Rise
with EDGE
Rise is for conscious entrepreneurs ready to scale their impact enterprises. Participants in this high-value, high-intensity program have the commitment and motivation to do the work required to grow financial sustainability and social impact. With Rise, you’ll move forward with the guidance and coaching of seasoned entrepreneurs who are invested in your goals.
Ready to Rise?
Rise enterprises
AJ Rainford launched Cadence’s Staffing Services in 2018 with a partner to provide social service personnel to agencies within the social service sectors for developmentally disabled people throughout communities in Central and Western Ontario. When he joined the Rise program in 2021, Cadence was a fledging startup at early revenue. Over the first year in Rise, the company accelerated forward, reaching $1.2 million in revenue in early 2022.
AJ's Rise Success Story
The Program
$200/month + HST | No admin fees
Rise is an individual (not cohort-based) program EDGE offers to a small group of founders. We carefully select participants who are ready to do the work to grow their ventures at an accelerated pace.
What you will receive:
Rapid growth opportunity through customized coaching for your venture’s growth stage.
Individualized coaching focused venture’s growth stage, valued at $12,000/year.
Advisory services to maximize impact and balance people, planet and profit.
Support to access the right money to grow your venture.
Introductions to key contacts to strategically expand your network.
Help to drive sales leads using proven digital marketing strategies.
Program participants have seen rapid growth of up to 450% — reaching financial sustainability for the venture and the ability to earn consistent income. To see this kind of success, we encourage ventures to commit to coaching for 6-12 months.
What You'll Experience
Rise is a ‘doing program.’ Program participants actively work on achieving the goals they set to grow their impact and revenue.
Onboarding Session & Impact Measurement Bootcamp
Work with our social impact advisor to clarify your organization's impact focus. Then establish metrics to monitor the long-term, transformational effects of your enterprise.
Gap Analysis & Venture Planning for Growth
Collaborate with our business development consultant to map your organization's growth trajectory by identifying priorities. Then develop a quarter-by-quarter action plan to ensure accelerated growth.
Support Team
Engage with an accountability coach, an impact advisor, and a diverse set of seasoned consultants and entrepreneur mentors curated to help facilitate your success. Receive 4 hours of 1:1 coaching and advisory services each month. Coaching sessions focus on practical problem solving customized to the requirements of your venture's growth stage.
Ongoing Business Development
Your Rise team keeps you focused and helps eliminate challenges that arise along the way. You will also be invited to sessions with individual consultants who can address specific needs.
Interim Milestones
Share your achievements in the program with the EDGE community at 6-month intervals.
Community Support
Become part of the EDGE community and a dynamic cohort of fellow impact entrepreneurs at similar stages of growth.
Coaching Framework for RISE Ventures
This framework forms the basis for the RISE coaching and growth strategy.
The work we do with each venture ensures sustainability in each area to support accelerated growth.
Have questions or want to talk to a coach?
email us at edge@sheridancollege.ca.
Rise Impact Ventures
Darren Perlman and his co-founder Daniel Copeland brought their venture, Spotwork, to EDGE in early 2020 for help with their impact. They had just launched a platform to revolutionize often unfair temporary hiring business. Over the past 1.5 years, Spotwork has streamlined its impact to promote opportunities for inclusive hiring and addressed the growing skills gap. Along the way, they have acquired high-profile corporate clients to their platform and are currently upskilling over 35,000 users. Spotwork has developed into a sophisticated digital marketplace facilitating employers’ direct access to on-demand flexible teams. It also supports inclusive hiring by connecting jobs to skills and training opportunities for marginalized groups in the existing labour market (including newcomers, Indigenous community members, and persons with disabilities).
Darren & Daniel's Rise Success Story
Application Process
Application
You can apply to Rise anytime. Applications are reviewed monthly.
Review
The two-stage selection process involves a selection committee reviewing your written application and supporting materials., From there, you may be selected for a virtual meeting with the committee to discuss your goals and ask any questions you might have. We’ll call you to notify you of your application’s status.
Apply if:
You’re the founder of a registered social enterprise (non-profit, for-profit, or co-op) and you’re clear about the impact you want to have
Your product or service is ready to sell or is already generating sales revenue
You’re committed to doing the work required to grow
When Maya Saggar of Impact Learning came to Rise, her company had been earning revenue from online courses and support materials. With the support of the Rise operating approach and coaching team, Maya shifted focus, rebranded the company, and drove revenue up by more than 320%, ensuring the fiscal sustainability of this purpose-led business.
Maya's Rise Success Story
Rise Coaches & Mentors
To accelerate your growth, you need to surround yourself with people who know what to do, can connect you to the people and organizations that will be instrumental to your growth, and have a proven history of building successful organizations. That is what Rise offers to its participants.
Since they joined the Rise program, Sunjit Khamba and Amanda Russell have worked tirelessly to grow their not-for-profit organization. JELLY Social is an initiative that empowers Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) professionals and allies to help each other prosper. With the support of Rise coaching team and support resources, they have grown to more than 4,000 members and established a foundation for their financial sustainability through memberships, advisory services and sponsorship. They have also added an earned revenue stream, leading to better financial sustainability.
Sunjit & Amanda's Rise Success Story
Frequently Asked Questions
You must qualify to join the Rise program; we accept impact-focused businesses and social enterprises with founders ready and willing to do the work to grow impact and revenue. Click on any of the ‘Apply Now’ buttons on this page to apply online.
To benefit from participation in the Rise program, you will need to be:
- Ready to follow the direction of the coaching and advisory teams
- Able to provide information on the status of your business
- Willing to focus on the support offered by EDGE without listening to other advisors and supporters
We will help you build the path that fits your unique business from a business model, operational structure and financial resources point of view. And then, we will help you grow your venture.
If you want that focused support, let’s talk. Reach out to us at 416.458.5409 or email us at edge@sheridancollege.ca.
The Rise program fees cover the cost of up to 4 hours per month of coaching and advisory services from seasoned impact entrepreneurs with the knowledge, training and deep practical experience to help you identify your growth path. The level of this support is simply unprecedented in the impact entrepreneurship community. And the results show. The value is also unbelievably strong – if you were to hire this help outside of EDGE, you would pay as much as 8x that price.
While we ask for a commitment from new members for a minimum of six months, Rise fees are paid monthly – that means you can cancel at any time. Fees are charged to your credit card on the first of each month.
Yes! Call Lisa Kember, Business Development Lead, at EDGE 416-458-5409 or email us at edge@sheridancollege.ca.
Rise is a month-to-month payment; participation in Rise can be cancelled at any time with a 30 days notice.
