University of Alberta ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service (UAlberta ThresholdImpact VMS)
"To Develop, Inspire, and Empower University of Alberta Entrepreneurs” – that’s been the vision since the UAlberta ThresholdImpact VMS program was established in December 2013 as a free service for their alumni. The program lives within Alumni Relations and they work to a mission of creating and sustaining world-class mentorship experiences and networks for entrepreneurs and mentors.
University of Alberta participated in the MIT VMS Immersion Program in July 2013, followed by onsite Mentor Training delivered by an MIT VMS instructor later that year. UAlberta ThresholdImpact VMS has since grown to support 44 active ventures through the volunteer hours of over 115 mentors. They are very proud of the quality of their mentor pool, and their entrepreneurs have been benefiting greatly from their guidance:
"I’ve had a lot of mentorship that’s very one-off and short term. The advantage of VMS is that my mentors really understand my challenges as they’re along for the ride.”
- Tim Gourlay, CEO of FitSet