Sodtka is the Faculty Lead of SURGE, Mohawk’s entrepreneurial hub. SURGE offers year-round workshops, training, mentorship and competitions. All of the activity is aimed at fostering innovation and supporting students aspiring to launch their own businesses.

After only just over a year on the ground, two students working with SURGE will have their offerings available through the campus bookstore. One arranges leases for cellphones as well as a full stop mobile shop and the other designs and creates jewellery with ethically sourced crystals.

“It’s very exciting to be doing this,” said Sodtka, a professor and coordinator of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship program for the McKeil School of Business at Mohawk.

Sodtka’s two-year plan for SURGE focuses on creating a marketplace for student and alumni business ventures.

“We would love to see a SURGE-dedicated showcase to promote our clients’ products and services.”

SURGE launched in January 2015 after Mohawk successfully landed a grant from the Ontario Centres of Excellence.

The purpose of SURGE is threefold - foster an entrepreneurial culture at Mohawk, nurture student and alumni startups and link with community resources such as Innovation Factory and the Forge at McMaster.

“There is a very healthy ecosystem in Hamilton. We don’t duplicate efforts. We work together to create a united front.”

Sodtka’s primary objective is to raise awareness of SURGE and encourage participation in its workshops and activities. That includes “guerrilla” marketing techniques, visits to classrooms and engaging with other faculty and staff members.

Expert presentations have included social entrepreneurship, angel investors, bricks and mortar, and technology. SURGE has also hosted a career startup fair attended by over 350 people.

A pitch competition at the end of March helps students refine their ideas and approaches to potential investors, partners and clients. Students have the shot at a $1,000 prize and gain valuable advice from community judges.

Also thanks to SURGE, students at Mohawk’s Skilled Trades Campus in Stoney Creek meet accountants, lawyers and insurance experts who guide them through the business side of working in the trades.

“About nine per cent of our students currently get formal access to entrepreneurship in their curriculum,” said Sodtka.

To help fill that gap,Sodtka landed research money through Mohawk’s iDeaWorks to develop a two-hour online entrepreneurship module called an Entrepreneur in Every Classroom. Sodtka says the module can fit into any program.

“It’s highly interactive and focuses on an entrepreneurial mindset. Not everyone will start their own business but it really can help in any job.”

Sodtka, a mother of two young children, also owns her own consulting business and was recently named among the Top 40 under 40 in Hamilton. She worked in marketing, international training and development, leadership development and North American recruitment at food giant General Mills before coming to Mohawk in 2011 after discovering her love for teaching.

Sodtka, who holds a bachelors in sociology from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Niagara University, was thrilled to be asked to take on responsibility for SURGE.

“My worlds are colliding in such a good way,” she said about combining her love of entrepreneurship with teaching.

SURGE, which is supported by eight faculty entrepreneurs and five student ambassadors, has been a great success since its launch.

“Getting this started has been such an outstanding experience and I am tremendously passionate about it. We’ve become a victim of our own success. To keep up with demand, I expect we will need to bring on more people. The groundwork has been laid.”

In just a little more than a year, SURGE has connected with almost 1,000 students and community members. The hub has 18 active clients (students and non-students), including about one-third who are international students. SURGE has accelerated three businesses to the launch stage.

SURGE is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.

There is a tremendous entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hamilton, says Sodtka. Representatives of Hamilton’s broad innovation and entrepreneurship community meet every other week to talk about clients, coordinate events and establish partnerships, says Sodtka.

That includes SURGE, Innovation Factory, the McMaster Industry Liaison Office, Spectrum and the Forge.

“There is such passion for this work in Hamilton, so we have tremendous community partners supporting us.”

Contact Melanie at:

melanie.sodtka@mohawkcollege.ca

Spotlight on is written by Freelance writer and editor Meredith MacLeod.

Follow Meredith on Twitter @meredithmacleod

Chris Buttenham knows what it is like to experience start-up success. His company, Tasytt, has the right product- a platform that gives teams one place to effectively and efficiently onboard their members- and the right support- he’s based at The Forge, Hamilton’s start-up accelerator.

