AV俱乐部

Dr. Mary Kilfoil can tell you a thing or two about entrepreneurship. The Rowe School of Business professor teaches experiential courses on how to launch successful businesses, and with her colleagues in the Faculty of Management鈥檚 Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship (NNCE), leads Launch Dal, AV俱乐部鈥檚 flagship entrepreneurship program, which hosts accelerators, business model competitions and a suite of other entrepreneurial activities.

Starting Lean, a Launch Dal鈥搒upported entrepreneurship course, is open to students from across AV俱乐部 and from all levels of university study. 鈥淪tudent teams work on a business idea using a business model canvas and an experiential approach to learn entrepreneurship skills,鈥� explains Kilfoil. Each student group is matched with a mentor from the local business community to learn the concepts related to starting a venture, such as customer segments, channels, partners, revenue and costs.

The Starting Lean course and Launch Dal have hatched successful local businesses, including Spring Loaded Technology, Iconic Brewing and Site 2020. Now, Kilfoil and the Launch Dal team are watching another business that got its start in the Starting Lean class pass a major milestone. Analyze Re, cofounded by Oliver Baltzer, Adrian Bentley and Shivam Rajdev, has just been sold to Verisk Analytics Inc. for approximately $15 million. (The Analyze Re team members are pictured, right.)

鈥淎nalyze Re is the first exit鈥攖he first buyout鈥攆rom the Starting Lean class,鈥� says Kilfoil. Baltzer, Bentley and Rajdev brought an idea to the class, where they learned how to make their business a reality. All three had deep experience in the reinsurance industry, which 鈥渞e鈥漣nsures insurance companies to protect them from possible financial insolvency, such as might occur after a natural disaster. The three students saw a need in the reinsurance industry for a big data tool to assess risk, and they sought to provide it.

As they expected, the industry was eager to adopt their product. Since its founding, Analyze Re has had success after success: the business went through the Volta Startup House in Halifax and the Launch36 accelerator in Moncton; received $1.4 million in the first round of investment funding; opened an office in Halifax and one in London, England; and received a payroll rebate from Nova Scotia Business Inc.

That last success points to the intention of the founders to grow the business in Halifax and provide jobs for local employees. Kilfoil notes that the new parent company, Verisk, doesn鈥檛 plan to do any differently.

That Analyze Re continues to provide employment and growth in Halifax fits right in with the philosophy of Starting Lean and Launch Dal. 鈥淥ur programs pay it forward,鈥� says Kilfoil, describing the participation of the NNCE in business model competitions and accelerators. And they鈥檙e not the only ones to give to the business community, she adds. The companies sparked by Starting Lean encourage students to consider an entrepreneurial path. 鈥淲e have fireside chats with entrepreneurial leaders,鈥� explains Kilfoil, 鈥渁nd every one of those chats has been from a Starting Lean graduate.鈥� Rajdev of Analyze Re has already offered to do a 鈥渇ireside chat鈥� and to be a mentor in the class.

Kilfoil is obviously passionate about the success of Starting Lean graduates and about supporting the growth of business in Halifax and Nova Scotia. She speaks proudly of the choice of the Analyze Re team and the terms of the buyout: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 really interesting about the founders of Analyze Re is that they could鈥檝e started the business anywhere,鈥� she points out. 鈥淏ut they chose to start it in Halifax.鈥