Starting a business
Start with the exit in mind.
You are not only building a product or a service. You are building a business: an asset with a value of its own, and the decisions you make before the first sale decide most of what it will be worth, and what a lender will provide, at year two and year five. This page is the start-up program in the open: how to think about the business you are building, what opens when, the milestones that matter, how to set it up so it does not need you in every seat, how to go to market, where the money comes from, and who else in BC can help.
The start-up program, in the open
Where would you like to start?
Enterprise-value thinkingSix ideas that separate an asset from a job.6 principles →
The capital thresholdsWhat opens at day one, twelve months, two years and five.4 thresholds →
Milestones that matterBefore opening, the first ninety days, and years one, two and five.20 milestones →
Operationalize from day oneSo the business does not need you in every seat.10 checks →
Go-to-market strategyFinding the first customers on purpose, in numbers.6 decisions →
Funding pathsThe programs, the terms, and when each opens.11 programs, 7 grants →
Communities and helpMentoring, learning, accelerators, competitions and networks in BC.31 listed →
Free tools for a start-upThe calculators, reports and plans built for this stage.14 tools →
The Start-up ProgramThe engagement, for the founder who wants it done with them.Fixed fee →
Enterprise-value thinking
You are building a business, not only a product.
The product or the service is what the customer buys. The business is what a lender finances and a buyer pays for, and it is designed, or not, in the first year.
01Build an asset, not a jobA business that only works when you are in it is a job with overhead. A business with customers who buy from the business, a way of working that is written down, and a second person who can quote and deliver is an asset: it can be financed, and it can be sold. Decide which you are building on day one, because the habits form in the first year and they are expensive to change later.
02Start with the exit in mind, even if you never sellA buyer, a lender and a partner all price the same things: transferable earnings, a business that runs without you, and clean numbers. Aim at what a buyer would pay for in year five and you get a better business in year two whether or not anyone ever makes an offer. The value milestones calculator puts a figure on the difference.
03Know the next capital thresholdDay one is financed on you: your own money, your credit, a plan a lender believes, and the federal guarantee. Twelve months of sales opens BDC. Two full years of accountant-prepared statements opens the banks on the business's own cash flow. Five years with a team, a customer base and a record opens everything, on the best terms. Plan the business so it reaches each threshold on purpose.
04Operationalize from the beginningWrite the price list, the quote, the way a job is done and the way a customer is followed up while there is only you, because that is when it is cheapest. Separate the bank accounts, keep the books monthly, and give the business a name that is not yours. The founder who does this is the one who can take a week off in year two.
05Go to market on purposeName the customer, choose two or three channels, and work out the numbers before you spend: how many people have to ask before enough of them buy, what each enquiry costs, and how many hours of selling the plan needs from you. Most start-ups budget for the product and forget the cost of finding the first hundred customers.
06Take on capital responsiblyYour own money should cover ten to twenty-five per cent of what the business needs. A start-up loan almost always carries a personal guarantee, and it is repaid whether the business works or not. Borrow for things that earn or that a lender can secure, keep a cash cushion, and never finance the first year on credit cards. Responsible does not mean timid: it means the downside is known and survivable.
The capital thresholds
What opens at day one, twelve months, two years and five.
Each threshold is a door that opens on evidence: first you, then a year of sales, then two years of statements, then a business with a record. Plan to arrive at each one on purpose, with the file ready.
01Day one: an idea, a plan and no sales
What opens. The Canada Small Business Financing Program, at your own bank or credit union, from the first day; Futurpreneur for founders aged 18 to 39; WeBC and the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund for women-owned businesses; Vancity's start-up loan in the Lower Mainland, Victoria and Sea-to-Sky; Community Futures outside the cities; Indigenous financial institutions; the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund; and, for a company selling shares, BC's 30% venture capital tax credit for the investors.
What it needs. A written plan with a twelve-month cash flow, month by month; your own cash; a clean personal credit report; industry experience; and, for most loans, a personal guarantee.
Have ready. Incorporate or register, open the business accounts, take the Starting a Business report and the Business Plan Generator to the lender, and have the go-to-market numbers worked out.
02Twelve months of sales
What opens. BDC start-up financing, up to $150,000, for a business with twelve consecutive months in operation and generating revenue; NRC IRAP for a technology company twelve months in; the Innovation Advisors at Innovation Canada for an incorporated company with revenue.
