Platform Labs
Building a startup looks different in an AI-first world.
The labs are hands-on working sessions for people building their product in Calgary. Each one runs on the same question: what does this part of building a company look like now that AI is in the room — and what measurable result can you get out of it this month?
Register, no application.
What changed
Building was never the hard part — it just used to feel that way.
01
Building got cheap.
Until recently, if you couldn’t code, you needed a technical cofounder or real money before you could show anyone anything. That’s gone. Someone with zero engineering background can now get a working product in front of a real customer within a week.
02
Everyone can build now. Few know what to build.
When anyone can build a product in a weekend, having built it isn’t the achievement. What still stops companies is the same thing that always did — nobody needed it, or nobody found it. That part didn’t get any easier.
03
Your industry experience is the advantage now.
If you’ve spent 15 years in energy, logistics, health, or ag and always assumed you weren’t “technical enough” to start something, the piece you were missing just got cheap. The piece you already have — knowing exactly what’s broken and what it costs people — is now the valuable one.
Every lab below is built around that. We spend the time on the parts that got harder, and we use AI in the room for the parts that did not.
Select your stage
Pick the thing that is actually in your way.
What it costs
Labs start at $10 for Platform Members and $25 for everyone else. The exact ticket price is on each lab’s registration page.
Stage 01 · Idea
Startup
You have been carrying an idea around and you do not know what the first real step is. This lab is for finding out what turning an idea into a startup actually involves, before you commit time or money to it. One lab, nothing assumed, nothing to prepare. This is the front door and most people start here.
Startup 101: Your First Step Towards Entrepreneurship
101
Connect with likeminded innovators, startup resources and learn to navigate the complex web of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Alberta
You leave with
A completed first-draft elevator pitch, a structured problem statement baseline, and low-barrier connections to Calgary’s startup community.
In an AI-first world
We are straight with you about what changed and what did not. The building part got cheap. Working out what to build, and getting a stranger to pay for it, did not. You use AI in the room to pressure-test the idea from the outside — what already exists, who is building something close, and where the obvious version falls down — so your first pitch gets pushed back on in the session instead of in month three.
Online via Zoom
Coming soon
Facilitators
Shelby Boehm
Program Specialist, Founder Success, Platform Calgary
Supports early-stage founders through their first steps with Platform Calgary, helping them find the right program for where they are at.
Cindy Nguyen
Venture Specialist, Platform Calgary
Works closely with founders in the discovery and validation stage, helping them turn early conversations into evidence they can act on.
What we cover
What you work on
The foundational frameworks, methodology, and vocabulary that the earliest stages of a startup are built on:
- The startup lifecycle — Formation, Validation, Growth — and how a tech startup differs from a small business
- How to shift from an "idea-first" to a "problem-first" mindset
- The mechanics of an effective elevator pitch
- Why customer discovery matters and how it shapes better early decisions
- What an MVP actually is (and isn't)
- The basics of the funding landscape — bootstrapping, dilutive, and non-dilutive capital
- How to navigate Calgary's startup ecosystem and where to find support
What you’ll leave with
- A completed first-draft elevator pitch
- A structured problem statement baseline that maps directly onto a Lean Canvas
- A working command of startup language and mental models
- Low-barrier connection to Calgary's startup community and resources
- Clarity on where you fit in the ecosystem and a logical next step
Discover 101: Is Your Problem Worth Solving?
Stage 02 · Validate
Customer Discovery
Before anything gets built, two questions have to hold up: is this problem real and urgent, and exactly who has it. Two labs, run in order. The first pressure-tests the problem against evidence instead of enthusiasm. The second turns what you heard into an ideal customer profile specific enough to aim at.
Problem → Evidence → ICP
Discover 101: Is Your Problem Worth Solving?
101
Success isn’t based on the product you’ve built. It’s based on how well you understand your customer and solving a real problem.
You leave with
A validated problem statement, confirmed or reframed by real evidence, clarity on whether the problem is urgent enough to be worth solving, and clarity on what to test next.
In an AI-first world
AI helps you plan the conversations, record them, and pick out who sounds genuinely stuck rather than politely interested. You generate alternative customer hypotheses to test before committing to one, and end up working from what people actually said, not from what you remember them saying.
