
About us
Ready to launch a new venture? Expanding your current business or model? Want to be your own boss?
Your business is our business. We provide province-wide entrepreneurship support.
At YES Employment + Entrepreneurship, we are dedicated to helping you and your business succeed! Our Entrepreneurship services are opened to individuals of any age, whether you're in the startup or growth phase of your business. If you need sales and marketing advice or have questions about financing options and resources, our coaching, workshops, and seminars are designed to give you the information you need to take your business idea to the next level.
🔹 Stay Alert: Beware of Scams! 🔹
We’ve been made aware of scam emails and posts impersonating organizations like ours. To protect yourself:
✅ Verify the Sender – Always check the sender’s email address or social media profile before engaging.
✅ Look for Red Flags – Be cautious of urgent requests, unusual payment methods, or poor grammar.
✅ Never Share Personal Info – We will never ask for sensitive details like passwords or financial information via email or social media.
✅ Contact Us Directly – If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from us, reach out through our official channels to confirm its legitimacy.
Stay safe and always double-check before you click! 🚨✨
Upcoming events
25

Financing Options for Your Business
·OnlineOnlineFree Workshop.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.
RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.Calling all entrepreneurs with big dreams and bold ideas!
You have a fantastic business concept, yet you might be unsure about where and how to get the necessary funding to jump-start your business.
Gain invaluable insights into creating investment-worthy proposals, discover the right funding channels for your business, and unravel the mysteries of what investors are really looking for. Join us on this funding journey and turn your vision into a reality!
Your quest to securing funding for your business starts right here.
Pre-registration is required.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.
RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.Pre-registration is required. This workshop is available as an online, live-streaming webinar.
Once you register for the online workshop, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. If you haven’t received the email an hour before the workshop starts, please check your Spam/Junk folder.
1 attendee- CA$20.00

Startup Creation, Rewritten: Building a Defensible AI Venture
·OnlineOnlineENGLISH WILL FOLLOW:
Pour pouvoir participer, vous devez vous inscrire à l’avance en utilisant ce lien. Confirmer votre présence sur Meetup ne vous donnera pas accès à cet atelier.
Les prototypes à faible coût sont faciles à créer. Les startups véritablement défendables le sont beaucoup moins.
Cette séance va au‑delà des MVP génériques pour examiner comment les entreprises en IA construisent de véritables fossés de données, instaurent la confiance au niveau de l’architecture et assurent une défendabilité à long terme.
Vous découvrirez comment les fondateur·rice·s les plus aguerri·e·s réfléchissent aux enjeux de risque, de biais, d’hallucinations et de responsabilité — et comment ces facteurs influencent les décisions de produits et d’affaires dès le départ.
✅ Vous apprendrez notamment à :
• Concevoir des fossés de données difficiles à reproduire
• Intégrer la confiance et la gestion des risques au cœur de votre architecture IA
• Passer d’un produit simplement « propulsé par l’IA » à une solution réellement défendable🎤 Conférencier·ère·s
• Fred Rouhani (Conseiller commercial, YES)
• Stefania Pecore (Experte en IA, programme Women4Ethical AI de l’UNESCO ; Directrice exécutive, Women Techmakers Montréal)
• Elham Kheradmand (PDG, Lucid Axion)🌐 À propos de « Startup Creation, Rewritten »
« Startup Creation, Rewritten » est une série de conférences en trois volets qui explore comment la nouvelle génération de startups à fort impact se construit dans un monde propulsé par l’IA.
Alors que de petites équipes avancent plus vite et que les avantages traditionnels disparaissent, cette série met en lumière ce qui compte vraiment aujourd’hui :
la défensibilité, la spécialisation et une exécution rigoureuse.
Vous repartirez avec des cadres pratiques, des études de cas concrètes et des outils décisionnels immédiatement applicables.
🔔 L’inscription est obligatoire.
📍 Atelier en ligne présenté en anglais.
💲 Tarif réduit grâce à nos bailleurs de fonds et partenaires.*****
Cheap prototypes are easy. Defensible startups are not.This session goes beyond generic MVPs to explore how AI ventures build real data moats, establish architectural trust, and ensure long‑term defensibility.
You’ll learn how leading founders think about risk, bias, hallucination, and liability — and how these factors shape product and business decisions from day one.
✅ You’ll learn how to:
• Build data moats that can’t be easily replicated
• Design trust and risk management into your AI architecture
• Move from “AI‑powered” to truly defensible🎤 Speakers
• Fred Rouhani (Business Advisor, YES)
• Dr. Stefania Pecore (AI Expert, UNESCO Women4Ethical AI Program; Executive Director, Women Techmakers Montréal)
• Dr. Elham Kheradmand (CEO, Lucid Axion)🌐 About Startup Creation, Rewritten
Startup Creation, Rewritten is a three‑part speaker series on how the next generation of high‑impact startups is being built in an AI‑driven world.
With smaller teams moving faster and traditional advantages disappearing, this series focuses on what actually matters now:
defensibility, specialization, and sharp execution.
You’ll leave with practical frameworks, real founder case studies, and decision‑ready tools you can use immediately.RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.Available in English and as an online, live-streaming webinar.
Once you register for the online workshop, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. If you haven’t received the email an hour before the workshop starts, please check your Spam/Junk folder.
This low registration fee is only possible thanks to our generous funders and partners.
1 attendee 
9 Action Steps to Building a Successful Business
·OnlineOnlineFree Workshop.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.
RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.You’ve got a great business idea, but is that enough? What’s the next crucial step?
Join us for an interactive workshop that will help you answer all the tough questions about how you can jump-start your business the right way. Save both time and your precious budget by strategically planning and building your blueprint for success.
In this interactive session, we’ll guide you through all the necessary steps that entrepreneurs need to focus on before launching their business operations.
Join us as we build your start-up framework and cover critical topics such as ideation, market research, customer interviews, prototyping, and competitor analysis. Give yourself and your business the greatest chance of success and stand out from all the competition.
Your journey to entrepreneurial success starts right here.
Pre-registration is required.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.
RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.This workshop is available as an online, live-streaming webinar.
Once you register for the online workshop, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. If you haven’t received the email an hour before the workshop starts, please check your Spam/Junk folder.
1 attendee- CA$20.00