What it needs. Twelve months of bank statements and sales, a bookkeeper's income statement, tax filings up to date, and a plan for the next year that the first year supports.
Have ready. Monthly books, GST and payroll filed on time, a customer list with the repeat customers marked, and the first-year numbers compared with the plan.
03Two full years of statements
What opens. The banks and credit unions on the business's own cash flow: RBC and CIBC ask for accountant-prepared year-end statements once a business is more than two years old, and Scotiabank weighs the owner's last two tax years alongside them. BDC's small business loan to $350,000 for a profitable business more than twenty-four months in. Vancity's start-up limit rises to $75,000 in years two and three.
What it needs. Two year-ends prepared by an accountant, operating profit after paying yourself a market salary, cash flow that covers proposed loan payments about 1.25 times over, and no surprises in the personal file.
Have ready. An accountant engaged from year one; the health checkup run on the year-end figures; the loan pack assembled before it is asked for.
04Year five: a team, a customer base and a record
What opens. Term loans and operating lines on the best terms the business will see, financing for a second location or an acquisition, and a business that buyers, partners and successors will pay for. CanExport for a business exporting with at least three employees and $300,000 of revenue.
What it needs. A manager or a second person who can run the week, customers who buy from the business rather than from you, written systems, clean statements, and earnings that survive your absence.
Have ready. The maturity model at level three or better, an annual valuation, and a Gameplan with owners and dates for the next stage.
The value milestones calculator puts a figure on what a lender could advance at year two and what the business could be worth at year five, and who lends in BC lists every lender by what it suits.
Milestones that matter
What to hit, and when.
Not the product milestones, which are yours to set, but the ones a lender, a buyer and your own future self will read.
Before you open
A one-sentence customerWho buys, what they buy, why they choose you. If the answer is "everyone", the marketing budget will be the largest line in the plan and the least productive.
The numbers on one pageWhat it costs to open, what a sale earns after direct costs, how many sales a month cover the bills, and how much cash the first year eats before it pays. Three of the calculators on this page do it.
The structure chosen with tax in mindA sole proprietorship is cheap and fast; a company limits your liability, can be sold, and pays 11% on its first $500,000 of profit in BC. Most businesses that intend to be worth something incorporate; ask an accountant which, and when.
Separate accounts, and a bookkeeperA business bank account, a business credit card and a bookkeeper from the first month. Mixed accounts are the most common reason a start-up cannot get a loan in year two.
Your own money in, and the guarantee understoodTen to twenty-five per cent of the total from you, and a clear-eyed view of what the personal guarantee means for the house and the family.
The first ninety days
The first paying customers, and where they came fromWrite down the channel for every sale from the first one. It is the only way you will ever know what a customer costs to win.
A price list and a standard quoteOne document, so the second person who ever sells for the business sells at the right price.
The registrations doneBusiness number, GST once you are near $30,000 of sales, PST if you sell goods, WorkSafeBC before the first hire, the municipal licence, and BizPaL's list for anything industry-specific.
A weekly numberSales, cash in the bank and enquiries, every Monday. The founder who watches three numbers weekly sees trouble a month before the one who reads the bank statement.
Year one
Twelve months of clean booksReconciled monthly, filings on time. This is the file BDC and the second-year lenders will read.
The cost of a customer, measuredMarketing and selling costs divided by new customers. Compare it with the first-year gross profit from a customer; under three to one over their lifetime and the channel needs work.
The first thing off your deskOne recurring task, done by someone else or by a system, with the way it is done written down. It does not matter which; it matters that the habit starts.
The plan compared with what happenedWhere sales, costs and cash landed against the forecast, and why. Lenders trust a founder who explains the variance more than one who hit the number.
Year two
Two accountant-prepared year-endsThe price of admission to bank lending on the business's own cash flow.
Yourself on a market salaryPay yourself what you would pay a manager, and see whether the business still makes a profit. That profit, after your salary, is what a lender and a buyer count.
A second person who can quote and closeNot necessarily a salesperson: an employee, a partner or a family member who can run the enquiry from call to signed quote without you.
Customers who come back, and who referRepeat and referral business is the cheapest revenue there is and the surest sign to a buyer that the customers are the business's, not yours.