In-Person
Coming soon
Facilitators
Cindy Nguyen
Venture Specialist, Platform Calgary
Works closely with founders in the discovery and validation stage, helping them turn early conversations into evidence they can act on.
Jennifer Chalamov
AI Literacy Educator, Founder of JennAI
Designs courses that give founders real, usable AI skills, teaching the good, bad, and ugly of AI so adoption starts with full understanding.
What we cover
What you work on
- How to identify a problem that's real, specific, and worth solving
- How to strip away assumptions and get to the actual pain point
- How to organize and pressure-test your thinking around the problem itself
- How to design conversations that surface genuine insight, not confirmation
What you’ll leave with
- A validated problem statement, confirmed or reframed by real evidence
- Clarity on whether the problem is urgent and worth solving
- Confidence that you're solving something real — not something assumed
- Clarity on what to test next
Discover 201: Define Your Ideal Customer Persona (ICP)
Discover 201: Define Your Ideal Customer Persona (ICP)
201
Stop building for "everyone" — define exactly who you're solving for.
You leave with
A usable ICP hypothesis — who your customer is and who they are not — a clear early adopter segment to focus outreach on, and an executable plan to validate it.
In an AI-first world
The first draft of your ICP gets built from what people actually told you, not from what you imagine about them: you cluster interview notes into distinct segments and stress-test whether the description is specific enough to act on. Then the room pulls it apart, which is the part no model does for you.
In-Person at Platform Calgary
October 22nd & 29th, 2026 (2x2hr sessions)
6:00 - 8:30 PM
Facilitators
Cindy Nguyen
Venture Specialist, Platform Calgary
Works closely with founders in the discovery and validation stage, helping them turn early conversations into evidence they can act on.
Jennifer Chalamov
AI Literacy Educator, Founder of JennAI
Designs courses that give founders real, usable AI skills, teaching the good, bad, and ugly of AI so adoption starts with full understanding.
What we cover
What you work on
- How to differentiate an Early Adopter, an ICP, and a User Persona — three terms founders often use interchangeably, but which serve very different purposes in your validation and go-to-market process.
- How to read your customer's real motivations and behaviors, not just their demographics — moving beyond "who they are" into "why they'd actually change what they're doing."
- The "vitamin vs. painkiller" distinction — how to tell whether you're solving a problem your customer is actively motivated to fix now, or one they'd merely like to have solved someday.
- How to align who you are as a founder with who you're trying to reach, so your positioning, values, and customer focus reinforce each other instead of pulling in different directions.
What you’ll leave with
- A usable ICP hypothesis that defines who your customer is — and just as importantly, who they aren't
- A clear early adopter segment to focus your next round of outreach and conversations on
- A working ability to distinguish an Early Adopter, an ICP, and a User Persona — and when each one matters
- An executable next-step plan to validate your ICP hypothesis through real interviews, not assumptions
- At least one live connection made in the room — founders consistently walk away having met someone solving an adjacent problem
- eople, not just refining it further on paper.
Sales 101: From Insight to Outreach
Stage 03 · Launch
Build
Building got cheap, which means building the wrong thing got cheap too. These three labs are about scope and judgement: the smallest thing that tests your riskiest assumption, what to cut once it works, and how to run the AI tooling underneath it all without the sprawl taking over.
Build → Learn → Cut → Repeat
MVP 101: Build to Test
101
Don't build the whole thing. Build the thing that proves it.
You leave with
Work on a clear read on MVP vs. proof of concept, a simple testable proof of concept, and a user-centered validation plan for your next steps.
In an AI-first world
You can build almost anything in an afternoon, which is exactly how founders build the wrong thing quickly. You use AI and prompting tools to stand up your smoke test in the room, then spend the real time on the harder skill: telling whether what the AI just handed you is good enough to put in front of a customer.
Coming Soon
Facilitators
Jennifer Chalamov
AI Literacy Educator, Founder of JennAI
Designs courses that give founders real, usable AI skills, teaching the good, bad, and ugly of AI so adoption starts with full understanding.
