The Firehood & PDC launches 'Firestarter' Program for Women

In order to assist Atlantic Canada’s women and non-binary founders, a new program has been co-launched by The Firehood alongside Fredericton-based Pond-Deshpande Centre (PDC). This program shall train needed women to thrive in business.

The program entitled as ‘firestarter’ focuses on providing essential skills and knowledge to these founders for becoming investment ready. The program design includes lean startup methodology, pitch coaching, financial literacy, market analysis, product development, and legal considerations.

The participants of the program shall get the opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs that includes Claudette McGowan, the co-founder of Firehood and CEO of Protexxa; Helen Kontozopoulos, founder and CEO of Resiin; Miranda Lievers, co-founder of Thinkific; and lastly Bethany Deshpande, founder and CEO of SomaDetect.

This particular program plays a part in Women and Nonbinary Impact Network for Venture Capital (WIN-VC). It has received an investment of $3.4 million from federal government in the year 2023 via Inclusive Venture Capital Initiative of the VC as a part of Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. With an intent to aid women founders in terms of financial access, this program shall put women in the priority list. It will turn out to be beneficial for the women participants and non-binary founders.