Asterisko was selected by Ontario Tech University for its Brilliant Catalyst program, the university's entrepreneurship incubator and community hub in Oshawa, Ontario.
Key takeaways
- Asterisko was selected for Brilliant Catalyst at Ontario Tech University.
- Brilliant Catalyst runs the Brilliant Incubator, a free program with coaching, workshops, pitch competitions, mentorship, and access to funding opportunities.
- Our product direction does not change: Asterisko coordinates documents, payments, status updates, and closing readiness on top of the CRM and ERP a preconstruction developer already uses.
What Brilliant Catalyst is
Brilliant Catalyst is an entrepreneurship incubator and community hub based at Ontario Tech University, at 2000 Simcoe St N in Oshawa, Ontario. It serves student entrepreneurs, student intrapreneurs, and international business owners who want to establish a venture in Canada through the Start-up Visa Program.
The Brilliant Incubator
The Brilliant Incubator is the launchpad Brilliant Catalyst designed to help people turn innovative ideas into real-world solutions. It accepts business ideas of any industry, type (for-profit or non-profit), and stage, from ideation to MVP, and it is free to participate. It is open to Ontario Tech students, faculty, and recent alumni.
According to the program, participants:
- Validate their ideas, develop business strategies, and gain practical knowledge and connections.
- Get expert coaching, workshops, and pitch competitions with prizes.
- Join a network of like-minded founders and get mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts.
- Use the Brilliant Catalyst on-campus space and resources.
- Have access to funding opportunities and to events in the Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area.
- Can earn micro-credentials when they complete the incubator.
Founders can choose between an asynchronous, self-paced business incubator with open intake during the Fall or Winter semester, and an 8-week guided intensive business incubator that runs in the summer, from May to August. All streams are at zero cost to founders. Funding through the program's Firefly fund applies only to participants who complete the intensive incubator.
Brilliant Catalyst reports more than 800 entrepreneurs supported, across more than 15 industries, and more than $500K in Firefly funding.
Why it matters to us
Preconstruction real estate is international by nature: developers sell to buyers across many countries, and the operational work after the sale has to keep up. A program with a global founder community and mentors from different industries helps us pressure-test how Asterisko serves developers and their buyers.
What this means for Asterisko
Our focus stays where it has been: helping preconstruction developers keep buyers moving without replacing the systems their teams already run, which is the work covered by our buyer servicing workflow. For background, start with what buyer operations is in preconstruction or the buyer operations checklist.
This adds to our recent news: the support of B Venture Capital and our selection for Startup Boost Lab, and our place in the University of Alberta Engineering Incubator probationary cohort.
Thank you
Thank you to the Ontario Tech University and Brilliant Catalyst teams for the trust. We will share more as the program progresses.
