Expanding Access Through Events
At a glance
Entrepreneurial skills and mindsets aren’t taught in isolation—they’re built in community.
Events are central to how we teach, connect, and expand access to ideas. We design every detail to support real learning, real connections, and real people.
Each session at our events is designed to:
- Deliver fresh, relevant content.
- Challenge assumptions and spark new thinking.
- Understand the ecosystem so they can consider it’s needs, not just what’s trending.
- Present speakers who can translate hard won field experience into actionable advice that lands.
THE VFC EVENT RECIPE
Human-First + Clarity + Comfort + Purposeful Design
It’s easier for most of us to learn, engage, and connect when we’re comfortable. So we design experiences that smooth micro-frictions and promote participation through what seem like common sense human event design factors:
- Energy-aware schedules balance high-focus sessions with later start times and longer breaks that offer time to think, reflect, or move.
- Space for authentic connections that take into account the fact that we all have different engagement preferences.
- Food you can hold in one hand so you can shake hands without awkwardness.
- Neurodivergent-friendly considerations tend to benefit everyone, so we minimize sensory overload, offer quiet spaces, and clear communications.
- Easy, welcoming entrances. Clear directions and helpful signage.
- Community-led content. Alumni, partners, and staff shape what matters (no canned keynotes).
We treat the environment like part of the curriculum. Every detail is a chance to show respect for people’s time, energy, and needs.
COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLES
Coast-to-Coast Community-Building
Our Community Roundtables are intimate, invitation-only dinners held in private dining rooms across cities in Canada. Each event brings together 12–14 alumni, partners, funders, board members, and staff for focused, meaningful conversations led by VFC’s CEO, Scott Stirrett.
The gatherings prioritize open dialogue on timely topics like AI, mental health, and the future of work. They are designed to foster authentic connections, strengthen local networks, and build a more connected entrepreneurial ecosystem nationwide.
These dinners reflect our human-first event approach—small groups, comfortable settings, and conversations that go beyond small talk.
Alumni summit
Our Third and Biggest Yet
Our third—and biggest—Alumni Summit yet brought 110 Fellowship Alumni back to Queen’s University, the campus where it all started.
The Alumni Summit is our annual, alumni-led gathering designed to reconnect grads across cohorts and geographies. It’s a chance to share: career lessons, hard questions, and ideas for the future of the community.
Over three days, alumni joined sessions like:
- Embracing Vulnerability for Personal and Professional Growth
- Practical Blueprint: The Path to Impactful Leadership
- AI Changes Nothing. Get Back to Work
- Alum Perspectives: The Many Shapes of Entrepreneurship
Sessions were designed to spark honest conversation, debate, and reflection—less lecture, more dialogue.
“This was the second year that I co-organized Venture for Canada’s annual Alumni Summit, and it was so meaningful to see months of planning translate into a weekend full of special moments for the community. The community never fails to inspire me, and with the Summit taking place at the start of summer, I often feel like it marks a re-emergence into both the best part of the year and the best parts of myself.
This year I’m proud that we held multiple focus groups with alumni of different cohorts and incorporated their feedback into our plans to make the most of our time together.”
10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY GALA
Honouring a Decade, Building What’s Next
The 10-Year Gala closed out the Alumni Summit weekend with an evening dedicated to recognizing a decade of VFC.
It brought together around 230 members of the VFC community—from alumni and Fellows to staff and partners to celebrate and reflect on ten years of shared challenges, growth, and the relationships that make this community strong.
There were speeches that made us laugh (and cry), moments of recognition for alumni and partners, and time to share gratitude for the connections built through VFC.
Over dinner, photos, and a full dance floor, the night ended with a sense of pride and possibility—honouring where we’ve been and looking ahead to what the next ten years will bring for the VFC community.
