVA expect that nearly 500 businesses and 1,000 individuals will benefit from this expansion.<\/p>\n
SVA offers six-week courses with live, virtual instruction that are based on the instructors\u2019 journeys and insights. Students get credentials and complete capstone projects they can bring back to their organizations. Ontario participants can access these programs for $500 apiece thanks to FedDev Ontario, and SVA offers scholarships to residents outside of Ontario.<\/p>\n
Tan said Schulich wants to lead when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship, and noted that Schulich Startups, SVA, and Schulich\u2019s tech MBA<\/a> further this mission. She views SVA as a way to provide scaleup education to people in and beyond the Schulich community.<\/p>\n
Blade Air co-founder and CEO Aedan Fida joined SVA\u2019s first venture talent course because he recognized he needed to grow in order to expand his business. \u201cI was going to be the biggest bottleneck for the organization if I didn\u2019t level myself up,\u201d he told BetaKit in an interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere I felt I really had a knowledge gap was people management,\u201d Fida said. He noted that this led him to take SVA\u2019s first venture talent course, which was taught by TouchBistro chief people officer and former OMERS Ventures head of talent Jenny do Forno. \u201cJenny\u2019s class changed my life,\u201d Fida said.<\/p>\n
He said the course has had a \u201ctransformational impact\u201d on how he manages employees, and intends to ensure other Blade Air leaders take other SVA courses.<\/p>\n
Q2 vice-president of service delivery and former Sensibill COO Izabella Gabowicz, who teaches SVA\u2019s venture operations course, said at the event she wishes something like SVA existed earlier in her tech career, given the difficulty of building a tech startup.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC_5702-1024x428.jpg\" "\\"Schulich")
<\/a>At an event in downtown Toronto last week, SVA alumni, instructors, organizers, and partners gathered to celebrate the third cohort\u2019s graduation.<\/p>\n