What we cover
What you work on
- What to build for your ideal customer — and what can wait
- How to translate an idea into a testable proof of concept
- How to isolate your riskiest assumption before building
What you’ll leave with
- A clear read on MVP vs. Proof of Concept, and when to use each
- A simple, testable proof of concept
- A user-centered validation plan for your next steps
MVP 201: Refine to Scale
MVP 201: Refine to Scale
201
Turn your proof of concept into a product that works — for real users, at scale.
You leave with
A clear definition of what your MVP needs and what to leave out, a simplified user flow for onboarding, usage and feedback, and a practical plan to refine, build and scale.
In an AI-first world
You prototype and compare a few scope options before committing engineering time, and explore AI build tools for your next build path. Adding features stopped being expensive, so the judgement about what to cut is the whole job, and it is still yours.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
Coming Soon
Facilitators
Ryan Wiebe – Founder & CEO, Launch Interactive
Ryan is a product and design leader with 20+ years of experience helping startups and enterprises bring ideas to life. He is deeply involved in Calgary’s tech ecosystem as a coach through-out various Platform Calgary programs, and as Vice President of Product Calgary.
Justin Lutzko – Founder & CEO, LootzySoft
Justin helps companies turn technology into scalable assets through software, AI, and data strategy. With 13+ years of experience scaling products from MVP to market leader, he brings a practical, execution-focused perspective.
What we cover
What you work on
- How to prioritize features using real-world frameworks (must, should, could, won’t).
- Why UX, user flows, and design decisions matter before scaling development.
- How to think about tech stacks, cost, and scalability without overcomplicating your build.
What you’ll leave with
- A clear definition of what your MVP needs (and what to leave out)
- A simplified user flow for onboarding, usage and feedback
- A practical plan to refine, build, and scale your product
Sales 101: From Insight to Outreach
Operations 201: Start Smart with AI in partnership with Onstack AI Labs
201
Your AI is only as good as the systems underneath it. Map the systems before you audit the tools.
You leave with
A map of the systems your business runs on and where AI touches them, a framework for what stays in your stack, what gets refined and what gets cut, guardrails for the outputs you rely on, and one or two habits you can put in place this week.
In an AI-first world
This is the lab about the layer under the tools: documented processes, clean inputs, and a clear rule about who decides what. You audit your live stack in the session against a simple framework — including recognising a process that is still too early to automate, even when a tool exists for it.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
October 14, 2026
5:00 - 8:00 PM
Facilitators
Ev Oputa - Co-Founder, OnStack AI Labs · Founder, Begine Fusion
Ev co-founded OnStack AI Labs, a Calgary applied-AI lab, after 13+ years across IT, financial services, fintech, marketing and nonprofits. He works with organizations on AI readiness and on getting systems into production - not just into slide decks.
Moose Abdelhag - Co-Founder & AI Systems Architect, OnStack AI Labs · Founder & CEO, SIYS
Moose co-founded OnStack AI Labs, where he architects responsible AI systems for organizations. He also founded Struggle Is Your Success, a Calgary nonprofit that has supported 650+ young people, and holds Harvard Business School credentials in design thinking and disruptive strategy.
What we cover
What you work on
- Which of your systems are ready for AI, and which need process work first
- How to evaluate the AI tools you already use and decide what to keep, refine or cut
- The risks that matter once AI touches real business data — privacy, bias, over-reliance
- How to recognize a process that is still too early to automate, even when a tool exists for it
What you’ll leave with
- A map of the systems your business runs on and where AI touches them
- A framework for deciding what stays in your stack, what gets refined and what gets cut
- Guardrails for the AI outputs you rely on — privacy, review and human oversight
- One or two habits you can put in place this week, and the process work that comes before the next tool
MVP 201: Refine to Scale
Stage 04 · Grow
Sales
Selling is a skill you build, not a personality you are born with. These labs take you from your first outreach message to a pipeline you can actually see, in a room full of founders selling the way you sell.
Outreach → Conversations → Pipeline
Sales 101: From Insight to Outreach
101
You've validated the problem. Now learn how to turn that insight into your first real sales conversations.
You leave with
A sharpened value statement, a first-draft outreach script you can send this week, and a basic pipeline tracking setup.