Startup Creation, Rewritten: The Path to Funding and Scale...
·OnlineOnlineENGLISH WILL FOLLOW:
Pour pouvoir participer, vous devez vous inscrire à l’avance en utilisant ce lien. Confirmer votre présence sur Meetup ne vous donnera pas accès à cet atelier.
Cet atelier explore la manière dont les entreprises d’IA verticales et hyperspécialisées attirent des financements, se développent plus rapidement et défendent leur position en résolvant des problèmes à forte valeur ajoutée et spécifiques à un domaine.
Lors de cet atelier, vous apprendrez à :
· Identifier les niches à forte valeur ajoutée qui intéressent les investisseurs.
· Utiliser l’infrastructure et la spécialisation comme avantage concurrentiel.
· Positionner votre startup pour un financement ou une croissance durable des revenus.Conférencier·ère·s
Fred Rouhani (Conseiller commercial, YES)
Ana Palacio Vélez (Fondatrice, Hannai : AI & Economic Integration)
Parisa Golchoubian (Fondatrice et PDG, Retide Labs)🌐 À propos de « Startup Creation, Rewritten »
« Startup Creation, Rewritten » est une série de conférences en trois volets qui explore comment la nouvelle génération de startups à fort impact se construit dans un monde propulsé par l’IA.
Alors que de petites équipes avancent plus vite et que les avantages traditionnels disparaissent, cette série met en lumière ce qui compte vraiment aujourd’hui :
la défensibilité, la spécialisation et une exécution rigoureuse.
Vous repartirez avec des cadres pratiques, des études de cas concrètes et des outils décisionnels immédiatement applicables.
🔔 L’inscription est obligatoire.
📍 Atelier en ligne présenté en anglais.
💲 Tarif réduit grâce à nos bailleurs de fonds et partenaires.*****
The most successful AI startups aren’t building broad tools — they’re becoming essential intelligence partners for very specific markets.This workshop explores how vertical and hyper-specialized AI companies attract funding, scale faster, and defend their position by solving high-value, domain-specific problems.
You’ll learn how to:
• Identify high-value niches investors care about
• Use infrastructure and specialization as a competitive advantage
• Position your startup for funding or sustainable revenue growthSpeakers:
Fred Rouhani (Business Advisor, YES)
Ana Palacio Vélez (Founder, Hannai: AI & Economic Integration)
Parisa Golchoubian (Founder & CEO, Retide Labs)🌐 About Startup Creation, Rewritten
Startup Creation, Rewritten is a three‑part speaker series on how the next generation of high‑impact startups is being built in an AI‑driven world.
With smaller teams moving faster and traditional advantages disappearing, this series focuses on what actually matters now:
defensibility, specialization, and sharp execution.
You’ll leave with practical frameworks, real founder case studies, and decision‑ready tools you can use immediately.RSVPing on meetup will not grant you access to this workshop.
In order to attend, you must pre-register using this link.Available in English and as an online, live-streaming webinar.
Once you register for the online workshop, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. If you haven’t received the email an hour before the workshop starts, please check your Spam/Junk folder.
This low registration fee is only possible thanks to our generous funders and partners.
1 attendee
Past events
1582

