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ELLA – Ascend

ELLA Ascend

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ELLA Ascend is a 4-month accelerator program designed for women entrepreneurs to build traction, refine their customer personas and product or service offerings.

What to expect

Get expert advice that’s tailored to your specific business needs through a variety of program elements including one-on-one mentorship, progress check-ins with a staff member. Join a small group of peers in bi-weekly meetings to discuss current challenges and possible paths to success, through our Founder circles. After completing the program, participants should understand their ideal customer profile, how and where to reach them as well as high-level financials.

2024 cohort profiles
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Community

ELLA gives you access to an inclusive community of women entrepreneurs who span across many backgrounds, industries, and specializations.

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Entrepreneurship Education

Set yourself up for success through curated workshops and goal-focused support from experts to help you build a solid foundation for growth.

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Growth frameworks

Develop the sales, marketing, finance and operations tactics needed to build traction and reach more customers.

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Milestone driven

Learn how to define growth goals  and milestones for you and your business.  Receive expert advice during the program to work towards making these goals a reality.

Timeline

Applications open:

Late March 2024

Applications close:

April 2024

Candidates notified:

May 2024

Program starts:

June 2024

Program ends:

September 2024

Application process

Step: One

Complete an online application.

If you have any questions about the registration process, email us at ellawomen@yorku.ca

Applications are closed now. Join our waitlist to stay updated.

Join the waitlist

Step: Two

Short-listed candidates invited to interview.

Step: Three

Candidates finalized and notified.

Program eligibility

  • You are a woman entrepreneur with at least 50% ownership of a registered business, non-profit or social enterprise, and you are working full-time on your venture  
  • You have a minimum annual revenue of $50,000 and paying customers 
  • Your business is located in Canada
  • You are open to change, looking to step out of your comfort zone
  • You can commit fully to the requirements of a 4-month accelerator program (around 1-2 days of programming per week)

Frequently asked

Please note that attendance at mentorship meetings, Progress Check-ins, Founder Circles, and Workshops is mandatory. However, we understand that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances. If you are not able to make a session, please email us at ellawomen@yorku.ca to let us know and make alternate arrangements.

For any questions related to our programs, please email ellawomen@yorku.ca.

Official ELLA programming is designed for the participants and are facilitated in such a way that creates a safe space for the participants who were accepted into the program; therefore, only officially accepted participants can attend ELLA programming. For any external related events hosted by ELLA and community partners, external guests may attend.

Join the waitlist

Please note applications are now closed. Join our waitlist for future programming!

Join the waitlist

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Contact us

For more information, please contact us at
yspace@yorku.ca
416-736-2100 ext. 44940