This article discusses the opportunities for growth for technology companies that start up in Toronto, but its principles could be applied to tech startups anywhere.
Appropriate Subject Area(s):
Entrepreneurship, business management, marketing
Key Questions to Explore:
- What environmental and economic conditions support tech company growth?
Introduction to lesson and task:
This lesson explores new business concepts and language related to economic growth.
Action (lesson plan and task):
- Write the following words on the board or flip chart:
- Unicorn
- Creative hubs
- Equilibrium
- Geographic fragmentation
- Big data
- Cluster theory
- Not-for-profit incubator
- Accelerator
- Venture fund
- Virtuous cycle
- Tier one venture capital
- Billion dollar valuation
- Private equity
- Ecosystem
- Have students work in pairs and select three words from the list.
- Ask students to discover the meaning of their words and to write a short paragraph using these words.
- Pass the paragraphs around, asking each pair to read the paragraph they have received and either write down a question or add a sentence to it that makes sense and uses at least one of the words they originally had.
- Once the paragraphs are passed around, have each home group share their paragraph out loud and answer any questions that have been posed.
Consolidation of Learning:
- Have a class discussion on the environmental and economic conditions that best support tech company growth.
Success Criteria:
- Students understand the language and business concepts discussed and are able to use them in the correct context.
Confirming Activity:
- In pairs, have students select a Canadian unicorn company and research and write a profile on the company, incorporating some of the language learned in this lesson.
Additional Activity:
- In the article, Mayor Tory referred to talent as the next gold rush. What does this mean? What plan of action should you take as a student to ensure that you are able to cash in on this gold rush?