Asper School of Business

Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship

The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship's mission is to "Spark the Entrepreneurial Spirit" in all University of Manitoba students, and enable students to realize that entrepreneurship is a viable career choice regardless of their area of study or faculty.

In today’s ever changing career environment, the world will demand innovation and creativity more than ever before!

The “entrepreneurial mindset” is a wanted skillset whether you are planning on starting your own business or working in a small, medium or large corporation in the profit or not-for-profit sectors.

Meet with our Venture Coach Webinar Signup Graduate competition Undergraduate competition High school competition

Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship

What we do

The Stu Clark Centre offers a variety of services and supports to students from all across the University of Manitoba wanting to explore entrepreneurship!

Our Five Pillars of focus are aimed at the development of high-impact talent while delivering a transformative community engaged learning experience in support of our students, our business community and the economic prosperity of Manitoba.

Entrepreneurship Education
Exciting events and competitions geared to the Graduate/ Undergrad / High school level
Student Entrepreneurship Community
Venture Coach Program
Connecting to the Manitoba Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Upcoming webinars

The Stu Clark Centre is happy to provide FREE online webinars to help you on your entrepreneurial journey. Past webinars are available for you to watch at any time and include topics such as team building, marketing your start-up, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and more!

NEW! Fall 2021 - Winter 2022

Stu Clark Webinar Series

Business Plan Essentials

Need to submit a business plan to raise financing or to further build out your business idea? In this webinar we will talk about how to go about building a business plan, what the key (and most important) parts of a business plan are and will discuss the Lean Canvas model.

September 29, 2021 @ 11:30 a.m. CT

Preparing & Delivering the Perfect Pitch

As a student, business leader, entrepreneur and/or employee, at some point you will have to prepare and deliver a quality and professional presentation. In this webinar we will cover the main elements of a proper pitch and presentation, from the build and design of your slide show to the speech and delivery, and even how to deal with your nerves. We will also provide our top tips for delivering a perfect virtual presentation.

October 13, 2021 @ 11:30 a.m. CT

Grant Strategy for Start-ups with Guest Stephanie Sang

Grants are a great way to help fund your start-up and pay for expenses that your business will incur but the problem is they are sometimes hard to find and apply for. In this webinar we will talk about grants, how to find the right grants for your business and tips for applying for grants.

November 10, 2021 @ 11:30 am CT

Ideas into Action: Defeat Procrastination & Unlock Breakthrough Productivity

Ideas themselves aren’t worth much—it’s the ability to execute that matters. In this dynamic session, you will receive the action-oriented insights that you didn’t get in school, highlighting real-world best practices for making ideas happen. You will be exposed to proven productivity hacks and best practices from some of the most successful and productive people on the planet. Ideas are easy, but doing stuff is hard. With the right tools and practices, you’ll be able to consistently turn your ideas into reality.

November 24, 2021 @ 11:30 am CST

Access Past & Future Webinar Line-Up

Business plan competitions

The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship drives entrepreneurial awareness through a number of exciting events and competitions including our three major business plan competitions at the Graduate, Undergraduate, and High School level!

Stu Clark New Venture Championships: Graduate Edition

Our premier competition represents a prestigious, international academic opportunity designed to mimic the real world process of starting a new venture while rewarding innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit.

$40, 000 CAD in cash prizes!

March 11 & 12, 2022

Stu Clark New Venture Championships: Undergraduate Edition

This exciting competition is for undergraduate students from all post-secondary schools in Manitoba including Red River College, University of Winnipeg, Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University of Manitoba and others.

$20, 000 CAD in cash prizes!

March 10 & 11, 2022

Stu Clark New Venture Championships: High School Edition

High school students across the Province of Manitoba compete at this fun filled 1-day competition in an Elevator Pitch, Logo Pitch, Business Plan Presentation and Trade Show Competition.

$5,000 CAD in prizes to be won!

May 26 & 27, 2022

Entrepreneurship education

The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship is passionate about igniting the entrepreneurial spark in students from all faculties, helping them to recognize that entrepreneurship is a viable career path!

ENTR 2030: Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Business and Social Perspectives

This course is a fantastic opportunity for students to be exposed to the entrepreneurship thought process and gain some perspective on what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

If this sparks your interest entrepreneurship may be your career path.
- Learn more about ENTR 2030: Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Business and Social Perspectives
ENTR 2020: Starting a New Business

Not an Asper student? No problem. ENTR 2020: Starting a New Business will give you a fantastic overview and cover a broad range of topics to increase your understanding of what it takes to succeed in an entrepreneurial career.
- Learn more about ENTR 2020: Starting a New Business
Bachelor of Commerce - Entrepreneurship major

We are proud to have a popular major in BComm Hons major in Entrepreneurship Small Business where students are exposed to the process of a new venture startup, social initiatives, small business management and family business.
- Learn more about the BComm Entrepreneurship major
Asper MBA Program - Entrepreneurship and Innovation theme

Whether your goal is to start a company or innovate in an existing organization, this MBA theme will hone your understanding of value creation and re-creation by exploring creative, innovative and entrepreneurial perspectives and behaviours.
- Find out more about the MBA Entrepreneurship and Innovation theme

Venture Coach Program

Students in any faculty at the University of Manitoba have access to Joshua Zaporzan, the Venture Coach at the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Meet with Joshua Zaporzan, Venture Coach

Joshua Zaporzan, the Venture Coach at the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, can lead you into start-up land with FREE one-on-one meetings! No matter what stage in your entrepreneurial journey you are at, the Venture Coach is a great resource to provide coaching, guidance and mentorship to help start, build and scale your business.

Book your FREE meeting!

Learn more about how the Venture Coach can help you!

Community Connections

Winnipeg’s vibrant, active and knowledgeable entrepreneurial ecosystem has some key players that we are honoured be connected with. It takes a village to raise a start-up!

Winnipeg’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

See the full list of resources in Manitoba to support your start up!

Click Here

STU CLARK

The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business is named after oil and gas entrepreneur Dr. Stu Clark [B.Comm.(Hons.)/76, LL.D./2011].

Over three decades, Clark translated his education into starting, running and then selling several oil and gas exploration companies. Mr. Clark moved to Calgary in 1984 with the Northland Bank. In 1986, he founded Pinnacle Resources Ltd. and raised $2 million of shareholder capital. In 1998, Pinnacle was sold for over $1 billion. Mr. Clark has been involved in the start-up and reorganization of a number of Calgary-based public and private entities during his career.

A renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist and volunteer, Mr. Clark is recognized for his tireless dedication to supporting a variety of charities and educational institutions in Canada. His donation to the University of Manitoba enabled the establishment of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship in the I.H. Asper School of Business. Mr. Clark has been a strong supporter of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Clark remains active in the Calgary business community and continues to support his philanthropic interests in Alberta and Manitoba.