Year five
A business that runs a week without youSomeone else opens, quotes, delivers and closes the week. The maturity model on this site says how far along you are.
A valuation, every yearEven with no plan to sell. It tells you which of your decisions are adding value and which are adding work.
A Gameplan for the next stageGrowth, a second location, an acquisition, a partner, or a sale one day: the decision with a number and a date on it, and the capital planned to match.
Operationalize from day one
Build it so it does not need you in every seat.
Operationalizing a business means building it so the work does not depend on who is doing it. Done from the beginning it costs an hour a week. Done in year five, with staff, customers and habits already set, it is a project. The checks below are the ones a lender or a buyer reads as evidence that the business, and not the founder, is what they are financing or buying.
The business has a name that is not yoursA buyer cannot buy Jane's Plumbing without Jane. A brand can carry a new owner; a surname cannot.
Prices, quotes and terms are written downOne price list, one quote template, one set of payment terms. Anyone in the business sells the same thing at the same price.
The way a job is done is written downA checklist for the main service or product, step by step, in the words you would use to train someone. Update it when the work changes.
Customers belong to the businessEvery customer in one list with what they bought and when; enquiries answered from a business number and address; reviews under the business's name.
The bank account, the card and the books are the business'sNo personal spending through the business, no business spending through you, and the books reconciled every month.
You are paid a salary, and the profit is separateYour market salary is a cost. What is left is the operating profit that a lender and a buyer value, and they will restate it that way whether you do or not.
Three numbers, every weekSales, cash in the bank and enquiries, on one page, every Monday. Add gross margin and the pipeline as soon as you can.
One thing a month comes off your deskA recurring task, handed to a person or a system, with the way it is done written down. By year two the week runs without you for the small things; by year five, for the large ones.
A second person can quote and closeThe sales engine is the last thing most founders let go of and the first thing a buyer discounts. Start with the second person shadowing the enquiries.
The files a lender asks for existYear-end statements, interim figures, the forecast, the corporate records, the leases and the insurance, in one folder. The loan pack on this site is the list.
The maturity model grades how far along a business is, from one that runs on the owner to one that runs without them, and names the one move to the next level.
Go-to-market strategy
The first customers, on purpose.
A go-to-market strategy is the plan for finding the first customers on purpose. It is written in the vocabulary an agency, an investor or a lender uses, and it is mostly arithmetic. Six decisions, in order.
1. Ideal customer (who buys, and why)One sentence: who they are, what they buy, what they pay, why they choose you over the alternative. Everything else follows from it, and "everyone" is not an answer.
2. Offer and price (what you sell, at what price, with what promise)The thing the ideal customer buys first, at a price that leaves a gross margin the business can live on. Price from the customer's alternative, not from your costs; the price-increase calculator shows what a few per cent is worth.
3. Channels (where the first customers come from)Choose two or three, not eight: word of mouth and referrals, direct outreach, the website and search, one paid channel, partners. Write down the expected cost of a lead in each; the marketing guides give the yardsticks.
4. The funnel (leads, quotes, customers, and the rates between them)How many people have to ask before enough of them buy. New businesses close fewer than established ones, so use the low end of your industry's range and the first-customers calculator for the budget.
5. Capacity and cadence (who sells, how many hours, how often)The founder's selling hours are the constraint nobody budgets. Work out the hours the funnel needs each week, decide who does them, and set the cadence: every enquiry answered the same day, every quote followed up in three.
6. The measure (what you count, and when you change course)Cost per lead, cost per customer, close rate and gross profit per customer, monthly. A channel whose customer costs more than a third of their lifetime gross profit gets fixed or dropped.
Funding paths
Where the money comes from, and on what terms.
The start-up funding paths a BC founder can actually use, with the published terms, checked on the date at the foot of this page. Rates that float are shown against a bank prime rate of 4.45%; recompute them when prime moves. Every loan here is repayable, and most carry a personal guarantee.