In an AI-first world
Research and writing personal messages at volume stopped being the hard part, so who you contact matters more than how well you write to them. Every buyer is getting AI-written outreach this week. You generate alternative angles to test against each other, and the session goes on what still earns a reply.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
September 23rd, 2026
6:00 – 8:30 PM
Facilitators
Trevor Dietrich – Fractional Sales Executive & Startup Coach
Trevor is a fractional sales and marketing leader with over 25 years of experience helping early-stage companies build sales systems, sharpen go-to-market strategy, and generate revenue. He has coached more than 50 startups through accelerator programs and brings firsthand founder experience as the co-founder of a mobile startup he successfully scaled and exited.
What we cover
What you work on
- How to move from "I understand your problem" to "here's why you should act on it now", and why that shift is harder than it sounds.
- The basics of change management in sales: why awareness of a problem doesn't automatically create urgency to solve it, and how to work with that reality.
- How to build outreach habits, cadence, volume, and multi-threading, that open doors without feeling pushy.
What you’ll leave with
- A sharpened value statement that moves beyond the problem and into the case for action.
- A first-draft outreach script you can send this week.
- A basic pipeline tracking setup so your early sales efforts don't fall through the cracks.
Sales 201: Go-To-Market Strategy & Building a Sales Pipeline
Sales 201: Go-To-Market Strategy & Building a Sales Pipeline
201
Ready to move beyond the basics and start building a repeatable, scalable sales motion?
You leave with
A draft go-to-market approach tailored to your product, a basic functional sales pipeline framework, and clarity on your next 10–20 customer actions.
In an AI-first world
Call prep and follow-up drafting are handled, which is usually what kills a founder’s follow-through, so the pipeline survives the weeks you have no time for it. You map funnel stages, flag where deals are likely to break down, and draft outreach for several stakeholder viewpoints at once.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
Coming soon
Facilitators
Tim Duthie– Sales Transformation Leader | Capability Builder
Tim helps founders and leaders scale their businesses with a simple, practical, people-first approach. He has worked with startups and established organizations across resources, agriculture, retail, and the public sector. Tim is the founder of Morningbird Solutions, built on the belief that "tools don't change businesses; people do," and hosts The Accidental Salesperson podcast, where he reinforces a core message: we're all in sales.
What we cover
What you work on
In this session, you will learn how to:
- Define a clear, focused go-to-market strategy for your startup or product
- Build a simple, repeatable sales pipeline from first touch to close
- Understand the key stages of a funnel and where deals typically break down
- Win more by gathering multiple stakeholder viewpoints and using that information strategically
What you’ll leave with
- A draft go-to-market approach tailored to your startup or product
- A basic, functional sales pipeline framework you can start using immediately
- Clarity on your next 10-20 customer actions
- Tools to prioritize outreach and follow-up so deals don't fall through the cracks
Raising Capital 101
Stage 05 · Scale
Funding
Two kinds of money and two different skills. Most Calgary founders should look hard at grants and credits before they ever pitch an investor. Both labs tell you what they expect you to bring, because the material only works if you are close enough to use it.
Readiness → The right money → The raise
Raising Capital 101
101
Ready to learn about the investment process? Join Raising Capital 101 to learn about basic knowledge on funding literacy.
You leave with
A clear assessment of your current funding readiness, a framework for evaluating and choosing the right capital sources, and strategies to leverage ecosystem support.
In an AI-first world
You use AI to map the grants, debt and venture options that actually fit your stage and sector, instead of reading twenty programme pages by hand, and to draft an honest first read on your own readiness. Writing applications got faster, so reviewers have read every generic AI paragraph there is, and the session goes on the specifics only you can supply.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
October 20th, 2026
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Facilitators
George Damian - Startup strategist & Investor
George is a startup strategist, investor, and former energy executive who helps founders turn ideas into impactful ventures. As the former Executive Director of the Venture Capital Association of Alberta, he has supported innovation across Western Canada through his consultancy, press PLAY, and as an MBA instructor, with a strong focus on empowering underrepresented founders.
Sylvia Wang
Program Manager, National Bank Investor Hub, Platform Calgary
Helps founders navigate the investment landscape and connect with the right capital partners.
