Out of the Hatch: Natasha Dhayagude heads to Venture for Canada
FREDERICTON – After a year of helping New Brunswick startups on their journey, Natasha Dhayagude is ready to start her own.
Dhayagude is leaving her role as entrepreneurial services coordinator at Planet Hatch to take part in Venture for Canada, a fellowship for top, young university graduates where they spend two years working at innovative startups across the country. The fellowship’s mission is to train these graduates to become entrepreneurs moving forward.
Dhayagude was the only New Brunswicker selected in the organization’s November Selection Day. It was an opportunity she discovered by chance while she was attending a conference in Halifax celebrating women in entrepreneurship.
“I met two women who were part of the first cohort of VFC. They told me all about the program and how it works and convinced me to apply,” Dhayagude says. “When I got home I checked it out and recognized some of the partner companies they worked with and was really excited about the thought of working for one of them.”
After working to help New Brunswick startups, Dhayagude wanted to be a part of that world herself. And if there’s one she’s learn from her time working for Planet Hatch, it’s that the only way to learn to be an entrepreneur is to do it.
“I want to be in their position. I want to be challenged, I want to pivot and I want to help bring an idea to life. Learning how to work and collaborate with a team, figuring out the go-to-market strategy, trying to get customer validation and staying true to the business model canvas,” she says.
“I feel like I have seen this world from an outsider’s perspective and I hope to gain a better understanding by actually being immersed within the exciting and dynamic world of entrepreneurship.”
Fellows spend five weeks of training to learn from experts as well as experienced entrepreneurs. From there they will be placed with a Canadian startup, where for two years they will work to help the company grow. Dhayagude says her role with Planet Hatch may come in handy when it comes to her placement.
“A startup doesn’t always know what it needs, and my job was to figure that out and fill those gaps and provide them with various tools and resources to help them succeed,” she says. “Through this I was able to learn and gain knowledge about the different trials and tribulations a startup company faced while launching. . . which will definitely serve me well in any job that I take up.”
Dhayagude leaves for training in May.