| Program | Who it is for | How much | What it costs and how it is repaid | When it opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) | Start-ups and existing businesses with $10 million or less in revenue, through any bank or credit union; farms use the agricultural program instead | Up to $1.15 million: term loans to $1 million (equipment and leasehold improvements to $500,000, of which working capital and intangibles to $150,000; property with no sub-limit) plus a line of credit to $150,000 | Floating rate at most prime + 3% (7.45% today); fixed at most the lender's residential mortgage rate + 3%; line of credit at most prime + 5%. A 2% registration fee, which can be financed. Term up to 15 years; banks amortize to 15, and 20 to 25 on property. The government covers 85% of the lender's loss; the lender may take a personal guarantee (TD starts at 25%). | Day one |
| Futurpreneur Core Startup Program | Canadian citizens and permanent residents aged 18 to 39, with a business not yet operating or operating full-time for 24 months or less; the founder must work in it full-time | $5,000 to $25,000 from Futurpreneur plus up to $50,000 from BDC: up to $75,000 | Futurpreneur portion at RBC prime + 3% (7.45% today), with a 1% loan management fee; BDC portion at BDC's floating base rate + 1.65%, with a $50 fee. Five years, interest only in year one, then equal monthly principal over four. No collateral. Up to two years of one-to-one mentoring included. | Day one |
| BDC Start-up Financing | Businesses with twelve consecutive months in operation and generating revenue, with good credit and a reasonable personal investment | Up to $150,000 | BDC's floating base rate plus a margin set on the file (not published). Interest only for up to the first twelve months; amortization matched to the cash-flow cycle. Guarantees on some loans. | Twelve months of sales |
| BDC Small Business Loan | Businesses more than 24 months in with revenue and profits, and good credit | Up to $350,000 | Floating base rate plus a margin. Under $100,000: approval in under ten days, no application or prepayment fees, up to six months interest only, five-year amortization. $100,000 to $350,000: under 30 days, up to twelve months interest only, up to eight years. | Two years of revenue |
| WeBC Business Loans for Women | A woman who owns and controls at least 51% of a BC-registered business (50% for a wife-and-husband team); start-ups and growing businesses; no minimum credit score with exceptions | Up to $150,000; the Equal Access to Capital stream to $50,000 with no specific security | Prime + 2% to prime + 5% (6.45% to 9.45% today); 25% equity and 30% security expected; interest only for the first six months; amortization up to five years. Free business advising and peer mentoring alongside. | Day one |
| Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund (WEOC, delivered in BC by WeBC) | Women aged 19 and over, citizens or permanent residents, with a business more than half women-owned and revenue of $2 million or less | Up to $50,000 | Fixed for the term at no more than prime + 4% (8.45% today), set by risk and stage; up to five years, prepayable without penalty; no security required; 2% administration fee (maximum $1,000) deducted from the advance. Needs a business plan with two years of cash-flow projections. | Day one |
| Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund (FACE with BDC) | Businesses at least 51% Black-owned; start-ups and existing businesses, sole proprietors, co-ops and social enterprises | $10,000 to $250,000; start-ups to $50,000; micro-loans of $10,000 to $25,000 through Vancity and Alterna | Rate and term set on the file (not published). Needs a detailed plan, two to three years of projections, tax returns and a personal statement of affairs. | Day one |
| Indigenous financial institutions (NACCA network) | First Nations, Métis and Inuit entrepreneurs; in BC, Tale'awtxw Aboriginal Capital Corporation (Coast Salish territories), Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation (Vancouver Island), TRICORP (the northwest) and others | Loans set by each institution; the Indigenous Business Financing Program adds non-repayable contributions of up to $99,000 for an individual entrepreneur | Terms vary by institution; BDC's Indigenous Entrepreneur Loan runs to $350,000 at a preferred rate with principal postponement of up to 24 months. | Day one |
| Community Futures (rural and remote BC) | Start-ups, existing businesses and business purchases in the service area of one of 34 rural offices, judged by a local volunteer loan committee | Typically $5,000 to $150,000, and up to $1 million depending on the office; micro-loans for entrepreneurs with disabilities | Rate and term vary by office; the target is security of about one dollar for each dollar lent. Coaching and training alongside, at no charge. | Day one |
| Vancity Startup and Growth Loan | Businesses in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Greater Victoria or Sea-to-Sky, with a personal guarantee, whose plan was reviewed by BDC, Futurpreneur or WeBC or whose owner completed a self-employment program | Up to $50,000 in the first year; up to $75,000 in years two and three | Five-year term loan or line of credit; rate not published; approved on the idea and the plan rather than the credit history. | Day one |
| BC venture capital tax credit (Eligible Business Corporation) | A BC company with 100 employees or fewer, at least $25,000 of equity, 75% of wages paid in BC and most of its activity in a qualifying sector (manufacturing, clean technology, technology development, digital media, tourism and others), raising equity from investors | Up to $10 million of tax-credit-supported equity over the company's life | Investors receive a refundable 30% BC tax credit (individuals up to $300,000 a year). It is what makes BC angels prefer a registered company. Selling shares is a securities distribution: use an exemption, and file what it requires. | Day one, once registered |
Raising from investors. Raising money from investors, by shares, a convertible note or a simple agreement for future equity, is a distribution of securities under BC law. A start-up usually relies on the private issuer exemption (family, close friends, close business associates and accredited investors, up to fifty holders) or the start-up crowdfunding exemption (up to $1.5 million in a twelve-month period through a registered funding portal, with each investor limited to $2,500, or $10,000 where a registered dealer advises that it is suitable). Anyone in the business of selling securities must be registered, which is why Legatis works through a registered dealer for equity raises. VANTEC Angel Network hears pitches monthly ($199 to pitch; a five-minute slot needs an incorporated company, full-time founders and real-world validation); Keiretsu Forum's Vancouver chapter presents to accredited members.
