DISCOVER

Do you have a business idea? Start here!

Discover supports entrepreneurs in building a viable business solution people love and are willing to pay for.

Over eight weeks, you will run experiments to test:

• Desirability (do customers want this?)
• Feasibility (can I do this?)
• Viability (can I make money?)

Looking for more help with your business idea? A great next step is our SMARTstart entrepreneurial training program.

Dates

There are four two-hour sessions included in the Discover program, plus four one-hour virtual labs.

Upcoming dates:

• Fall 2025 – please subscribe to our newsletter below to be notified when registration is open.

What will you do?

• Develop a 1-page business plan to help you deconstruct your idea into its key assumptions.
• Identify who your customers are, what they look like and how they behave to build a better solution for the problem they want to solve.
• Conduct experiments to test assumptions for market fit, viability and market risk.
• Evaluate how big and compelling customer problems are – and if it’s worth your time and money to try to solve them.

Who should participate?

• People with an idea for a business, or looking to add an additional product or service to your existing offerings.
• Entrepreneurs and small businesses with products and services from any industry.
• Those willing to ‘do the work’ between sessions, including getting out and talking with potential customers and conducting experiments.
• Discover welcomes partnerships and requires that all partners pay the participant fee.

Award-winning program

 The Discover program was awarded Innovative Approach to Economic Development Project (Medium Community/Region) by Economic Developers Alberta in 2024.

What participants are saying

” I really loved this program and felt like it built my confidence a lot. I feel more supported and able to start my business when I am ready.”

” In the past, market research felt like a very technical guessing game. This program has shown me a plan of how to get it done in a more interesting and hands-on way.”

– 2023 Discover Participants

“Local business and new ideas are the lifeblood of commerce and the advancement of our society. This program was so helpful because it introduced me to tools and taught me how to use them when it comes to analyzing and developing my idea for a business. So much debt is bore and so many dreams are crushed because ideas aren’t developed or matured properly and this program can spare so many from that by showing them how to calculate their risks effectively and evolve a good idea into something that is great and viable. That is what ultimately will advance our community forward. Thank you, Discover Program! I will make sure more people know about your program.”

“Thank you AEC for offering the Discover Program! This course was amazing value and had very helpful and actionable content. I feel much more confident in my ability to test business ideas and provide solutions for customers. Wendy is an great teacher and she brought so much wisdom and experience to the class. I would recommend this program to other entrepreneurs at any level, as the information was provided in such a way that we got to see it applied to many different types and stages of business.“

– 2024 Discover Participants