What is EIR?EIR refers to “Entrepreneurs In Residence”, a name that sounded reasonable when we started, and has stuck. Long and short, EIR is where speakers share their personal journeys as entrepreneurs (highs and lows) to give a sense of what is possible, what successes they’ve achieved, and what challenges they’ve overcome.
|
Follow Us to Stay in the Loop!
|
It can be scary to start a business, grow a business, reinvent a business, or think about leaving a job to create a business. Sometimes it’s just really nice to hear how someone overcame the challenge that you’re facing now. And other times, it’s really nice to hear some inspiring stories from entrepreneurs you’ve never met before.
What happens at EIR?
It probably sounds more choreographed than it really needs to be. The usual format focuses on the speakers' stories:
Sometimes we mix it up and come up with new formats - such as talk show interviews and group talks - just for fun. It keeps it fresh, and why not - the point of EIR is to build community by sharing stories.
- Intro (MCs)
- Speaker 1 (10-15 mins)
- Speaker 2 (10-15 mins)
- Speaker 3 (10-15 mins)
- Speaker 4 (10-15 mins)
- Closing remarks (MCs)
- Casual mingling and networking, where Q&As happen
Sometimes we mix it up and come up with new formats - such as talk show interviews and group talks - just for fun. It keeps it fresh, and why not - the point of EIR is to build community by sharing stories.
EIR History
In October 2015, EIR was conceptualized, and plans were made. The first EIR was held in November 2015 at Markham's Angus Glen Library. Since then, there have been at least one EIR per month - now approaching 6 cities / towns in York Region (and more beyond York Region's borders).
JANUARY 11, 2016: EIR CELEBRATES YEAR 1
7 returning speakers. 80+ listeners. Many decibels of energy and connections.
On January 11, 2016, EIR partnered with Seneca HELIX to host a special EIR at Seneca College's Markham Campus. It was a fantastic experience for all in the room.
Thanks to all of our speakers:
Photos from the evening are below!
Thanks to all of our speakers:
- Ramy Ghattas (Logics Academy, @RamyGhattas): Ramy's talk revolved around how he built his business around his passion for and interest in robotics and STEM.
- Bojana Nedic (Pearl's Choice, @Pearls_Choice): Bojana shared some of her success factors from over the past year: tenacity, coachability, adaptability, dealing with ambiguity, decision making and finding solutions to problems.
- Carlos Paz-Soldan (TENET Computer Group, @TenetGroup): Coining the term "mature startup", Carlos shared some of his ups and downs in a rapidly-changing industry.
- Emily Chung (Autoniche, @autonicheinc): One of the themes of Emily's talk was to always remember why your business was created - keep its purpose and mission front and centre every day.
- Judy Chang: (Nielsen / Pivot Perspectives, @jc_pivotcoach): An intrapreneur herself, Judy shared some tips (e.g., "be a thermostat, not a thermometer") for being a support for an entrepreneur.
- Aidan Aird (Developing Innovations, @Aidan_Aird): Aidan shared how his passions for STEM and helping others have manifested themselves in his business, where he helps children and students find their own excitement in STEM.
- RJ Juneau (Y Lab / Maxxian, @ylab_maker): RJ shared the growth of his village, which began at Seneca College and within his business and, over the past year, has seen the emergence of a technical community in York Region.
Photos from the evening are below!
Photo credits: Michael Jonsson and Colin Cummings from Reach.video.
|