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Aird & Berlis LLP stepping up with annual award to help 91��ɫ startups succeed

TORONTO, September 20, 2017 ─ Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis LLP, together with its partner Randy Williamson, will support the next high potential venture to come out of 91��ɫ’s entrepreneurship unit with a generous donation of cash and legal services.

Aird & Berlis’s support for Innovation 91��ɫ’s entrepreneurship unit, LaunchYU, was announced at the program’s graduation held last night. Students who had completed an intensive 20 weeks of training in the LaunchYU AccelerateUP program pitched their ventures to an audience of industry executives, investors and government officials at the event. The three top ventures were awarded $5,000 from Innovation 91��ɫ. These ventures will now work with mentors throughout the fall in order to compete for the new Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award.

Representatives of Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis LLP and 91��ɫ announced an award for 91��ɫ U startups. Shown left to right are: Daniel Everall, Associate, Aird & Berlis; Graham Topa, Associate, Aird & Berlis; Randy Williamson, Partner, Aird & Berlis; Rhonda Lenton, 91��ɫ President and Vice-Chancellor; Robert Haché Vice-President Research & Innovation; and Jeff O’Hagan, Vice-President Advancement.

In late January, these top three ventures will be judged on the progress they have made and their ability to take their venture to market. The top startup will be awarded $12,500 and receive an equal amount of Aird & Berlis’s StartupSource legal services. The total value of Aird & Berlis’s and Williamson’s commitment is expected to be $100,000 over the next four years.

Williamson, a Partner in Aird & Berlis LLP’s Corporate/Commercial Group, has been a member of 91��ɫ’s Board of Governors since 2013. He chairs 91��ɫ’s Alumni Board, its Pension Board of Trustees and its Endowment Fund’s Investment Committee. He is an alumnus of 91��ɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School.

“Our firm’s StartupSource Group is focused on the success of the next set of Canada’s great companies, helping them organize themselves, and their investor and other partner relationships,” said Williamson. ��“We also help them leverage and protect those relationships and their valuable intellectual assets. We believe that the companies coming out of 91��ɫ’s LaunchYU programs could be among those great Canadian successes, and we are delighted to support them in getting there.”

LaunchYU has supported more than 1,850 entrepreneurs and more than 90 ventures in its first three years of operation. Open to students, faculty, staff and community members, its goal is to support high impact for-profit and non-profit ventures during their formative years.

“LaunchYU engages entrepreneurs across campus and in the surrounding community to connect, collaborate, learn and succeed,” said Robert Haché, 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation. “Entrepreneurship has become an integral part of the innovation culture at 91��ɫ.”

LaunchYU has three programs that support entrepreneurs: IgniteUP, a mentorship program; RevUP, a pre-accelerator workshop series; and AccelerateUP, a four-month intensive program to support 20 ventures annually to build, launch and scale.

The new Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award for the top AccelerateUP graduate is designed to help the winning venture maximize their opportunity for success.

��is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni.��91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Aird & Berlis LLP is a leading Canadian law firm based in Toronto, serving clients across Canada and globally. The firm’s practice encompasses all principal areas of business law, including corporate/commercial, corporate finance, banking, insolvency and restructuring, energy, environmental, infrastructure/P3, technology and intellectual property, litigation, labour and employment, municipal and land use planning, real estate and tax. The firm’s diverse client base ranges from entrepreneurs to multinational corporations.

StartupSource.ca, brought to you by Aird & Berlis LLP, is your go-to resource for news, events and information for startups and emerging growth companies. If you’re looking to raise capital, gain credibility or sell your business, A&B can help with everything from setting up and structuring your company to mitigating risks and maximizing returns.��

Media Contact:
Janice Walls, Media Relations, 91��ɫ 416 736-5543, wallsj@yorku.ca