Director of Acceleration
Website Platform Calgary
Director of Acceleration
Platform Calgary
Empowering people // building the next economy.
Calgary, Alberta
Are you ready to help make Calgary the best place in the world to start and grow a tech company? Are you connected to a global network of startups and investors that you can draw on to help Calgary founders build amazing companies? Are you a builder yourself? Yes? Please consider applying for this killer job!
Who is Platform?
Platform Calgary is laser focused on making Calgary a global hub for startups and innovation. We believe that an inclusive, tech-led approach to economic growth and diversification will unlock new avenues of prosperity for current and future Calgarians. Already one of the world’s top 100 emerging innovation ecosystems, our goals are ambitious: over the next 10 years we want to see a 10x increase in the rate of startup creation and growth lead to the creation of 30,000 future proofed jobs.
To make this vision a reality, we are opening the Platform Innovation Centre, Calgary’s Home for Innovators. With 60+ partner organizations already connected and aligned in vision under one roof, we are collectively what our name suggests: a platform upon which to build, with an expansive, efficient and well resourced network of support at its foundation. Along with our partners we offer innovators everything they need to get started and get growing: educational programming, community, advice and a globally-connected network of resources.
At heart we are trusted collaborators with our partners that work alongside us, and are tireless champions for every innovator that comes through our doors.
What’s it like to work at Platform?
Yes, our goals are ambitious. We’ve set the bar high for ourselves and for Calgary’s tech community. The only way we’ll get there is if a) the next 10 years in tech are the best in Calgary’s history (for everyone) and b) we are a catalytic organization that, at its core, is highly collaborative AND highly entrepreneurial.
Our team is passionate about supporting startups and innovators no matter where they’re at, but is equally enthusiastic about seeing our partners thrive as they deliver on our shared vision for Calgary. At the end of the day, we’re all working together to empower the people building the next economy.
We hire experts and generalists with complementary skills and a shared attitude: we value integrity, creativity and diversity, and we thrive as part of integrated teams that revel in delivering results. If you’re considering joining our team, it is important that you understand we are blazing new trails in our city. A lot of what we need to be able to do in the future is being built today. (Hint: look elsewhere for well-worn playbooks and a slow moving routine.) Read our Guiding Principles for the litmus test on how we determine and prioritize the work we do.
Diversity in the people we hire is essential for truly collaborative work, and for the impact we are accountable for in the community we serve. We foster a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, and respected to fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. We operate a hybrid and flexible work environment to support the best results from our highly collaborative teams.
Our beliefs are the foundations of Platform’s growing culture. Written by all of us, we are each accountable to these beliefs and work to reinforce them in our daily work:
- Ship It: I do what it takes to get work out the door even if it’s not perfect, and learn how to make it better.
- Shout Out: I revel in my coworkers’ efforts and accomplishments.
- Move the Needle: I drive transformational results by focusing on opportunities that create measurable impact at scale.
- All Hands: I take initiative to listen, ask and contribute in whatever ways I can because I have experiences and knowledge that matter.
- Build to Last: I make decisions today that create foundations for the future of Calgary.
- Top Priority: I safeguard my health and wellness and know I am supported by the team to take care of myself.
If you’re ready to be a part of a highly collaborative team that is making a difference in the future of Calgary, come talk to us.
The Opportunity:
The Director of Acceleration leads Platform Calgary’s Acceleration Team, a core part of our Startup Hub. The Startup Hub also includes our Startup Academy, a curated series of courses and programs designed to help founders and teams gain new skills and competencies. The Director will be a linchpin in linking our Startup Hub and its programs and participants into Platform’s other hubs (Investors, Talent and Industry-led innovation), all in the name of driving growth and velocity in the ecosystem. Like every member of the Platform team, you will be an engaged community member and spokesperson, acting as an integrator, a promoter and an advocate, focused on the overall performance of the tech and innovation ecosystem in our city.
As Platform Calgary’s Director of Acceleration, you will be leading and building a diverse team of entrepreneurial startup advisors who revel in providing seamless support to startup founders and teams from idea through to scale. Your team will include full-time staff, project-based contractors and a global network of subject-matter experts. You will also be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the new Platform Incubator, an 18 month program designed to support the growth objectives and momentum of pre-seed and seed stage startups. Core aspects of the portfolio include our support of Venture Mentoring Service of Alberta (VMSA). Finally, the Director of Acceleration is one of Platform Calgary’s key relationship holders with global accelerator programs and investors operating in Calgary and around the world for learning and adapting new ideas in programming, sharing best practices and building community .
What you will be doing:
- Lead and build the team of staff advisors, providing ongoing coaching and professional development
- Seek out, build and manage a local, national and global network of experts, advisors and investors that can be called upon to support Calgary-based startups on a contract or volunteer basis
- Oversee the development and operation of an incubator program within Platform Calgary, serving cohorts of pre-seed and seed stage startups over an 18 month period
- Ensure that Platform Calgary’s advisors and coaches (staff, contract and volunteers) have a founder-first approach, with impeccable attention to ethical conduct
- Help advance VMSA and CEO Roundtable and explore similar opportunities
- Develop collaborative working relationships with peer organizations and accelerators operating in Calgary, Canada and around the world
- Develop and maintain in-depth knowledge of the Calgary tech startup ecosystem, including being on a first-name basis with most local tech founders
- Act as a spokesperson on behalf of Platform Calgary on matters related to the successes and challenges of program participants
- Maintain an up to date knowledge of best practices in startup methodologies (eg,. lean startup, growth hacking, etc) and how best to support Calgary founders to learn and apply these methodologies
What you will bring:
- This role is best suited to someone with the scars that come from being a startup founder or early team member, or a tech investor, and that has a burning desire to transmit that experience to those coming up now. It probably needs at least 15 years of accumulated experience, but we can imagine situations where someone gained 15 years worth of experience in a much shorter period of time!
- An extraordinary maturity with an ability as a respected coach, mentor and mission-driven collaborator
- An established network in tech (startups, investor, support organizations) that reaches beyond Calgary and Alberta
- Strong communication skills, including public speaking and business development/sales experience
- Ability to work in a complex stakeholder environment
- Ability to think strategically and at an ecosystem level
- Knowledgeable about entrepreneur development and the regional startup ecosystem
- Competency in G-Suite, Asana, Slack, Eventbrite, Thinkific, HubSpot are considered an asset
What you will receive:
- Comprehensive health, vision and dental benefits including a Health Spending Account, Employee Assistance Programs
- Maple: Online Doctors, virtual help and prescriptions in Canada
- Up to 6% Group RRSP matching program & Group Life Insurance
- Fridays off during the months of July and August & three weeks paid vacation plus one week paid vacation in December/January
- Maternity/Parental leave top-up
- Aspirational Workspace – the Platform Innovation Centre is Calgary’s home for innovators
- Amenities – the Platform Innovation Centre includes a cafe, bike storage and shower facilities
Structure:
- Co-leads the Startup Hub with the Director of Academy
- Reports to the President & CEO
- Direct reports include staff advisors and the incubator lead
Platform Calgary is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. We encourage
applications from all qualified candidates including aboriginal persons, members of sexual minority groups, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women. We will provide any requested accommodation to candidates with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. Platform Calgary requires its team members to have up to date vaccinations to minimize risks associated with COVID-19.
We wish to express our appreciation to all applicants for their interest and advise that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Any personal information submitted will be managed with the strictest confidentiality. This position will remain open until a suitable applicant is identified.