Grants and credits
Grants a start-up can realistically use. Most pay a share of a cost you would incur anyway, most must be approved before you spend, and several have thresholds that a first-year business does not meet.
Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit A refundable 35% credit for a Canadian-controlled private company on qualified research and development spending, up to a $6 million expenditure limit, claimed with the corporate tax return. Available from the first dollar of eligible work.
NRC IRAP Advisory services and funding for an incorporated, profit-oriented company of 500 or fewer employees growing through technology; twelve months in operation before applying. Start with a call to an industrial technology advisor.
Mitacs Accelerate and Business Strategy Internship A subsidized four- to six-month student internship on a research or business project: the company pays $5,000 to $7,500 and the intern receives an award of $10,000 to $15,000. Needs a partner at a post-secondary institution.
Canada Summer Jobs Up to half the provincial minimum wage for a youth aged 15 to 30 for six to sixteen weeks of summer work, for employers with fifty or fewer employees. Applications open in late autumn for the following summer.
Student Work Placement Program Up to $5,000 per student placement, year round, through employer delivery partners such as Technation and the Information and Communications Technology Council.
Innovate BC programs Microgrants and programs for BC technology companies: the Innovator Skills Initiative pays up to $10,000 toward a new hire from an under-represented group; the Go-To-Market and Commercialization microgrants open in intakes; Ignite funds industry-and-academic research. The Venture Acceleration Program is no longer listed on Innovate BC's site and is now run, where it runs, by regional partners.
CanExport SMEs Half of eligible costs, $10,000 to $50,000 a project, for developing an export market. From 2026 it needs at least three full-time employees and $300,000 of Canadian revenue, so it is a year-three program, not a year-one one.
The start-up loan calculator prices a program loan; who lends in BC lists every lender by what it suits; the grants page covers the rest of the non-repayable funding.
Communities and help
Who else in BC helps a founder.
Mentoring, free training, incubators and accelerators, competitions, networks, and programs for founders the mainstream has served badly. Each was checked on the date at the foot of the page.
