"If you're working on an idea for a new business, looking to breath new life into an existing business, or looking to activate entrepreneurship in your rural community...you've come to the right place."
-Andrew Button
-Andrew Button
I’ve spent my whole life in rural communities; I grew up in a small town in Newfoundland and my entire career has been spent helping people start and grow companies from rural places.
We could be doing so much more. And we NEED to be doing more.
The world is talking about innovation, and ingenuity, and resilience. What we know is that all of those things are cooked into the DNA of rural people. We’ve HAD to be resourceful, we’ve HAD to be resilient, we’ve HAD to innovate because we’ve needed to do those things to survive and we haven’t had access to the same resources and supports found in our urban centres.
It is because of those things that I really see the potential of those rural places, we just need to put some focus, structure and processes around unleashing that potential and expanding the horizon of the opportunities.
So I’ve seen and experienced what is possible for rural. BUT I also seen a lack of urgency, and the wasted and misallocated resources, and entrepreneurial talent tucked away in those rural communities that has yet to be activated, which I believe is absolutely tragic.
Seeing those rural communities thrive and seeing that entrepreneurial talent unleashed on to the world is really what drives me and gets me out of bed in the morning.
I share that with you, just to give you some context of this idea for Mashup Lab comes from; it really comes from a place of being a rural person, seeing the entrepreneurial talent and innovative mindset in those rural communities, and getting fired up about unlocking the potential of rural.
So I started Mashup Lab six years ago with an obsessive focus on one thing: unleashing the potential of rural communities.
We do that in three ways...
We run events
We create rural co-working spaces, and
We have a virtual business incubation program.
~ Andrew Button, Founder & CEO
We could be doing so much more. And we NEED to be doing more.
The world is talking about innovation, and ingenuity, and resilience. What we know is that all of those things are cooked into the DNA of rural people. We’ve HAD to be resourceful, we’ve HAD to be resilient, we’ve HAD to innovate because we’ve needed to do those things to survive and we haven’t had access to the same resources and supports found in our urban centres.
It is because of those things that I really see the potential of those rural places, we just need to put some focus, structure and processes around unleashing that potential and expanding the horizon of the opportunities.
So I’ve seen and experienced what is possible for rural. BUT I also seen a lack of urgency, and the wasted and misallocated resources, and entrepreneurial talent tucked away in those rural communities that has yet to be activated, which I believe is absolutely tragic.
Seeing those rural communities thrive and seeing that entrepreneurial talent unleashed on to the world is really what drives me and gets me out of bed in the morning.
I share that with you, just to give you some context of this idea for Mashup Lab comes from; it really comes from a place of being a rural person, seeing the entrepreneurial talent and innovative mindset in those rural communities, and getting fired up about unlocking the potential of rural.
So I started Mashup Lab six years ago with an obsessive focus on one thing: unleashing the potential of rural communities.
We do that in three ways...
We run events
We create rural co-working spaces, and
We have a virtual business incubation program.
~ Andrew Button, Founder & CEO
OUR STORY...OUR IMPACT
In 2014, Andrew Button founded Mashup Lab to be a for-more-than-profit company that activates rural ideas, and turn them into great businesses.
That same year, Andrew launched a chapter of the Awesome Foundation (www.awesomesouthshore.ca) in his community, that today have given away over $60,000 total in $1000 chunks to people to do something awesome.
Andrew has since gone on to launch a community of 3 co-working spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs and independents in the South Shore under the brand WORKEVOLVED.
WorkEvolved (www.workevolved.ca)
Andrew's work with over 2,000 Entrepreneurs located in rural communities has convinced him that great ideas can come from anywhere. His passion and energy is focused on one thing: unleashing the entrepreneurial potential in rural communities that has yet to be inspired into action.
We're tackling the challenge of rural-economic development head-on because we know that:
RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE POCKETS OF UNTAPPED ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL!!
That same year, Andrew launched a chapter of the Awesome Foundation (www.awesomesouthshore.ca) in his community, that today have given away over $60,000 total in $1000 chunks to people to do something awesome.
Andrew has since gone on to launch a community of 3 co-working spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs and independents in the South Shore under the brand WORKEVOLVED.
WorkEvolved (www.workevolved.ca)
Andrew's work with over 2,000 Entrepreneurs located in rural communities has convinced him that great ideas can come from anywhere. His passion and energy is focused on one thing: unleashing the entrepreneurial potential in rural communities that has yet to be inspired into action.
We're tackling the challenge of rural-economic development head-on because we know that:
RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE POCKETS OF UNTAPPED ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL!!
