The Forge has opened applications for the 4-month innovation program running from May-August. Startup Survivor is open exclusively to McMaster students and recent alumni.

The Forge is giving away $75,000 to 10 finalists as they embark on a journey to complete a series of challenges to learn about validation, business development, prototyping, sales and more! Only the top teams will outlast their peers for a chance to participate in the Startup Survivor Pitch Competition and take home additional prize money.

Fill in our eligibility form on The Forge’s website and select the Customer Discovery Workshop dates you are available to attend.

CUSTOMER DISCOVERY WORKSHOP DATES:

Workshop #1 Wednesday, February 16 at 1PM-3PM
Workshop #2 Tuesday, March 1 at 10AM-12PM
Workshop #3 Thursday, March 10 at 11AM-1PM

A minimum of one individual from your startup must attend one customer discovery workshop to complete challenge 1. You will be sent an email with the zoom link for the workshop time(s) you selected in your eligibility form.

You will be provided with the challenge 1 guide following the workshop.

KEY DATES TO REMEMBER:

Wednesday, March 9 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) – Eligibility form submissions are due.
Thursday, March 31 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) – Challenge #1: Customer Discovery submissions are due.
Thursday, March 31 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) – Applications are due.
Tip: Submit your eligibility form as early as possible, so you have more time to work on Challenge 1 before the due date!

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

To apply, your startup must meet the criteria below:

Your startup must have at least one founding member who is a currently enrolled McMaster student or alumni (graduated on or after Spring 2021). This includes any of the following: part-time/full-time undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. student.

In addition to above, the startup must be composed of at least 50% McMaster students or alumni (any year) who are founding members of the project. A founding member is anyone who has been a part of the “startup” from idea conception and would be considered a shareholder in a company, should they incorporate in the future.

Do you have a novel business idea? Need money and support to get things started? Think you can outlast the competition? Fill in the eligibility form on our website and select workshop dates you are available to attend (https://bit.ly/StartupS2022).