Will Your Idea Fly? How To Know If ‘IT’ Has Wings (by Alberta's Founder Fridays)

For the first time, Brandy Old and Craig Elias are bringing their Founder Fridays session to Toronto. Since 2021, they’ve been running these free sessions across Alberta, helping hundreds of entrepreneurs figure out if their ideas are worth pursuing - before spending time and money building the wrong thing. They’ve worked alongside startup legends like Ash Maurya (Lean Canvas), David Bland (Testing Business Ideas), and Geoffrey Moore (Crossing the Chasm) to create practical frameworks that actually work.
This session helps you understand an idea’s ‘desirability’ so you can avoid spending time, effort, or money on an idea that nobody will want.

What You’ll Learn

• Validate that a problem is worth solving
• Determine a startup’s Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
• Know if a start-up should pause, pivot, or proceed
• Identify and test the assumptions that kill startups
• Differentiate from the three forms of competition every startup has
• Leverage the 11 questions every problem validation interview should ask
• Combine early adopters and trigger events to accelerate customer adoption
• Understand the six types of customer problems that increase the odds of success

This session combines concepts from startup experts like Ash Maurya, David Bland, Geoffrey Moore, Melissa Kaufman, Mike Raab, Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim with original concepts Craig and Brandy developed by helping hundreds of entrepreneurs validate their business ideas.

Who Should Attend

• Aspiring founders with ideas brewing
• Technical folks who can build anything but need business validation
• Early-stage entrepreneurs testing product-market fit
• Product managers evaluating new features
• Anyone wondering: “Should I quit my job for this idea?”

If you’ve been coming to Serverless Toronto for technical skills, this complements perfectly - you’ll learn what to build and why, not just how.

About Your Hosts

Brandy Old - Technology Development Advisor at Alberta Innovates

• Designed the Agility entrepreneurial incubator at U of Lethbridge, trained 200+ student entrepreneurs
• Certified IDEO Design Thinker & Lean Startup Coach
• TEDx speaker on embracing failure as a learning tool
• Master’s in Social Impact

Craig Elias - Technology Development Advisor at Alberta Innovates

• His first startup was funded by a Silicon Valley VC and named by Dow Jones as one of the 50 most promising companies in North America (within 24 months of launch!)
• Award-winning sales expert and author of SHiFT! (endorsed by Stephen M.R. Covey, Keith Ferrazzi, Tim Draper)
• 15-year track record as top-performing salesperson before becoming entrepreneur
• Now helps early-stage founders avoid the mistakes he learned the hard way

Together they run Founder Fridays, MVP Mondays, and teach entrepreneurship across Alberta using frameworks from world-class thought leaders.

Why This Matters

Canada needs more collaboration across provinces. While Ottawa works on interprovincial trade barriers, we’re proving knowledge flows freely. Alberta brings entrepreneurial frameworks and founder mindset. Ontario brings technical execution and AI-assisted development. Together we’re building Canada’s innovation ecosystem.

Want More? Join Founder Fridays Now

Why wait until January? Brandy and Craig run Founder Fridays monthly across Canada - featuring world-class authors in fireside chats. Each session includes book giveaways (100 physical copies shipped free to Canadian addresses).
Learn more: Past sessions and upcoming dates at https://helpastartupout.com/fridays/
These sessions are designed to upskill entrepreneurs, mentors, and ecosystem builders - helping you grow faster and develop the expertise needed to attract capital or build sustainable businesses.

Logistics

• 📅 Friday, January 16, 2026, 12:00-1:30 PM EST - Virtual lunch & learn. Grab your lunch and join us!
• ⚠️ Zoom capacity: 100 people - register early!
• 💡 Have questions for Brandy & Craig? Send them ahead of time to Jonathan or Daniel