Toronto-based Spin Master, a children’s entertainment giant, partnered with the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) to launch the Spin Master Innovation Fund. This fund provides up to 10 Canadian entrepreneurs, between the ages of 18 and 39, with $50,000 in financing to fund their growth, plus a paid trip to Toronto to attend a two-day innovation workshop.
Spin Master CEO Ronnen Harary explained that “It’s loans based on character, and not loans based on collateral.”
The 8 successful 2011 recipients of the Spin Master Innovation fund were: Battlecraft Games, Domo Enterprises, GCS Medical, Goosechase Adventures, Hygienna, Jellyfish Marketing, Monumental Technologies, and Notewagon.
Successful recipients of this funding spend one day with top executives at Spin Master, and another day focusing on team building and business planning. The next round of funding is set to begin in March of 2013.