The Office of Economic Growth and Innovation (Innovation Office) is seeking participants for its beta Innovation Office directory (beta directory) to provide businesses with legal, financial and business consulting services. By joining the beta directory, participants will play an important role in helping reduce barriers for Ontario’s innovative businesses and building a stronger ecosystem.
Since 2016, the Innovation Office has been helping innovative businesses navigate securities legislation, removing barriers to their development and providing tailored support, where appropriate. During this period, we worked directly with over 300 innovative businesses and have heard about the challenges that they encounter. We know these businesses are seeking all kinds of advice, ranging from legal and regulatory compliance to business and accounting. Due to our role as a regulator, we are unable to provide this advice.
By joining our beta directory, you can help us support Ontario’s innovative businesses and build a stronger ecosystem to fuel Ontario’s long-term economic growth.
About the beta Directory
The beta directory is a list of firms that have agreed to provide 2 hours of pro bono consultation services. This list will be shared with businesses in Ontario that apply for, and are eligible for, LaunchPad support from the Innovation Office.
- Please note that staff will not be curating the beta directory nor selecting firms to be in the directory. Any firm that self-certifies that they meet the below conditions and provides the required information will be added to the beta directory.
- Please note that the beta directory will not be publicly accessible on the Innovation Office website. Only eligible businesses that have applied for LaunchPad support will be provided access to the beta directory.
- By joining the beta directory, you are agreeing to provide eligible businesses with free initial consultation services related to their business and their submission for LaunchPad support (please see Acceptance of directory conditions below).
- If you have any questions regarding the beta directory please send them to InnovationOffice@osc.ca.
Instructions to beta directory participants
- Please only provide one acceptance of beta directory conditions and one completed form for each firm, with one individual contact for each firm.
- Within 2 days of completing this form you will receive a confirmation that you will be added to the directory along with additional instructions.
- Please refer to the following guidance when providing the required information:
o Brief description of firm
Describe the type of firm and the practice areas.
Example: ABC LLP is an audit, tax and advisory firm that has been providing services to a rage of clients for 25 years.
o Experience in Ontario securities legislation
Describe the firm’s experience with securities legislation. In the case of a sole practitioner or where only one or a few representatives of the firm will be providing consultation services for the beta directory, a description of the experience of those individuals may be provided. Hyperlinks to relevant sections of your website may be included.
Example: ABC Law has a capital markets group comprised of 25 lawyers and has been advising clients on securities related matters for 30 years. Jane Doe has 10 years of experience advising clients on complex securities transactions and registration related matters.
o Experience with emerging technology companies
Describe the firm’s experience with start-ups. In the case of a sole practitioner or where only one or a few representatives of the firm will be providing consultation services for the beta directory, a description of the experience of those individuals may be provided.
Example: XYZ Law has a dedicated team of 15 lawyers focused on servicing emerging companies. John Doe and Jane Doe have advised a number of start-ups, including fintech companies, green tech companies and crypto asset trading platforms.
o Description of consultation services to be offered
This is the most important section of the beta directory. This section should allow the LaunchPad business to understand the scope of topics that may be covered in an initial consultation with your firm or representatives of your firm. This description will assist them in deciding whether to contact your firm or another firm on the beta directory depending on their needs. If your firm is a full-service firm, but the only representatives participating in the directory are from the tax group this should be specified.
Example: Topics that may be covered during initial consultations include: capital raising, shareholder agreements, tax, intellectual property, U.S. securities law.
Acceptance of beta directory conditions
To apply to the beta directory, you confirm and agree that your firm and representatives:
- is not a registrant, as that term is defined in Ontario securities legislation
- consent to listing your firm’s contact details and other information on the beta directory document that will be shared with businesses in Ontario that apply for Launchpad support from the Innovation Office
- are in good standing with any applicable regulatory body overseeing the firm, its representatives or the profession
- have experience with the securities industry and Ontario securities legislation
- have experience with the issues facing start-ups, emerging and high-growth companies
- will provide eligible businesses with an initial consultation on their business model and their request for LaunchPad support, for a minimum of 2 hours, at no charge to the business
- acknowledge that Innovation Office staff reserves the right to remove the firm from the directory for any reason
- will keep any information provided to you confidential unless the business provides their consent
- will provide Innovation Office staff, monthly, certain anonymized data including the number and types of businesses that you have consulted with via the beta directory
- will promptly notify Innovation Office staff if the firm or the representatives of the firm are no longer able to meet any of the above conditions
- will not hold the OSC responsible or liable for any outcome arising from the use of the beta directory or engagement with businesses resulting from their use of the beta directory
- acknowledge that the OSC in no way endorses the firm or its representatives, by virtue of being including in the directory, and the OSC is not responsible for referring any business to it
- will advise Innovation Office staff, before including any references related to the firm’s participation in the beta directory on its website, social media or any marketing materials
Source: OSC