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Learning and planning, free | ||
| Province of BC: start a business | Province of British Columbia Free | The official seven-step guide: evaluate the idea, choose a structure, request a name, register or incorporate, permits through BizPaL, PST and GST, hiring. A named company costs about $380 to incorporate; a sole proprietorship about $70. |
| BDC start-up toolkit and free course | Business Development Bank of Canada Free | A step-by-step guide to starting in Canada, a loan application guide, a business plan template and a free two-hour online course on starting a business. |
| Futurpreneur Business Plan Writer and Rock My Business | Futurpreneur Canada Free | A free interactive plan writer with examples and cash-flow tools, usable at any age, and a free four-part workshop series with one-to-one coaching for founders aged 18 to 39. |
| New Ventures BC Startup Seminar Series | New Ventures BC Free | Free weekly seminars from February to June on pitching, what angels want, product-market fit, pricing and SR&ED, online and in person, with recordings posted. |
| WorkBC Self-Employment Services | Province of BC, through WorkBC Centres Free to eligible participants | Coaching, entrepreneurship training and income support while you write and carry out a plan for a new business, for eligible unemployed or precariously employed residents able to commit 35 hours a week. |
| Business Benefits Finder | Innovation Canada Free | A questionnaire that filters hundreds of federal and provincial funding, advice and collaboration programs to your business; innovation advisors for incorporated companies with revenue. |
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Mentoring and advising | ||
| Futurpreneur mentoring | Futurpreneur Canada With the loan | Up to two years of hand-matched one-to-one mentoring, included with the start-up loan for founders aged 18 to 39; streams for Black, Indigenous, newcomer and side-hustle founders. |
| WeBC advising and peer mentoring | WeBC Free | Free one-to-one business advising, peer-mentoring groups, a Business Foundations webinar series and on-demand courses for women entrepreneurs in BC, alongside its loans. |
| Community Futures coaching | Community Futures British Columbia Free | Business coaching, training and planning help in 34 rural and remote offices, including four Indigenous-focused offices, with loans alongside. |
| BCITSA entrepreneurship mentorship | BCIT Student Association Free, BCIT students and alumni | A free five-month mentorship matching students and alumni with experienced founders, self-paced lean start-up training, and the annual Student Innovation Challenge. |
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Incubators and accelerators | ||
| Launch Academy | Launch Academy, Vancouver Fees on application | A technology incubator since 2012: desk space, mentorship and a peer community, a guided launch program with 24 mentoring sessions, and a nine-week revenue program. |
| Spring Activator: Scale Ready | Spring, Vancouver Free to accepted founders | A four-level investment-readiness program for impact ventures, from pre-investment through funding roundtables for raises of $150,000 to $1.5 million to a six-month venture studio. |
| Foresight Canada | Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre, Vancouver Some programs free; the Launch program is priced | Canada's cleantech accelerator: ideation, commercialization, scale and capital streams and a venture studio for incorporated ventures with full-time founders. |
| Creative Destruction Lab, Vancouver | CDL at UBC Sauder No fee, no equity | A nine-month, objectives-based program for massively scalable science and technology ventures, with climate, compute and health streams. Applications open each spring. |
| Accelerate Okanagan | Accelerate Okanagan, Kelowna Membership $45 a month | The Okanagan technology accelerator: founder advisory, an eight-week capital-readiness program, the OKGN Angel Summit and co-investment for growth-stage projects. |
| Central Interior Business Accelerator | Formerly Kamloops Innovation On application | One-to-one mentorship, market validation, technology development and intellectual property strategy for start-ups and established businesses in Kamloops and the Central Interior. |
| Venture Acceleration Program (regional partners) | Innovation Island and other BC Acceleration Network partners $200 a month, no equity | Structured coaching from executives in residence for technology ventures. Innovate BC no longer lists the program and Victoria's version is paused; Innovation Island still runs it for Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast. Confirm with the regional partner. |
| University programs | UBC, SFU, UVic Free to the university community | For teams with a student, researcher or recent graduate: UBC's sixteen-week Venture Founder program, SFU's Charles Chang Institute (incubator, Idea Prize and Venture Prize) and SFU VentureLabs for science companies, and the UVic Innovation Centre's free programs and competitions. |
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Competitions and pitching | ||
| New Ventures BC Competition | New Ventures BC, presented by Innovate BC $200 to enter | BC's largest start-up competition: more than $250,000 in cash and prizes, six months of mentorship and education, for a BC technology business under five years old with under $1 million of non-grant funding. Applications open early in the year. |
| VANTEC Angel Network | VANTEC, Vancouver $199 to pitch | Monthly pitch meetings to more than 150 active angels and early-stage funds; short slots for raises of $250,000 to $500,000, five-minute slots for $500,000 to $1.5 million. |
| Keiretsu Forum, Vancouver chapter | Keiretsu Forum Northwest and Rockies Presenting fees on application | Presentations to more than 250 accredited members across six chapters, with screening and written feedback; rolling applications, usually for companies with traction. |
