Calan Breckon • Published October 21, 2025
You deserve a place to build your business where you feel seen, supported, and safe. That is the promise behind the Canada’s Queer Chamber of Commerce’s (Formerly the CGLCC) mentorship program, OUT for Business. In a recent episode of The Business Gay Podcast, Idara Effiom and Eli Kriv shared what’s new, what’s working, and how you can take part. The program now welcomes mentees 18 and up at any stage of business, adds wellness support, and centres community while keeping things practical. As someone who has been through it, I can tell you it can shift your path in real ways.
This guide breaks down the challenges this program addresses, how it’s built, who it’s for, and how to apply. You’ll also see what’s coming next for the program and the ecosystem around it.
The challenges queer entrepreneurs face, and how OUT for Business responds
You know the hurdles. Many 2SLGBTQI+ business owners hide who they are to avoid bias and discrimination. Others report lost opportunities once they come out. Some face direct discrimination tied to ownership. These are not small things when your livelihood depends on your next sale or your next hire.
OUT for Business responds by focusing on three pillars:
- Authenticity without penalty: Build your company while showing up as yourself.
- Community and connection: Find peers and mentors who get what you are facing.
- Skills and growth: Learn real business tactics while addressing identity-based barriers.
This foundation helps you create jobs in your community, lift up voices that are often overlooked, and drive social change through business.
Why community matters
Entrepreneurship can be lonely. Add a queer identity, intersecting identities, and heteronormative rooms, and it gets even tougher. If you have ever watched eyes glaze over the moment you share your work, you know the feeling.
OUT for Business counters that isolation with people who light up when they meet you. Group sessions, peer support, and mentor relationships turn the room into a place where you are understood. That shift matters. It makes it easier to talk about your work, ask for help, and take bold steps with your business story.
How the OUT for Business program is structured
The program gives you multiple ways to learn, connect, and grow. It’s national and mostly virtual, so you can join from anywhere in Canada.
Core components
- One-to-one mentorship: The core of the program. You’re paired with an experienced queer mentor. You can be at any stage, from idea to growth. Your mentor has been where you are and can share hard-won lessons. (Fun Fact: I’m a mentor for the program!)
- Group mentorship: Mentors and mentees meet as a cohort to share wins, ask questions, and compare notes. You get a wider view of what’s working for others.
- Tailored workshops: Skill sessions built around what the cohort needs most. Topics include marketing in queer spaces, building authentic brands, and balancing the many demands of running a company.
Time expectations
- Mentors: Plan for 2 to 3 hours a month, including at least once a month one-hour meetings with your mentee.
- Mentees: Plan for 4 to 6 hours a month. This covers your mentor meeting, group sessions, and networking.
- Program length: 10 months, from September to June.
The cadence is predictable, the spaces are welcoming, and the focus is practical growth.
Who should join
This version of OUT for Business is more open than ever.
For mentees
If you identify as 2SLGBTQI+ and have a business or a business idea, you are welcome. You can be full-time or part-time. You can be pre-registration, early stage, or in growth mode. The program is national and virtual, so you can join from anywhere in Canada. You need to be at least 18.
The program especially welcomes trans, Two-Spirit, and folks with intersecting identities. The goal is to center those most marginalized, then support the broader community through that lens.
For mentors
Mentors come from many backgrounds. You might be:
- An entrepreneur with 2 or more years in business
- An employee with 2 or more years in a business or nonprofit environment
- Retired, with experience you want to pass on
- Part of the 2SLGBTQI+ community yourself
What matters is your willingness to share, to listen, and to commit. Plan for 3 hours a month. Meet your mentee at least once a month for one hour. Complete onboarding plus wellness and EDI trainings and live anywhere in Canada.
Mentorship is about passing the torch and opening doors. If that speaks to you, you’re a fit.
If you’ve never had a mentor before or never been a mentor before then you’ll want to check out this conversation I had with Jennifer Petrela on the power of mentorship and what it is and isn’t supposed to be for both sides of the relationship.