What we cover
What you work on
In the first session on Oct 20, 2026, we’ll cover:
- Raising Capital: When to Raise & When to Pause
- What are you Building? Startup vs Small Business
- Why All Money isn't Created Equal: Understanding the Tradeoffs among Financing Options
- Non-Dilutive Capital: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Equity (Dilutive) Capital: Courting your Ideal Match
- The Venture Investment Cycle & Where you Fit In
- Understanding Investor Motivations & Economics
- Startup Ecosystems
What you’ll leave with
- A clear framework for distinguishing non-dilutive capital from dilutive capital
- An understanding that raising capital always involves tradeoffs worth weighing carefully
- A milestone-based mindset — tying a raise to specific events that visibly increase company value, rather than raising opportunistically
- A realistic view of equity financing specifically: rareness , expensive, and long-term commitment
- The ability to judge whether equity financing is actually the right fit for their company's stage and type, rather than defaulting to it as "the" way to raise capital
Raising Capital 201
Raising Capital 201
201
Ready to learn about the investment process? Join Raising Capital 201 to learn about tools, frameworks, and best practices for raising money.
You leave with
A ready-to-use due diligence strategy, confidence modelling your cap table and understanding dilution, and a personalized roadmap for your fundraising journey.
In an AI-first world
Investors see beautifully written decks all day, so a polished deck stopped meaning anything and what gets through is evidence. You model cap table and dilution scenarios live and rehearse diligence questions with AI playing the sceptical investor, so the gaps show up before a real one finds them.
In-Person at the Platform Innovation Centre
October 27th, 2026
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Facilitators
George Damian - Startup strategist & Investor
George is a startup strategist, investor, and former energy executive who helps founders turn ideas into impactful ventures. As the former Executive Director of the Venture Capital Association of Alberta, he has supported innovation across Western Canada through his consultancy, press PLAY, and as an MBA instructor, with a strong focus on empowering underrepresented founders.
Sylvia Wang
Program Manager, National Bank Investor Hub, Platform Calgary
Helps founders navigate the investment landscape and connect with the right capital partners.
What we cover
What you work on
In the second session on October 27, we’ll cover:
- Foundations of Raising Capital
- The Venture Investment Cycle & Where you Fit In
- Investment Vehicles
- Digging into Due Diligence: What to Expect When You're Raising
- Cap Table 101
- Valuation: How to Know What your Startup is Worth
- Startup Investor AMA: Ask your Burning Questions
- Where do I go from here?
What you’ll leave with
- A working knowledge of early-stage funding instruments — knowing when common shares, SAFEs, convertible notes, and preferred shares are used, and who each one favors
- An understanding of why convertible instruments are attractive early on.
- Insight into what investors are actually screening for in due diligence, so founder can prepare accordingly.
- A realistic sense of how valuation actually gets set — that it's not a fixed formula, but a calibration shaped by current market trends in their industry, tech vertical, and location
Sales 201: Go-To-Market Strategy & Building a Sales Pipeline
Program Alumni
“From meeting prospective clients, to finding tech talent, it’s all possible under one roof
at the Platform Innovation Centre.”
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“I have a much clearer path forward in business thanks to Platform Calgary, and that path will be grounded in wisdom, community, shared experience, and constant support .”
“Platform Calgary is where startup dreams are dreams are nurtured and brought to life.”
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the entire team at Platform for their unwavering support, mentorship, and belief in my vision. The impact of the programs on my entrepreneurial journey is immeasurable.”
How this works
101 starts cold. 201 builds on something.
A 101 lab asks nothing of you in advance. Walk in with an idea, half an idea, or curiosity. A 201 lab picks up where a 101 left off, or from work you already have, so the card tells you what it expects you to bring. The name tells you what you will actually do in the room. Either way, AI does the fast part with you in the session, and you leave with a result you can measure.
Save your spotNot sure where you fit? Talk to our team and we will point you at the right lab.
Help me choose
Land Acknowledgement
We honour and acknowledge Moh’kinsstis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. We respect all Nations who live, work, play, innovate and build things on this land, and in so doing honour and celebrate the territory.