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What is the Ignition Program:
The Ignition Program offers post-secondary students a 10-week program that gives access to training, mentorship, resources, ecosystem connections; and honorariums to support personal and business development. Students will be awarded $10 for each session they engage with!
What’s in this session:
Resilience is not just for the few; it's a skill that can be developed by anyone. Join Bethany Deshpande as she shares her transformative journey building SomaDetect. Learn how to cultivate resilience, navigate uncertainty, and drive growth, while staying grounded and focused through mindfulness and meditation practices. Bethany will share real examples and stories of how to prepare for some of the highly rewarding and also challenging aspects of startups: pitching and fundraising, building an agile and high-performing team, developing your first product, and staying laser-focused on your key goals. Take away actionable insights and practical tools to enhance your leadership, innovation, and perseverance, and achieve success in the face of adversity.
Speaker's Bio:
Bethany Deshpande is a seasoned founder and CEO with a passion for helping purpose-driven leaders and organizations achieve success. With extensive experience in innovation, business development, and team building, she possesses a unique ability to drive growth and strategic decision-making with innovative companies.
As the founder and CEO of SomaDetect, a dairy technology startup, Bethany achieved significant milestones. She secured over $20 million in funding and led the company to a team of 30-plus members, monitoring thousands of cows and managing terabytes of critical data. This resulted in valuable international patents and publications in technology, as well as pilots and distribution deals with some of the world's largest companies.
Today, Bethany leverages her expertise to support entrepreneurs, startups, and organizations through strategic guidance, pitch performance coaching, leadership development, and more. With a PhD in Biology and deep entrepreneurial experience, she bridges science, technology, business, and leadership.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Bethany serves on the Boards of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network and Springboard Atlantic, and volunteers within the community. In her free time, she enjoys climbing, hiking, singing, and spending time with loved ones.
