This page was exported from Caledon Citizen [ https://caledoncitizen.com ] Export date:Mon Jun 1 19:15:21 2026 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Humber River Centre Incubator launches with first cohort of local entrepreneurs --------------------------------------------------- By Riley Murphy Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Humber River Centre Incubator Program, powered by DMZ, welcomed its first 15 local entrepreneurs this past week at the program's launch day. This initiative was first announced to enhance innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and support local economic vitality through targeted programming, mentorship, and resource development. “This is the first time Caledon has delivered a structured incubator program, marking a milestone in the Town's commitment to entrepreneurship and local business growth,” shared the Town of Caledon.  The program is hosted in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University's DMZ. “By investing in small businesses through partnerships with global leaders like DMZ, Caledon is positioning itself as a hub for innovation, jobs, and helping create a resilient local economy,” says the Town of Caledon. The 12-week program aims to help entrepreneurs identify what's going well for them, identify challenges, and then build on that to ensure they can utilize DMZ resources to drive growth. During the opening session, participants took part in various workshops and goal-setting exercises. Entrepreneurs were also able to take headshots and “intro” videos. DMZ Program Lead, Darren Shivraj, shared that the day was incredibly “exciting” as they were able to meet with founders to go over the three-month program. “Most importantly, showing them more about the ecosystem and all of the different advisors that the DMZ has, and how they're going to be able to get that tailored one-on-one support through the actual program,” explained Shivraj. He shared they did this in combination with the Town of Caledon to “get a good understanding of what the founders in this landscape need,” as well as “meeting with founders all throughout the last six months to be able to understand how we do program design, that's very intentional.” A large part of the orientation, he said, was not only familiarizing founders with the Town of Caledon Staff and DMZ staff, but also with each other. Shivraj shared this is important so that they can get to know who they'll be working with for three months and beyond. “Ultimately, these programs, it's not just what happens in the first three months. It's ‘where are they a year from now?' Because we really do focus on longevity.” Founders will meet with various professionals throughout the months to help build a variety of tools and skills. Shivraj shared that they ask themselves, “how do we help these founders connect with the right people that are going to help them overcome whatever challenges they face.” “Oftentimes, you're so busy working in your business that you don't work on it. We want to help them, whether it's with technology, how they can outsource things; whatever it might be, we want to help them just grow their business and overcome those challenges,” says Shivraj. He shared their values: founders first, equity over everything, and for everybody to be great. Shivraj says that the program is for everyone, whether their business is just an idea or is up and operating. “No matter how early you are or how far you are, there's room for you at the Humber River Centre,” he says. This rings true for the vast variety of founders in the current cohort. Keleigh McCall is just beginning her business, Worldvyou AI, or specifically “Life-Maxing”. Growing up struggling with mental health, McCall said she found there was “no good [personal development] system that you could carry around in your pocket and have with you every single day for execution.” Her solution is her product, Life-Maxing, an app focused on personal development that helps clarify goals and vision, then provides simple solutions. “I've made more progress in the last three months already with DMZ and Town of Caledon by having them work with me than I would have made in a year without them,” says McCall. They helped her not only refine her idea but also apply for the program. She shared that not only do they help her with step-by-step advice, but they also validate her progress. McCall says the program has already been a significant benefit in terms of clarity. “I felt so much more confident as an entrepreneur, and I'm able to articulate what I'm doing much better,” she says. “A year ago, I was struggling with mental health, feeling like I didn't have any direction, and just left my job and didn't know what I wanted to do next. But now, in just a year, these are proof points, and it's like, ‘Oh, you're really building this business,'” she says, referencing the launch day of the program. When Lorena Spallino first joined the program, her business, “On the Loose Travel Industry Tools,” which provides digital marketing tools, had one to two clients. After working in the travel industry for two years and going to school for web development, she wanted to combine the two and help the travel industry with its digital marketing strategies. She shared that during launch day, they covered goal-setting, which she found extremely helpful, as well as meeting the other founders and entrepreneurs. “I think we all face similar challenges or others are more experienced than me so I can learn from them what they've gone through and it can be really helpful,” says Spallino. Through the program, she looks forward to stepping out of her comfort zone. “For them to help me network more, meet more people to be able to talk about my business and myself and then explain it better than I do now, I think that would be a good foundation.” She also looks forward to developing skills to grow her clientele. “Throughout the program, I would love to learn more about business-to-business marketing and then get some guidance on that. And then at the end, [also] to have a better awareness of my business and how I can market to other businesses,” she says. To those thinking of joining the next cohort, she says, “Just do it.” “I'm a pretty busy person, I have two jobs on the go and trying to build a business, but two hours a week, a couple longer sessions, that's not a huge time commitment,” says Spallino. “Everyone's so helpful. They get you in touch with amazing people who have amazing experiences.” Blissfully Baked x The Little Almond is one of the founders in this cohort, and has had their shop in downtown Bolton for almost two years. Co-owners Taylor Arrowsmith and Shaina Lindeyer specialize in wedding, birthday, and celebration cakes, as well as treats such as macarons, cookies, and bars. Over the two years preceding the program, they shared that their walk-in business had significantly grown, as well as the overall volume of cakes that they have been making. They shared their current business growth comes from word of mouth, people sharing their products, or Town events. They frequently experience people coming into their store and saying they had no idea they were there, which is something they want to address through the DMZ program, as well as strategies not only to grow, but also to increase their presence in the community. “We still are a small business. We don't have a ton of extra money on hand,” says Lindeyer. “So, when we do spend that money towards marketing, we really want to make sure that it's focused and going to bring in and attract more people.” “It'll be really interesting to see someone who has a better understanding of marketing, where we can put our marketing budget to even more use,” says Arrowsmith. “There's so many different avenues to explore and it's kind of overwhelming.” Aside from marketing, they shared that they look forward to establishing long-term plans. “Having someone to l hold you kind of accountable, but also to honestly ask you how things are doing and how they can help, is something that I'm really excited for,” said Arrowsmith. “There's so many people that are excited to help all small business owners. The possibilities feel a little bit endless.” To those considering applying to the next cohort, they echo a similar message to other founders. “Do it. It's just full of so many great resources, so many people willing to help, and I think that a lot of business owners who especially are feeling down and just don't know where to go, what to do. This could really help them,” says Lindeyer. “I feel like everyone should know and should try to apply for it,” says Arrowsmith. --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2025-09-25 11:38:57 Post date GMT: 2025-09-25 15:38:57 Post modified date: 2025-09-25 11:39:00 Post modified date GMT: 2025-09-25 15:39:00 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com