| Venture Kamloops and The BIG Pitch | City of Kamloops Free | Pitch your idea to a panel of local business experts, support for a first bricks-and-mortar space, and an annual $10,000 pitch prize. Open to shops and services, not only technology. |
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Community and networking | ||
| BC Tech Association | BC Tech Membership by organization size | Free pitch nights, mentorship hours, sixty hours of online scale-up training, project subsidies and weekly councils for technology start-ups and scale-ups. |
| VIATEC | Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council Start-up membership $350 a year | Victoria's technology association: member roundtables, recruitment support, coworking and event space, and market-validation training. |
| HiVE Vancouver | HiVE Vancouver Society Day pass from $48 | A non-profit coworking space and community for social-impact entrepreneurs, with a work exchange for those who cannot afford the fees. |
| Vancouver Startup Week | Vancouver Startup Week Paid pass | An annual five-day festival of more than eighty events on fundraising, storytelling and growth, each spring. |
| Name | Who, and what it costs | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Equity-seeking founders | ||
| Black Business Association of BC | BBABC On application | Networking, an entrepreneurs' academy, a youth entrepreneurs program and business supports funded by PacifiCan's Black Entrepreneurship Program. |
| S.U.C.C.E.S.S. entrepreneurship services | S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Vancouver Free | Advisory and training for newcomer and underserved women entrepreneurs, and WorkBC self-employment services at its centres. The former ISSofBC Spark and Ignite programs for newcomer founders closed in March 2025. |
| Women Entrepreneurship Strategy | Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Free | The federal umbrella for the loan fund, the ecosystem fund's mentoring and training organizations, and partner programs at BDC, EDC and Farm Credit Canada. |
| Indigenous Tourism BC | Indigenous Tourism BC Free training | Guidance, training, funding referrals and marketing for Indigenous tourism businesses, with regional specialists and free online training. |
| BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration | Province of BC, WelcomeBC $300 to register, $3,500 to apply | A permanent-residence pathway for foreign entrepreneurs who build a business in BC on a work permit: the base stream needs $200,000 of personal investment and one job created; the regional stream $100,000. |
Closed or changed. Since 2024 several well-known start-up services have closed or changed: Small Business BC (bankrupt, December 2024, no single successor), MentorshipBC (offline), ISSofBC's Spark and Ignite programs for newcomer founders (ended March 2025), the Launch Online grant (closed), and Innovate BC's own Venture Acceleration Program page. Kamloops Innovation is now the Central Interior Business Accelerator and SFU's Venture Connection is now the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship. The directory on this site is checked regularly; tell us if a link fails.
The Business Owner’s Directory has the registrations, permits, tax accounts and the rest of who to call, sorted by the problem.
Free tools for a start-up
The instruments, in the order you will need them.
Every one is free, every term is explained, and a free account keeps the figures so each tool opens with the last one's numbers.
What it takes to open, and what to raiseOne-time costs, the overhead before break-even, a cushion, and the gap beyond your own money.Open →Customers a month to cover the billsHow many sales a month, and a day, the new business needs to break even.Open →What the first customers cost to winLeads, budget, selling hours and cost per customer for the first year.Open →Start-up loan cost (CSBFP)The payment, the 2% fee and the interest on a government-guaranteed loan.Open →Worth, and borrowing, at year two and fiveStart with the exit in mind: the value gap between a business that runs on you and one that runs without you.Open →Starting a Business reportWhat it costs to open, break-even, what to raise and the first twelve months of the bank balance, as one branded PDF.Open →Business Plan GeneratorThe plan a lender reads, section by section, in the order Canadian lenders expect it.Open →Business Development PlanThe ideal customer, the channels, the funnel and the capacity, with the conversion numbers worked out.Open →Marketing, website and brand guidesThe website audit, local search, the brand package, choosing channels and the referral system.Open →Pitch Deck OutlineFourteen slides, what belongs on each, and what the investor is deciding as they read it.Open →Loan Application PackEvery document a lender asks for, shaped to what you are borrowing for.Open →The three-minute diagnosticAnswer as a founder and get a written read on the plan, the funding and the first-year numbers.Open →Business Owner's Directory: registering and licensingNames, registrations, business numbers, licences and trademarks, with the official links.Open →Who lends in BCEvery kind of lender, filtered for start-ups.Open →
The vocabulary: 15 terms a founder hears from a lender, a buyer or an investor
Enterprise valueWhat the whole business is worth to a buyer before the debt is paid off: usually a multiple of its operating profit. The number to build toward from day one.
MultipleThe number of times a year's operating profit a buyer pays. Two to three for a business that depends on its owner; four and up for one with a team, systems and its own customers.
Seller's discretionary earnings (SDE)Operating profit plus the owner's pay and personal expenses: how buyers value a small business where the owner is the manager.
