George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
How George Brown Polytechnic can help you validate your business idea
Research is key to validating your business idea and also for developing your product and service. There are a few services at George Brown that can help and support you on your entrepreneurial journey as you validate the need and market fit for your product/service.
Library Learning Commons
Current George Brown students can access a vast amount of research data through the Library Learning Commons database subscriptions. Most entrepreneurs make the mistake of building a product/service based on assumptions rather than developing a strategic business execution plan grounded in strong research. Building evidence of market size and market fit is a key step in validating your business idea. Strong research will help you move from ideation to commercialization and enable you to move from launch to scale faster.
George Brown Library Learning Commons has a librarian for entrepreneurship, Christa Lochaed, who has created a dedicated webpage of resources available to students. Please reach out to Christa to book an appointment with her on how she can help support your research and learning goals.
For George Brown alumni and GTA community members, Christa has also put together a dedicated web page for resources available to you.
Office for Research and Innovation
George Brown Polytechnic has a dedicated team within the Office of Research and Innovation to help support registered businesses develop products and services. Tap into incredible resources and expertise at GeorgenBrown, which will help you imagine, develop and refine products and services rooted in design thinking and human-centric principles.
Through dedicated Research Institutes, George Brown has the capacity to support startups and SME's in most industries. These include:
Brookfield Sustainability Institute
Fashion Exchange
Fashion Innovation & Textile Technology
Food Innovation & Research Studio (FIRSt)
Interactive Design
Product Development Institute
Social Innovation Institute
To learn more about the capabilities of the Office for Research and Innovation, and the various contact details for officers, please visit their dedicated website.