Second edition of RDV Relève inc.™: building a business on solid foundations

MONTRÉAL, April 23, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - The Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal are joining forces to launch the second edition of RDV Relève inc.™, taking place May 4 to 8 in Montréal and in participating regions (Valleyfield, Saguenay, the Laurentians and Sherbrooke). As part of this initiative, the two organizations are launching a major awareness-raising campaign across Quebec to draw the attention of young professionals to the opportunity of business transfers and entrepreneurial succession.

In June 2014, a Board of Trade study, commissioned by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ with the support of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, revealed that 30% of business owners plan to retire within the next 10 years. Half of them do not want to sell or transfer their business. At the same time, young professionals find the idea of creating their own business more appealing than buying, maintaining and growing an existing one.

"Company succession is still an unfamiliar concept in Quebec," said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "And yet it offers so many advantages for entrepreneurs. For example, it's easier to build a business on solid foundations than to start one from scratch. The awareness-raising campaign we're launching is meant to promote company transfers and dispel preconceived notions by talking about success stories and demonstrating their crucial contribution to the economy of Quebec and Montréal."

"To deal with the massive retirement of entrepreneurs in the coming years, Quebec needs to get more young people interested in the idea of company transfers," says Gaétan Morin, President and CEO of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. "With so many businesses and jobs at stake, Quebec has to take the situation in hand. Failing to act on business succession is just not an option."

Targeted at the general public, the RDV Relève inc.™ awareness-raising campaign includes a web platform (English to come) and a fun, informative questionnaire to determine which type of business successor you are and to get more information about business transfers and entrepreneurial succession.

This mobilizing initiative, which includes grassroots activities in different regions of Quebec, will end with a Strategic Forum on May 8 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The Business Transfer Challenge will also be part of the program for the event.

The RDV Relève Inc.™ is a joint initiative by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in cooperation with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton.

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has over 7,000 members. Its mission is to be the voice of Montréal's business community and to promote the city's prosperity. It is involved in key areas of economic development, advocating a philosophy of action based on engagement, credibility, proactivity, collaboration and innovation. The Board of Trade also offers a range of specialized services to individuals and to business of all sizes to support them in their growth at home and abroad.

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ 
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ helps drive our economy. With net assets of $10.5 billion as of November 30, 2014, the Fonds is a development capital fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help create and maintain jobs and further Québec's development. The Fonds is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in more than 2,450 companies. With more than 600,000 shareholder-savers, the Fonds helps create, maintain and protect more than 172,000 jobs. For more information, visit www.FondsFTQ.com.

SOURCE Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

Michelle LLambias Meunier, Advisor, Media Relations, Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Tel.: [phone], ext. 4042, [email protected], Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambremontreal, Twitter: @chambremontreal, Follow the discussion: #ccmmqcca; Patrick McQuilken, Senior Advisor, Media Relations and Communications, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Tel.: [phone], Cell phone: [phone], [email protected], Facebook: www.facebook.com/FondsFTQ, Twitter: www.twitter.com/FondsFTQ