When Nicole Troster (MBET ’18) founded Coeurage Labs, she wasn’t just starting a business, she was continuing a mission. After more than 15 years supporting entrepreneurs and co-founding ELLA, a national accelerator for women-led ventures, Nicole saw a gap emerging in Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. When federal funding for women-focused programs was drastically reduced, she decided to take action.
“Working with ELLA and seeing so many inspiring entrepreneurs really pushed me to want to do it for myself,” Nicole shares. “Their resilience gave me the motivation to continue with Coeurage Labs.”
From inspiration to action
Nicole’s inspiration runs deep. Her mother was one of the first female lawyers at a commercial bank in Brazil, but when she immigrated to Canada, her credentials weren’t recognized. Undeterred, she bought a business but lacked the networks and support systems that could have helped her thrive.
“My mom didn’t have a business community to draw on,” Nicole reflects. “I wanted to build something that could help women like her; women taking bold leaps but needing the right ecosystem around them.”
That vision became Coeurage Labs, a company devoted to helping women-led service businesses scale sustainably and confidently. Drawing on frameworks she developed and validated through her work with ELLA, Nicole designed an approach centered on growth, resilience, and strategy.
Building with purpose
At its core, Coeurage Labs is about empowering founders through building scalable systems that put customers at the core: something Nicole believes is essential for long-term success.
“Entrepreneurship can be lonely,” she says, “but on the flip side, I’ve met incredible people who share my vision and understand the impact we’re creating. Having community helps entrepreneurs grow faster. You don’t feel alone. You can problem-solve together, collaborate, and deliver more value.”
Her approach combines evidence-based frameworks with real-world experience, helping entrepreneurs shift from working in their business to working on it. By helping founders deeply understand their customers’ evolving needs, Nicole empowers them to scale intentionally and sustainably.
“The business can only grow as fast as the entrepreneur,” she says. “That’s where the real work begins.”
Roots in MBET
Nicole credits the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program at the University of Waterloo’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business as a pivotal foundation for her career.
MBET taught me human-centered design: talking to customers, running small experiments, validating assumptions. That process mindset is something I still use daily, and it’s what I teach my clients. Validation never ends; it evolves as your customers and their needs do.
The program also reinforced her belief that purpose and profitability can coexist which is a mindset that informs how Coeurage Labs helps entrepreneurs grow with clarity, connection, and courage.
Championing the future of women’s entrepreneurship
Nicole is candid about the challenges ahead for women entrepreneurs in Canada. While other countries continue to invest heavily in support systems, she worries that Canada’s progress may stall without sustained commitment.
“Even though there was $8 billion federally invested, it can’t stop now,” she warns. “If we want to see continued progress, we need consistent investment in women’s entrepreneurship. Otherwise, we risk losing momentum.”
But Nicole isn’t waiting for change; she’s building it. Through Coeurage Labs, she’s creating a scalable, customer-centered model for growth, empowerment, and impact that ensures women entrepreneurs can continue to thrive, no matter what.
Advice for the next generation
Nicole’s advice to current MBET students and aspiring founders is practical, grounded, and deeply human: start with your customer, and build everything else around them.
“Any business can be customer-centric,” she explains. “When you focus on understanding and delivering value to your customers, everything else (impact, growth, profitability) flows from there.”
She encourages founders to invest time in truly listening to their customers, not just during product development but throughout every stage of growth. That means testing assumptions, observing how customers behave (not just what they say), and continuously adapting the business model to meet evolving needs. “Your customers will show you where your business needs to go if you’re willing to listen,” Nicole says. “The best strategies are co-created with them.”
For Nicole, customer-centricity is not a tactic, it’s a philosophy that shapes decision-making, culture, and leadership. When companies anchor every process, system, and innovation around the people they serve, they unlock growth that’s both scalable and sustainable.
Her story is a reminder that courage (Coeurage) isn’t just about fearlessness; it’s about leading with heart, clarity, and intention.