Are you an individual or part of a team looking to develop—or already developing—an entrepreneurial venture in the life sciences field? We can provide you with mentorship, financial, and network support with the flexibility you need to fit your busy schedule.
As part of Kingston Economic Development’s HELIX Funding Validation Network, DDQIC will be offering the Build2Scale Life Sciences program. This program enables ventures to access specialized facilities, expertise, and collaborative opportunities that are essential to validating and scaling innovative products in the life sciences sector. If you are looking to create distinctive value to unmet needs in the life sciences sector, this program is for you!
Build2Scale Life Science will help you take your life science idea to the next level!
Build2Scale Life Sciences provides award winning and internationally recognized entrepreneurship training, mentorship from industry professionals and entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to unlock seed funding.
Applications for the Fall 2025 Intake are now open. Applications will close on September 5, 2025.
Program Benefits
The Build2Scale Life Sciences program offers several benefits!
- Learn from esteemed faculty, entrepreneurs, and business strategists in DDQIC's network who have experience in life science innovation.
- Participate in foundational entrepreneurship training including topics like design thinking, customer discovery, and systems thinking with life science-related examples.
- Access legal and IP strategy support from legal professionals
- Get matched with mentors from our network of 150+ entrepreneurs and industry experts around the world to help you on your path to success.
- Access a curated network of mentors and grow your network in life sciences.
- Pitch to unlock up to $4,000 in seed funding for your team, along with a chance to compete in the final pitch competition.
- Access co-working space and get a chance for dedicated office space in the Rose Innovation Hub on ¹ú²ú91ÓÈÎ︣ÀûÔÚÏß¹Û¿´â€™s Campus.
- Meet new people and be part of a community of like-minded founders and innovators focusing on tackling challenges in life sciences.
Program Timeline
Phase 1: Explore
Fall intake: September - December
Winter Intake: January - April
Candidates have several months to demonstrate their commitment to the entrepreneurial process by completing the training and progressing on their ideas' respective milestones. Participants will attend mandatory and optional in-person and virtual speaker sessions and participate in regular 3-2-1 pitch presentations about the work they are doing as they transform their ideas into scalable startups.
Guiding Questions:
- Who is my customer?
- What can I do for them?
Milestones:
- Make observations through interviews or some other means
- Clearly define and validate the problem you are solving by speaking to end users
- Validate or invalidate key assumptions which are the basis of creating the solution you want to work on
- Ideate – generate solutions to the problem you are solving
- Create a journey map of your end users’ experience using your solution
Phase 2: Ignite
Fall Intake: January - April
Winter Intake: May - August (Combined with Launch)
Participants who have excelled at the milestones set out in phase one will be selected to join this phase. Those who show initiative and dedication will have the option to work full-time in the DDQIC’s Rose Innovation Hub co-working space during the summer. Participants will attend mandatory and optional in-person and virtual speaker sessions and participate in regular 3-2-1 pitch presentations about the work they are doing as they transform their ideas into scalable startups.
Guiding Questions:
- How does your end user acquire your solution?
- How will this be funded or become financially sustainable?
Milestones:
- Develop channels to market and reach out to any necessary partners
- Create a business model or a plan for funding your solution
- Prototype your solution in the simplest way possible that still allows you to generate meaningful feedback from end users
- Validate all critical assumptions by creating experiments and test your solution using your prototype
Phase 3: Launch
Fall Intake: May - August
Winter Intake: May - August (combined with Ignite)
During this phase, participants will get the opportunity to work on their ideas, access seed funding, attend mandatory and optional in-person and virtual speaker sessions, and participate in regular 3-2-1 pitch presentations about the work they are doing as they transform their ideas into scalable startups.
Guiding Questions:
- How do you execute your solution?
- How can you scale it?
Milestones:
- Pilot your solution in a more real life scenario
- Generate expressions of interest, end users, or customers
- Create a plan to scale
Important Dates
Fall Intake
Early Bird Deadline: August 22, 2025 (11:59 PM EST) - those who apply by this date will be notified of acceptance during the week of August 25, 2025
Final Deadline: September 5, 2025 (11:59 PM EST)
KEY DATES
Mandatory Bootcamp:
(In-person suggested, virtual available)
September 13-14, 2025
Phases
- Phase 1 (Explore): September 13 – December 2, 2025
- Phase 2 (Ignite): January 10 – April 6, 2026
- Phase 3 (Launch): May 4 - August 21, 2026
Winter Intake:
Application deadline: December 18, 2025 at midnight (11:59 PM EST) - Application available soon.
Mandatory Bootcamp:
(In-person suggested, virtual available)
January 10 and 11, 2026
Phases
- Phase 1 (Explore): January 10 - April 6, 2026
- Combined Phase 2 (Ignite) & Phase 3 (Launch): May 4 - August 21, 2026
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.