Following their merger announced at the end of last week, Bonjour Startup Montréal and Montréal inc. announced Monday the creation of a growth program for young companies called Hypercroissance Québec and in which the Ministry of Economy and Innovation will inject 6.5 million over two years.
Startup Montréal, as the non-profit organization born from the merger of the two former Montréal entities will henceforth be called, will oversee this program, which aims to help 25 very fast-growing young companies better manage their development. The companies targeted by Hypercroissance Québec are those that have come a long way and are looking for new momentum to propel them to the level of established companies.
In the jargon, we speak of “scale-up” rather than “start-up”, which means that this program is aimed at companies that are entering a stage of strong multiplication of their activities, explains Pascale Audette, just named President of the Board of Directors of Startup Montreal.
“There are already several accelerator and incubator programs in Montreal that are aimed at new or start-up companies, said in an interview with the Duty Mme Audetta. But there is a lack of support for companies that already have a few million dollars in revenue and are looking to take the next step by, for example, organizing a series A financing round.
A Series A round is the first major private financing a company normally obtains in order to reach a certain level of profitability. She can usually be worth anything between $2 million and $10 million.
Given the envelope received from Quebec, Hypercroissance Quebec has neither the means nor the mandate to finance the chosen companies itself. Rather, it will help organize for each of the 25 selected companies an international network of contacts, mentors, specialists and other potential business partners who will help it to secure its own financing.
“This is the kind of program that we would have needed at Carebook at a certain time”, illustrates Pascale Audette, who before being at the head of Startup Montreal was president and general manager of this company specializing in health care. from a distance.
2030 target
Hypercroissance Québec is the first of a series of programs that Startup Montréal intends to set up to help young technological shoots in the metropolis and the rest of Québec to develop. “The goal is that by 2030, Montreal will be recognized internationally as a major North American epicenter of new businesses,” explains Pascale Audette.
To help distinguish Montreal from American cities already well known in this sector (Boston, New York, San Francisco) as well as from Toronto, which on the international scene is generally perceived as the only technological pole in Canada, Startup Montreal wants to encourage the creation companies focused on inclusion and diversity, rather than the absolute pursuit of profits, adds the Montreal businesswoman.
The assistance programs that already exist within Bonjour Startup Montréal and Montréal inc. will also be kept under the new name. Montreal Inc. has been particularly recognized since its creation 26 years ago for having particularly helped companies run by women. This will not change, we assure you.
What changes with Startup Montreal, however, is the funding method of the organization, which wishes to find more private partners within Quebec inc. not only to help finance its activities, but which will facilitate networking between players in the new economy and others in more traditional sectors. The lack of bridges between large Quebec companies and the startup ecosystem has often been pointed out to explain the province’s weak influence in the world of new technologies.
Already, the financial sector is reacting positively to this merger. In addition to National Bank, which was already sponsoring Bonjour Startup Montréal and which is continuing its commitment with Startup Montréal, the organization should announce agreements with other banking institutions in the coming days, including Desjardins and BDC Capital, which are elsewhere involved in Hypercroissance Québec.
“That’s the goal: to see the Montreal entrepreneurial community get organized. If everyone manages to help each other better, it will be exceptional,” concludes Pascale Audette.