The power of mentorship in queer entrepreneurship
Mentorship helps you picture success, map the steps, and keep going. For many queer founders, it also fills a gap left by family or professional networks that do not fit. Having a mentor who says, “I get it, and I’m here for you,” can be the difference between stalling and growing.
You will see real changes. Past mentees shared that they felt safer weaving their queer identity into their business story after hearing how others did it. That shift often leads to stronger brands and better client fit. It’s not about hiding. It’s about being clear, confident, and honest.
“I am a safe person for you to come and bounce questions off of. I have some overlap with you, and I am here for you no matter what.”
When that is the tone, your load gets lighter. Your questions feel safer to ask. Your next move gets clearer.
Benefits you can expect:
- Clarity on goals and milestones
- Support in how you show up as a queer founder
- Community that extends beyond your mentor match
If you want more context on wider support across Canada and the US, explore this guide to top support groups for LGBTQ+ business owners.
Additional supports and resources
This year’s program adds more structure and better access to resources you will use.
Business development sessions
You’ll learn from 2SLGBTQI+ professionals and facilitators on topics the community asked for, such as:
- Taxes and bookkeeping
- Funding options and where to find them
- Work-life balance and self-care
- Being your own cheerleader when things are tough
- Marketing and branding
Sessions are led by people who understand your lived reality and your business needs.
Structured tools and accessibility
You get templates for mentor meetings, guiding questions for networking, and a centralized resource hub that houses session recordings, worksheets, and relevant CQCC resources. This fixes a common pain point where great content got lost in email links before. Now you can search and revisit past sessions that match your needs.
You’ll also see a focus on wellness and DEI. Orientation covers how the program works, and trainings help set shared norms so the space stays safe and productive.
How to apply and what to expect
Application process
Applying is simple and takes under 20 minutes. You’ll share your business stage, what you hope to get out of the program, and preferences for your mentor match. Applications are open usually between June – August and reviewed on a rolling basis until the program reaches capacity. New cohorts always start in September of each year.
- Visit the CQCC page for the program: OUT for Business mentorship information and application.
- Complete the application form with clear details on your goals.
- Submit early to boost your chance of getting matched.
Mentees must be 18 or older, located in Canada, and identify as 2SLGBTQI+. You also need to commit to the time expectations. Mentors can use the same form to apply as a mentor.
Matching and cohort size
Historically, staff handled most of the matching but updates to the program now work on a mentee-led model, supported by admin, where you will be able to review mentor profiles and request a match.
There is no set cap on mentees. The limit depends on how many mentors sign up. More mentors means more mentees get served. If you can mentor then sign up to do so!
Goals and future vision for the revamped program
The program started in 2017 and keeps improving. The core goal stays clear: help more queer people thrive in the Canadian economy, and connect them with supporters who want to do business with them.
Short term, you can expect:
- Strong community and a sense of safety
- A people-led program that respects your autonomy
- Training, exposure, and new access points
- Clear pathways into the broader CQCC ecosystem, including supplier diversity
There is growing proof that queer founders deliver. A StartOut study in the U.S. found that 2SLGBTQI+ founders create 36% more jobs, hold 114% more patents, and achieve 44% more exits than their straight peers. When you get the right support, that upside grows.
In the long run, the vision is a national network of queer-led businesses, deeply connected, and ready for supplier opportunities with major Canadian companies. If you’re curious about work happening alongside this program, read about Canada’s $25M investment into the CQCC entrepreneurship program.
What is next for OUT for Business
Several upgrades are in the pipeline:
- Indigenous engagement: Build trust and connect with Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurs at a grassroots level.
- Program depth: More robust session calendars and clearer paths from mentee or mentor to diverse supplier certification.
- In-person connection: Potential regional or national gatherings to deepen relationships.
- Continuous improvement: Keep centring marginalized voices and refining the model with cohort feedback.
Conclusion
You deserve a business community where your identity is an asset, not a risk. The revamped OUT for Business program gives you mentorship, skills, and a network that sees you. It’s open, structured, and built to support you at every stage.
If you’re a mentee, apply even if you do not feel “ready.” If you’re a mentor, your time can change someone’s life. Allies can help by sharing this widely or offering to speak at a session.
Apply through the CQCC program page and take your next step today.