Working capitalThe money tied up between paying for the work and being paid for it. Growth eats it, and it is the hardest thing to borrow for.
RunwayHow many months the cash lasts at the current rate of spending before the business must be earning or raising more.
BurnThe cash the business loses each month before it breaks even: overhead less gross profit.
Gross marginWhat is left of each sales dollar after the direct cost of the sale. The margin that has to cover the overhead and, eventually, the profit.
Break-evenThe sales at which gross profit exactly covers the overhead: the month the business stops losing money.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC)What it costs, in marketing and selling, to win one new customer.
Lifetime value (LTV)The gross profit a customer brings over the time they stay. The rule of thumb is at least three times what they cost to win.
Personal guaranteeYour promise to repay the business's loan yourself if the business cannot. Almost every start-up loan has one.
Debt service coverageCash flow available for loan payments divided by the payments: the test a lender runs, usually wanting 1.25 or better.
Term loanMoney borrowed once and repaid over a set number of years, for things that last: equipment, leaseholds, property, an acquisition.
Operating lineA line of credit for the gap between doing the work and being paid for it, secured on receivables and inventory; rarely available before year two.
Exemption (securities)A rule that lets a company sell shares without a prospectus, to a limited set of investors, with conditions. Selling shares is regulated; the exemption is what makes it legal.
Done with you
The Start-up Program
For the founder who wants to build an asset, not a job. A fixed-fee engagement in the first year, then a light quarterly cadence to year two, so the business reaches each capital threshold on purpose.
Who it is for. For a founder with a plan and their own money in, in any industry, before opening or in the first two years. Not for a founder who wants a job with no overhead; there are cheaper ways to have one.
What it costs. Fixed fee, quoted after a first conversation and scaled to the business; the quarterly cadence is a small retainer. Every fee is in a written Fee Letter before anything begins, and the free tools on this page are the ones we use.
What the program includes
1. The exit-in-mind planWhat the business is being built to be worth at year five, the milestones on the way, and the decisions in year one that decide it: structure, name, pricing, systems, who does what.
2. The first-year numbersOpening costs, break-even, the go-to-market budget, the twelve-month cash flow and the amount to raise, in the format a lender reads.
3. The funding pathWhich of the programs above fit, in what order, with the file prepared for each: the plan, the projections, the personal file, the guarantee understood.
4. The operating designThe price list, the quote, the way the work is done and the weekly numbers, written down while it is cheap, so the founder is not the business by year two.
5. Quarterly check-ins to year twoThe plan against what happened, the next threshold, and the next thing off your desk. The second-year lender file is built as you go, not assembled in a panic.
Checked, and general information only.
Every program, rate and fee above was read on its own site on 29 SEP 2026, against a bank prime rate of 4.45%. Programs change their terms and intakes without notice; the link beside each one is the place to confirm before you plan on it. Nothing here is advice on your situation, and we have no referral arrangement with any organization listed.
Sources
- Canada Small Business Financing Program: program parameters, guidelines and FAQ (ISED)
- Futurpreneur Canada: Core Startup Program terms and eligibility
- BDC: start-up financing and the small business loan
- WeBC: business loans for women
- WEOC: Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund national loan program
- FACE: Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund
- NACCA: Indigenous financial institutions and programs
- Community Futures British Columbia: loans and funding
- Vancity: Startup and Growth Loan
- Province of BC: venture capital programs and the Eligible Business Corporation
- BC Securities Commission: raising capital for private and early-stage businesses
- RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank and CIBC: published CSBFP loan pages
- TD Canada Trust: prime rate 4.45% (from 30 October 2025); Bank of Canada policy rate 2.25% (2 September 2026)
- CRA: SR&ED investment tax credit; ESDC: Canada Summer Jobs and the Student Work Placement Program; NRC IRAP; Mitacs; CanExport SMEs 2026-27
- Innovate BC programs; New Ventures BC; VANTEC; Keiretsu Forum; Accelerate Okanagan; Launch Academy; Spring; Foresight; Creative Destruction Lab; UBC, SFU and UVic entrepreneurship programs; BC Tech; VIATEC; WeBC; Community Futures; WorkBC; S.U.C.C.E.S.S.; BBABC; WelcomeBC
A program missing, or a link that no longer works? Email admin@lepstrategy.com.