York Region Entrepreneur Support (YRES)

York Region (in Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto) is home to ~50,000 businesses, including 10% that are in information, communications, or telecommunications industries.

Not surprisingly, there are many resources in the ecosystem to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Some organizations specifically support startups; others focus on advanced businesses; and some foster peer-to-peer connections. Regardless of which stage a business is at, York Region offers something to help an entrepreneur along.

The YRES (York Region Entrepreneur Support) app saves people (entrepreneurs and possible-entrepreneurs alike) time in navigating the ecosystem. YRES presents curated summaries of organizations that support entrepreneurs in York Region, across various stages of business maturity.

Users of the app can review the summary information of each organization, and tap on a link to visit the organization's external website (in Safari) to find out more details. The user will still need to do their own research, but this app will save them some valuable time.

YRES provides curated information about organizations that support entrepreneurs in York Region in these stages:
- Creating, inventing and prototyping
- Startup and seeking space
- Finding funding
- Launching operations
- Growing and scaling
- Youth-run businesses and projects
- Mentoring other entrepreneurs

A few points to add:
- Best efforts have been made to get the info accurate in order to save you some time, but it’s up to you to research the details and determine what is relevant for you.
- This is a just a list of resources. Not every organization will be a fit for you. Inclusion on this list does not mean endorsement (implicit or explicit).
- Many of these organizations are connected with each other in the York Region ecosystem – so by working with one organization, entrepreneurs are able to tap into the broader network.

While a few of these organizations explicitly target certain groups (e.g., age, community, industry), the majority of the organizations in this document support all entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs. Don’t be shy – reach out!