Former Dobson participant turns side gig into $1.3 billion startup
Just over seven years ago, former McGill student Francis Davidson started a side business when he rented out his apartment to fellow McGill students.
Today, he is the co-founder and CEO of Sonder, a hospitality company that leases and owns properties worldwide. Davidson has raised over $550 million from venture capital firms to value the company at just over $1.3 billion, with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk both contributing.
Turning hobbies into business opportunities
In response to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are turning their pastimes into online businesses. Marie-Josée Lamothe, Academic Director of the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, attributes their success in part to the public’s willingness to support businesses that are important to them rather than buying exclusively from e-commerce giants.
Blending two company ideas into one
As entrepreneurship takes on different forms during the pandemic, fresh business ideas are in high demand. In a highly unconventional move, a Quebec-based company called Alchemy is inviting startups to blend their ideas with Alchemy’s own ideas to create something new. Instead of expecting payment, Alchemy takes a stake in the joint venture.
Montreal startup reinvents food delivery
In 2018, a frustrating night out for three McGill alumni sparked the idea for CHK PLZ, a food delivery application that leverages a contactless payment solution to handle ordering and delivery for local restaurants. Since they won the McGill Dobson Cup Start-up Competition (Small to Medium Enterprise Track) in 2019, the founders of CHK PLZ have grown their business into a popular low-cost alternative to UberEATS for more than 50 Montreal restaurants and counting.
Analyzing the cutting edge of business methods to create future managers
McGill’s MBA program leverages program flexibility, practical skills training, and experiential learning to prepare students to join leading companies and start their own. Daniel Franco (MBA’19) earned his degree after emigrating to Canada from Peru. After graduation, he co-founded Turbodega, a successful startup that digitizes the supply chain of bodegas in Latin America.
AI-driven mobile app designed to save infant lives
An innovative new mobile app called Ubenwa uses artificial intelligence to analyze the sound of a newborn baby’s cries. Founded by Charles Onu, a doctoral student in Computer Science at McGill, Ubenwa provides a cost-effective, non-invasive tool to detect newborn asphyxia and save lives.
Onu credits the 2016 McGill Dobson Cup competition with helping his team to improve their product.
Dobson startup leverages Quebec funding to create 700 high-paying jobs
Sonder, one of the first unicorn startups from the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship community, is partnering with Investissement Québec (IQ) to build a centre for global growth in Montreal. The project will create more than 700 jobs to support Sonder’s mission to provide next-generation hospitality in 35 cities around the world.
Entrepreneur’s Day in NY Celebration
On December 1st the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship celebrated Entrepreneur’s Day in the U.S. by hosting a panel of notable New York City entrepreneurs and investors. It was a lively discussion that focused on their passion for entrepreneurship, which they shared with an audience of startup founders, students, alumni and industry professionals. Learn more
McGill Dobson Cup winner raises $4.7 million to expand operations in 2021
A McGill-born event platform startup has found a way to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and raise venture financing in hopes of returning to in-person events in 2021. Co-founded by Desautels alumnus Marc-Antoine Bonin (BCom’19) and Emeric Noël, Planned offers a unique tool for event planners to connect with a curated list of venues and suppliers in one place.
Dobson X-1 startup wins prestigious Quebec innovation award
Off the Grid, a participant in the McGill Dobson Centre’s 2020 X-1 Accelerator, was recently named “Startup of the Year” at the Quebec Gala des Prix de l’innovation.
Co-founded by Sébastien Brunelle-Jestin and Charles Couture-Lebrun, Off the Grid creates smart fitness equipment that harnesses energy generated during exercise to help power fitness centres.
First NY Retail Startup Tour opens new doors for Dobson Centre startups
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship recently launched its first virtual New York City Retail Startup Tour with the goal of connecting Dobson entrepreneurs to key players in the New York investment community. Planned in collaboration with the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec, the flagship event is already creating new business opportunities for participating startups.
Interius Farms reaches new heights in vertical farming
Desautels alumni Jonnie Lawson (BCom’20) and Tristan Zeman (BCom’17) are hard at work to make sustainable, year-round produce accessible to Canadians through indoor vertical farms. Over the summer, their innovative hydroponic growing system won first place at the annual McGill Dobson Cup start-up competition. As they expand into a larger growing facility in Montreal, they’re not slowing down anytime soon.
Dobson Cup winner uses AI to help railroads cut costs, reduce environmental footprint
As a student at McGill, Dev Jain (BEng’19) launched a company aimed at introducing North America’s 650 railways to industry-disrupting innovation. This year, RailVision Analytics won first place in the Innovation Driven Enterprise category of the McGill Dobson Cup. Now, Jain aspires to raise more than $1 million to commercialize and expand his business.
Dobson startup rated top invention in Quebec
McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship startup Sensequake (McGill X-1 Accelerator 2015) has been recognized as one of the top inventions in Quebec in 2020.
McGill among world’s leading universities for female founders
McGill University has been named in the top 25 undergraduate programs for female founders in the 2020 PitchBook University rankings.
