When it comes to the Canada Start-up Visa (SUV) Program, support is far more than just a letter at Empowered Startups. Vaneet Talwar has experienced that support first-hand.
“Coming from India to Canada, Empowered Startups helped us by first sponsoring us by way of Letter of Support,” explains the founder of AI House, an innovative platform that equips its users with authentication and security tools for better outcomes in virtual evaluations. “That Letter of Support gave us the entry to Canada, and after that, they are helping us build this company.”
That latter statement is of utmost importance for Vaneet and other founders creating their startups in Canada. While a Letter of Support from a designated organization is a requirement of the Canada SUV program, many designated organizations do not offer entrepreneurs a rich incubation environment in which to develop their innovative startups. By contrast, Empowered Startups’ Canada SUV Program offers founders an abundance of resources during their entrepreneurial journey, and Vaneet has benefitted greatly.
“Empowered Startups has helped us in AI House as an anchor to every single thing. There’s a lot of resources being provided by Empowered including the productive sources at discount, sometimes free of cost, so Empowered has been there as an incubator,” Vaneet affirms. “You get a provided [office] space; you can come over, you work, you have people to interact with. They provided us with the basic lean canvas that I never knew of even after being in business for [the] last 25 years. I saved a lot of time because of it; things were very productive. The validation experiments and everything that they put into place was very helpful for the company. We are with something, actually, that can be implemented into the market and that can get us results.”
Vaneet’s description touches on several critical aspects of Empowered’s Canada SUV Program. From its collaborative office environment to its award-winning online platform to providing pathways to accessible programs, Empowered offers its founders tangible resources for cultivating their startups. Vaneet makes certain to highlight the significance of Empowered’s dedicated mentors like Alexandra Wheaton, Lynn Kulli and Matthew Pattinson, each of whom has provided him professional guidance in building his business and opened a vast number of possibilities through networking opportunities.
“Network is everything. At one point of time, your strategy is one side, but the moment you have the network, it lets you move in,” asserts Vaneet. “I meet with people on the daily basis; I set up around two to three meetings every day. Empowered gives me a way where I say I am in Canada incubated by Empowered Startups in downtown Vancouver, so it gives me a niche to interact with people. They accept the invitations to talk. That’s helped AI House a lot.”
Vaneet cites networking events at universities and the interactive nature of the Empowered Startups office as examples of settings that have furthered both his professional connections and knowledge through conversation with like-minded colleagues. He is particularly enthused about a recent Coffee Connect event that broadened his view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem Empowered Startups is nurturing.
“I just realized that coming here that people are from Vietnam, people from India, people from Kuwait, Iran. We are coming from our different backgrounds, so that actually worked as an icebreaker,” Vaneet submits. “They had a seating for 20, but nobody sat. Everybody was wanting to mingle with somebody. There were the questions, there were answers, there were people who were sharing their experiences. There were people who were a few steps ahead than us, a few people who are behind us. It actually gave a path as a bridge for all of them to come to a same place because there is no other way that we can interact with those people directly. The networking actually provided us [a] very good space to interact. It’s a beautiful place because when you interact with people, you know their journey, you understand how it is, so [my] Empowered journey has been very beautiful. I appreciate that.”
As he speaks, Vaneet’s genuine nature resonates with his audience, a reassuring trait for someone whose innovation is focused on detecting authenticity. When asked if he would recommend Empowered’s Canada SUV Program to other entrepreneurs, he offers the following endorsement.
“I’ll suggest Empowered to my friends back in India, [the] reason being that Empowered has credibility; they know what they are doing because [from] what I can see, there’s a board full of companies and entrepreneurs who are coming here. They have they have experience bringing people from different backgrounds,” he attests. “I never knew about Empowered, how it would be, but after one year with Empowered, now I can say that it’s a beautiful journey.”
