Russian community partners in entrepreneur program

Marat Ressin

If you catch an episode of Dragon’s Den, you’ll see would-be entrepreneurs pitch an idea for a can’t-miss product to a group of skeptical business investors.

It makes for good TV, but there are plenty of intermediate steps that have to be taken before most entrepreneurs are ready to succeed in business. Enter the York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDInstitute), which recently kicked off its own version of Dragon’s Den, in co-operation with several partners, but with an educational and mentoring component thrown in.

The new program is designed to provide would-be entrepreneurs with the business acumen necessary to make their ideas financially viable. It goes beyond the financing stage to include an educational one, designed to give the ideas-people the real-world skills necessary to make their concepts work. At the end of the day, there’s still the opportunity to pitch the product to a panel of investors with money burning a hole in their pockets.

The YEDInstitute kicked off its first session recently at the Schulich Executive Education Centre at York University. On hand to mark the occasion were Marat Ressin, founder of the YEDInstitute, Anindya Mittra, senior manager of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, head of program development at the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario (JRCC), as well as MPs and local dignitaries.

The YEDInstitute is a collaboration of the Schulich Executive Education Centre, the JRCC, 3V Communications and the BDC.

“YEDInstitute hopes to graduate ventures, including non-profits, that will have a positive social impact for the Toronto and York Region communities, as well as the Canadian economy at large,” said Dana Ayrapetyan, YEDInstitute’s  project director.

The program is conceived as a way to help budding entrepreneurs acquire the skills they need to make a success of their ideas, said Rabbi Zaltzman. Candidates go through an extensive interview process to determine whether they have the right stuff to warrant the kind of investment in them that is contemplated by the YEDInstitute. Candidates must not only have an innovative idea for a product, but they’re also screened to determine if they possess the human capital to succeed in business, he said.

Once accepted into the program, participants undergo a three-month business education program delivered at the Schulich Executive Education Centre. The evening program will be accompanied by a mentorship program, and in the end, they’ll pitch their product to potential investment angels.

Fifteen entrepreneurs – from the commercial and non-profit sectors – have been selected for the inaugural session, with about half coming from the Russian Jewish community. The JRCC advertised the program heavily and many candidates came forward, Rabbi Zaltzman said.

Ressin, the Russian-born founder of the YEDInstitute, said he approached the JRCC and “asked Rabbi Zaltzman to support this because it’s a good way to make the world better.”

A member and supporter of the JRCC, Ressin said that while living in Russia he had volunteered with PresenTense, a largely volunteer-run organization that attempts to foster social entrepreneurs with the goal of  revitalizing Jewish communities. It operates in Russia, Israel and the United States.

With his expertise in turning around floundering small businesses, Ressin thought the YEDInstitute could combine the best of both worlds – fostering social responsibility in commercial entrepreneurs while educating social entrepreneurs in how to operate on a sound financial basis.

“The goal of the project is to create a new model for the startup accelerator,” said Ayrapetyan.

The Toronto program will see business entrepreneurs rubbing shoulders with equally talented people whose ideas are geared to charitable non-profits. The influences should flow both ways, Rabbi Zaltzman suggested.

The variety of ideas presented by applicants was impressive, he continued. They spanned fields as diverse as health and wellness, energy and the environment, arts and culture, technology, leisure and tourism, electrical engineering and rehabilitation.

Rabbi Zaltzman said there were plenty of applicants from the Russian Jewish community. Today’s young Russians are far different than the earlier waves of immigrants, who were “an intellectual community,” but not necessarily ready to try their hands at business.

“Younger Russians have the potential that wasn’t there before,” he said.

Russian Jewish community leaders “want us to provide services that we haven’t in the past,” he continued. “That is, get people into business at a high level. In doing so, “We’re creating the leaders of the next generation.”

Organizers were pleasantly surprised when they received 125 applications for the 15 available spots, said Ressin.

“It was great for the first time.”

At the end of the first three-month session, participants will make a pitch for up to $500,000 in funding.

Ultimately, it’s hoped there will be two sessions a year accommodating 20 people at a time. There are also plans to expand to other Canadian schools, Ressin said.