Starter Company Plus Grant Program
Applications are now closed for the 2025 Starter Company Plus program.
If you’re an entrepreneur in Thunder Bay or Northwestern Ontario looking to start up, expand or buy an existing business, apply for the Starter Company Plus program.
How It Works
The Starter Company Plus program provides training sessions on important business topics. During the training delivery, program participants will work with the Program Coordinator to complete a business plan and financial projections for their start up, business purchase, or expansion.
Upon completion of a business plan, participants may apply for a grant of up to $5,000. A grant committee will evaluate and provide feedback to the participants while deciding who receives funding. Grant recipients also receive a three-month mentorship as part of the program.
Eligible and Ineligible Expenses
- Equipment (new and used with documentation)
- Tools
- Fixtures
- Leasehold improvements
- 3rd party training to owner (cap of 15% of grant)
- Marketing
- Software
- Furniture with a demonstrated connection to business deliverables
- IT hardware (such as a POS)
- Signage
- Professional Services (on a case-by-case basis)
- Salaries/wages
- Rent
- Utilities/operating expenses (month-to-month)
- Insurance
- Security
- Professional development, certifications, schooling
- Inventory/consumables
- Permitting
- Business plan development costs
- Refinancing
- Rolling stock
- Travel/accommodations
Eligibility Requirements
- Running a new business that was launched within the last year
- Proposing a new start-up business that will be launched within 4-6 months
- Purchasing an existing business (if the sale of the business is processed and you are acquiring the business in the next 2-3 months. Funding will not cover the buy-in of a business)
- Expanding your existing business that has been operating for over a year and growing the operations of the business beyond the current scope of the business (for this program expansions do not include increasing efficiencies, increasing inventory stock, operating support, enhancing current brick-and-mortar locations that have been open more than a year).
- Are an Ontario resident and Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- An Ontario resident and Canadian citizen (or permanent resident)
- Prepared to commit to your business full-time by dedicating full-time hours (at least 35 hours per week) to running the business
- Prepared to complete a business plan
- Prepared to work with a mentor by participating in monthly meetings for a period of three months following the program
- Ready for investment
People who are currently enrolled in another provincial entrepreneurial program are not eligible for Starter Company Plus.
Thunder Bay and District Entrepreneur Centre has opened a new Indigenous funding stream for the Starter Company Plus Program called: Miinikaanan Badakidoon – which means “to plant the seeds” in Anishnaawbe from the Lake Nipigon dialect.
Your business is eligible as long as it:
- Is a sole proprietorship, corporation, or a partnership
- Is an independent business venture
- Fits the Canada Revenue Agency definition of being self-employed
- Operates at arm's length from family business ventures
- Operates in Ontario
- Operates or intends to operate full-time (defined as 35 hours per week)
- Maintains its own books and records
- Follows government rules and regulations for operating a business
- Is commercially insured or obtaining insurance
Businesses not eligible include:
- Part-time businesses
- Student run businesses
- Franchises
- Previous recipient of the Starter Company Plus or Miinikaanan Badakidoon grant
- Distributorships
- Business ventures that are continuations of existing commercial endeavours
- Commissioned sales
- Not-for-profit or charitable enterprises
- Multi-level marketing ventures
- Single events such as musical ventures bands, DJs, or dance/party event organizations
- Businesses that are strictly pay-per-click
- 1-900 businesses
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Yes, a partnership agreement is strongly encouraged and all partners must agree to the terms of the program if accepted into the program.
No. Working with the Programs Coordinator to complete a business plan is mandatory. For grant recipients, the mentorship component is also mandatory as well as the submission of a short report at the end of the three-month period following the grant committee meeting.
A business plan is a formal document that explains a business’s viability and plans for success. The business plan sets out a business’s objectives as well as strategies for achieving them.
Businesses that are past the idea stage, ready for investment, and led by committed and focused entrepreneurs are the right fit for this program.
We are one of 56 small business enterprise centres (SBECs) in Ontario. Funded through a partnership between the Province of Ontario and the City of Thunder Bay, The Thunder Bay & District Entrepreneur Centre helps small businesses start up, expand, and succeed in Thunder Bay and region. Our one-to-one business counseling, comprehensive referrals, and leading-edge information make us a great first stop if you’re starting a business, or even thinking of starting a business.