All that is missing for him is the right people.

"Tasytt wants to tap into the surplus of ambitious students in the area who have benefited from very specialized programs,” says Buttenham.

“Cities with a connected, supportive start-up culture produce more qualified start-ups, which means better jobs and more business in the region. And that starts with students — they need to be aware of opportunities and we need them to bring their energy and technical skills."

Tasytt is just one of the 32 start-up companies that will be recruiting at Mohawk College at the January 20 SURGE- Start-Up Career Fair. The companies attending are looking to hire for full-time and part-time positions, with paid, volunteer, internship and equity-based opportunities available.

The Career Fair is organized by SURGE, Mohawk’s Entrepreneurship Connection, an on-campus resource funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence OCEA program. SURGE supports entrepreneurial activities at the college and in the community for youths aged 18-29.

Partners on the Career Fair include The Forge, Innovation Factory, Spectrum, McMaster’s Entrepreneurship Program, and the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre

Registration for the SURGE Start-up Career Fair is open to Mohawk students and Hamilton based community members who want to learn how they can work in Hamilton’s exciting entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Alex Pryor, a Mohawk College Financial Services student is planning on attending the career fair. Pryor is a member of the MSA Entrepreneurship Club and is the owner of a small custom-made jewelry business. He’s hoping to use the career fair to network and gain insights about the unique needs of being small business and start-up owners.

“It’s a chance to meet fellow business owners and expand my perspective of various industries,” says Pryor. “This is an opportunity not only for a job, but to better get to know our field. It is a chance to ask questions, and see what expectations employers have.”

Karen Reiner is the SURGE project coordinator and organizer of the event. She sees the career fair as the perfect way to bring together entrepreneurially-minded people that can benefit from each other’s diverse skills and expertise.“There is such a diverse range of talent and skills available within the student body at Mohawk and McMaster,” says Reiner. “The Start-up Career Fair is an opportunity to make connections and spark interest- to introduce the graphic designer to the software developer, the aesthetician to the Spa owner, and the marketer to the auto mechanic.”

Mohawk grads Rebecca Kallsen and Alley Stennett couldn’t agree more. The recent grads from the college’s Public Relations Graduate Certificate program have already landed a Starter Company grant from the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre.

As an exhibitor, they will meeting and networking at the career fair.

“By opening students’ eyes to entrepreneurship and growing a start-up business, it will help to not only keep students in Hamilton, but will add to this exciting ecosystem of small businesses that's flourishing in the city." says Kallsen.

Adds Stennett:

“Hamilton has a lot to offer, and the opportunities are only increasing by the day.”

What you need to know:

The SURGE Start-Up Career Fair will be held on January 20, 2016 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Arnie, located at Mohawk College’s Fennell campus. The event is organized by SURGE, Mohawk’s Entrepreneurship Connection, in partnership with The Forge, Innovation Factory, Spectrum, McMaster’s Entrepreneurship Program, and the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre.

Free registration for the Start-up Career Fair is open until January 15, 2016 at http://startupcareerfairhamont.eventbrite.ca

SURGE is supported through the CampusStart program, an initiative of the Government of Ontario managed by Ontario Centres of Excellence, and is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.

Upcoming SURGE Events include:

February 3, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus

BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: LEGAL, Guest: Associate Lennie Lejasisaks, Gowlings law firm

Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadLegal

February 24, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus

BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: INSURANCE, Guest: Jordan McCarter, Pearson Dunn Insurance

Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadInsurance

March 9, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus

BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: ACCOUNTANCY, Guest: Jon Veldstra, KPMG accountancy firm

Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadAccount

March 10, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room TBC Fennell Campus

PITCH TRAINING CAMP

Hosted by: Dave Carter, Innovation Factory

Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/SURGEPitchTrain

March 23, 5:30-7:30 PM, Room TBC, Fennell Campus

PITCH IT TO WIN IT

Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/SURGEPitch

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