Canadian Startup & Scale-Up Program Playbook

Step 1: Identify Your Stage

• Idea / Pre-seed (no revenue, prototype stage) → Velocity, CDL, FounderFuel

• Seed (early customers, raising first VC round) → DMZ, Centech, FounderFuel

• Scale-up ($1M+ revenue, expanding markets) → Communitech, MaRS Momentum

Step 2: Match Sector Fit

• Deep Tech / Hardware / MedTech: Velocity, Centech, CDL

• AI, Fintech, Enterprise Software: DMZ

• Climate, Health, Compute: CDL

• General Tech: FounderFuel

• Health, Cleantech, SaaS (scaling): MaRS Momentum

• B2B SaaS (scaling): Communitech

Step 3: Consider the Model (Equity, Fee, Free)

• Equity (you give up a small %): DMZ, Centech, FounderFuel

• Membership / Service Fees: Communitech, MaRS Momentum

• Free (no equity, no fee): Velocity (for UWaterloo founders), CDL

Step 4: Value Proposition Snapshot

• Velocity (Waterloo) → Founder-owned IP, labs, student talent.

• DMZ (Toronto) → 18-month investor readiness plus corporate partnerships.

• CDL (Vancouver and other hubs) → Objectives-based mentorship from world-class entrepreneurs and scientists.

• Centech (Montreal) → Two-year deep coaching program for complex technologies.

• FounderFuel (Montreal) → Four-month intensive accelerator with a strong mentor network.

• Communitech (Waterloo) → Executive coaching and peer groups for companies with $1M+ revenue.

• MaRS Momentum (Toronto) → Access to capital, corporate partners, and global market intelligence.

Quick Decision Tree

Q1. Are you pre-revenue?
→ Yes → Velocity, CDL, FounderFuel

Q2. Do you have early revenue but still raising Seed?
→ Yes → DMZ (AI/Fintech/Software) or Centech (Deep Tech/Hardware/Medtech)

Q3. Are you past $1M in revenue?
→ Yes → Communitech Growth Coaching or MaRS Momentum

Q4. Do you want to avoid giving up equity?
→ Yes → Velocity (if affiliated with UWaterloo) or CDL
→ No → DMZ, Centech, FounderFuel

Founder Checklist

• Stage: Am I idea stage, seed stage, or scaling?

• Sector: Does the program align with my industry?

• Model: Am I comfortable giving equity, or would I prefer fees/free?

• Timeline: Do I want an intensive sprint (4 months) or a long-term program (18–24 months)?

• Goals: Is my priority fundraising, mentorship, or scaling operations?