Matthew Stiver is a University of Guelph Alum who graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Program. Matthew has a keen eye for detail, he loves understanding how things work and is passionate about doing research.

Matthew has leveraged these skills to become the founder of his own company – Lifestyle Lab, a research and content creation brand whose main goal is to combine very high production quality, with reviews that aim to give complete and unbiased opinions on the products people are researching most.

The John F. Wood Centre would like to congratulate Bree Johnson as the 2021 recipient of the Johnson Entrepreneurship Scholarship. The $10,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a student registered in a major offered by the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics and have completed a minimum of 15 credits.

The John F. Wood Centre would like to congratulate Laura Fallowfield as the 2021 recipient of the Janet Aizenstros Social Impact and Sustainability Scholarship Prize. The $2,500 scholarship is awarded annually to a student registered in any major of the Bachelor of Commerce program with demonstrated social entrepreneurship and innovation through academic and community experience or registered in the minor in Entrepreneurship.

Housed within the John F. Wood Centre for Business & Student Enterprise (Wood Centre), The Hub is a new-venture business incubator designed to support early-stage business ideas with high-potential, but unproven business models. The goal of The Hub is to provide University of Guelph students (undergraduate and graduate) and alumni the opportunity to build a successful business enterprise in a supportive learning environment.

The John F. Wood Centre is excited to announce that Jessie Kennedy has joined the John F. Wood Centre for Business and Student Enterprise as the new Program Coordinator: Marketing, Events and External Relationships. Jessie has a passion for innovation and helping entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life! 

It is with great pleasure that we get to congratulate our winner, Well Baked Box, of their success in winning the Warren and Deborah Jestin Impact Award!  This award is given to a business in the Hub Incubator program that demonstrates the highest environmental, community and social benefit along with a sustainable and profitable business model. 

Co-founded by Josh Dhanapala and Ben Brunt, RentASkill provides busy households with a simple and efficient way to meet their “Help Wanted” needs by connecting them with motivated local workers! With the introduction of its new app, RentASkill connects local youth in search of work with members of their community who have household-oriented tasks or work to be completed. RentASkill has incorporated and has most recently launched its App on the Google Play Store and the App Store!

Founded by Sheila Boudreau, SpruceLab is a Toronto planning and landscape architecture social enterprise that focuses on nature-based solutions for vibrant and resilient communities, and to support Indigenous-led initiatives and emerging professionals. Building on over 25 years of professional experience in the private and public sectors, they connect with others to form strategic and unique collaborations for place-based work, grounded in caring for the land, waters, and all creatures.

Cats Cider Co. bridges together the collective experiences of farmer Keshia Krucker and brewer Zach Vernon. Together they turned a year of excess apple production on Keshia’s family farm, Manorun, into a creative endeavour. Their philosophy is quality, sustainability, and community. Three Cats Cider company focuses on sustainability from sourcing ingredients directly from her family farm, to responsibly packaging and using environmental cleaning solutions. Their business will launch with a bottle shop and expand into a taproom offering on-farm experiences.