Got an idea you’ve been sitting on? The hardest part is the gap between “I have an idea” and “I have a paying customer” — and that’s exactly what this conversation is about.
Join us for a fireside chat with Robert Bannerman, Executive in Residence at Dal Innovates, as part of Dal Innovation Week 2026. Robert works across Dal Innovates’ AI2Market, Lab2Market, and Campus2Market programs, helping founders move from a first idea to their first customers.
Over more than two decades in business development, sales, and marketing — at Microsoft, Atlassian, Deloitte, and a string of early-stage startups — Robert has seen commercialization from both the enterprise side and the scrappy side. He’s coached ventures through customer discovery, first MVPs, and first sales, built mentorship programs for Atlassian and CloudBees, taught as an adjunct professor at Bond University in Australia, and today runs RAB Consulting in Halifax.
Expect a candid conversation on customer discovery, building an MVP that actually teaches you something, closing that first terrifying sale — plus stories from founders in the Dal Innovates network who’ve done it. We’ll close with audience Q&A and a clear next step for getting your own idea moving.
Who it’s for: Students and recent grads curious about innovation and entrepreneurship — no experience or existing venture required.
- Date & time: 12-1:30 pm on October 5, 2026
- Doors open: 11:45 am
- Location: Goldberg Computer Science Building, Room 430
- Complimentary pizza lunch for everyone within the Dal Innovates’ ecosystem.
About Dal Innovates
Dalhousie’s innovation and entrepreneurship hub, offering the training, funding, and community to take you from idea to launch. Dal Innovation Week, a celebration of entrepreneurship and innovation at Dalhousie University October 5-9.