The Next 36 Introduces Impressive 2014 Class of Young Entrepreneurs

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 2, 2013) - The Next 36, Canada's most selective program for young entrepreneurs has chosen its fourth cohort from a pool of roughly 1000 applicants. The 40 successful candidates competed for a spot in the program at the annual National Selection Weekend.

Supported by more than 200 business leaders across Canada - including W. Galen Weston, Jimmy Pattison and the late Paul Desmarais Sr. as Founding Patrons - The Next 36 has produced such early successes as Kira Talent, Thalmic Labs and Bionym in its first three years.

"This year's finalist pool was our strongest to date, many of them bringing extensive start-up experience and an array of other accomplishments to the table." says Claudia Hepburn, executive director and co-founder of The Next 36. "It's exciting that some of Canada's brightest young people now see entrepreneurship as the path of greatest opportunity."

Students applied to The Next 36 this year from 48 universities across the country, and top U.S schools, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and Duke applied to the program. The Next 36 is open to Canadians from all academic backgrounds, and this year's finalists come from disciplines including, business, computer science, communications design, pharmacology, political science and aerospace engineering.

Reflecting on her experience, Stéphanie Brisson, a Mathematics major in the Faculty of Management at McGill University said: "This weekend was a pressure cooker and I feel honoured to have made it through. The Next 36 provides everything a young entrepreneur could hope for - mentorship, capital and an amazing network."

N36 entrepreneurs will spend the next nine months building their companies with the support of their mentors, a unique academic program and a pool of business advisors. Ventures and alumni from the first three cohorts of The Next 36 have raised over $18 million in funding and created more than 150 new jobs. More than 80% of alumni have already contributed back to the program they claim has been "transformative" to their lives.

The Next 36 - universities represented in the 2014 Cohort

Duke University

Emily Carr University of Art and Design

McGill University

Princeton University

Queen's University

Ryerson University

Simon Fraser University

University of Alberta

University of British Columbia

University of Guelph

University of Toronto

University of Waterloo

Western University

About The Next 36

The Next 36 addresses Canada's deficit of high impact entrepreneurs by providing a resource-rich program to a select group of promising undergraduates. It was founded by a small group of entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics and is championed by Founding Patrons W. Galen Weston, Paul Desmarais, Sr. and Jimmy Pattison. This entrepreneurship-immersion program offers a unique combination of education, mentorship and up to $95,000 in seed investment for new ventures. We believe that by fast-tracking the development of 36 promising young innovators each year, we will help create industry-changing businesses and grow Canada's long-term prosperity.

For more information, please visit: www.thenext36.ca