Don Duval earned a BSc in Chemistry from Queen’s University and an MSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. He joined NORCAT, Sudbury’s innovation centre, as CEO in 2012, having served for 10 years in senior roles with MaRS, an innovation centre in Toronto.
In this video, Don explains how NORCAT offers startup companies access to mentorship, capital, customers, talent and partners - the five things they require to grow. Lacking the resources available to an innovation centre in a large urban centre, NORCAT relies on the civic pride and resources of seasoned entrepreneurs and angel investors in the community to mentor startups and provide them with the seed capital they need to develop and commercialize their products.
Northern Ontario, he tells us, “has one of the most robust and engaged angel investor communities in North America.” Between 70 and 80 high net worth individuals who care about the future prosperity of their community were methodically recruited and educated about angel investing. Their investment capital, together with funding from the Nickel Basin Development Corporation and the City of Sudbury led to the launch of the Sudbury Catalyst Fund, a $5 million source of equity capital available to deserving startups.
The NORCAT strategy of leveraging community resources also led to the establishment of the Fortin Discovery Lab, which offers startups the 3D printers, injection molding machines and other equipment they require to test and certify their products. Located within NORCAT, the lab was funded by Tom Fortin, a successful Sudbury entrepreneur with a passion for his community and a desire to help companies grow.
Yet another example of NORCAT’s reliance on leveraging community resources was the decision by one of the city’s mining companies to donate its mothballed Fecunis Mine for use as a training and product development centre. The NORCAT Underground Centre is used by mining suppliers to test and showcase their products to potential customers, overcoming what Don describes as a technology adoption problem posed by risk averse mining companies.
NORCAT’s sustainability as an innovation centre is largely attributable to its training mandate through which it offers a revenue generating combination of hands-on, online, simulator and cutting-edge virtual reality training for the mining, forestry and construction industries.
Anyone interested in learning how to help technology entrepreneurs develop and commercialize their products is sure to find this interview with Don Duval rewarding.