2 months ago our team shared some difficult news. After 6 heroic years at the helm, our executive director Joanna Buczkowska-McCumber felt it was time to pass on the baton. If you’ve run a relay race, you’ll know that the handing off of a baton can be a tricky process. There’s distractions, other runners, and non-stop noise from the crowd.
What I’ve found separates the good relay teams from the great ones is two things. The hand-off (1) and the next runner (2). And we’re excited to share that in this race, we’ve hit the jackpot with both.
Within days of announcing Joanna’s departure, our community came around us in incredible ways. Our founders started reaching out to Joanna to share their gratitude, our board started helping with transition guidance, and our community started brainstorming email intros to a new Executive Director.
There’s no easy way to say this. Joanna left some massive shoes to fill. Founder and Chairman of League of Innovators, Ryan Holmes, puts it this way:
“LOI wouldn’t be where it is today without Jo’s incredible contributions. She poured her heart, mind and soul into this team and for those 6 years of service we’re eternally grateful. In that same breath, we’re excited to share that as she embarks on her new journey, she’ll remain connected with LOI as a board member.”
In short, Joanna’s leadership has paved a perfect path for whoever came next. And today we’re thrilled to share who will be taking up the baton.
Her name is Melissa Allen. And she is above and beyond what we asked for.
We wanted to find someone that’s restless about innovation, and she’s proven that. We wanted someone that was diligent about execution, and her references spoke to that. Melissa is hungry to create an impact for young entrepreneurs across Canada and we can’t wait to see her step into her role in January 2022.
Instead of bombarding her with personalized LinkedIn requests (you can still do that...) we decided to bring you into the coffee shop. Here’s a little preview of what drew her to League of Innovators and why our team is so jazzed to have her on board.
One of our Board Members, Manny Padda, put together a great list of questions he thought people would want to hear about.
MP (Manny): Can you share a little bit about yourself?
MA (Melissa): I began my career in digital marketing first interning at Foreign Affairs Canada in Paris, France, and then working with tech companies such as Torstar Digital and Google, before pivoting to an award-winning career in wealth management at Desjardins. I’m fluent in French and have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Combining my passion for tech and finance, I became an angel investor and Limited Partner in 2019 and began lending expertise in advisory and leadership roles at startups such as Alo Solutions and Bay Mills Investment Group, before hearing about this new role at League of Innovators.
For context: Bay Mills was the largest venture fund for BIPOC founders started by three brothers, Shamier Anderson, Sheldon James and Stephan James
MP: What are you excited about in this new role and how has your career positioned you for this opportunity?
MA: My entrepreneurial background in finance, combined with my marketing and business development experience in tech, create a unique skill set that I cannot wait to leverage to support the LOI team’s vision, mission, and young entrepreneurs.
I’m excited to support the next generation of innovators who will go on to become leaders in their communities and beyond!
MP: Where do you see the greatest opportunity for the League of Innovators platform in the next couple of years?
MA: Over the last two years we have experienced 10 years’ worth of technological advancement and a collective awareness about the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
With a proven track record built on a solid foundation, LOI is poised to become the preeminent destination for young Canadian entrepreneurs—from all walks of life—who will make a positive impact in their communities, country, and the world.
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Well, there you have it. The baton has been handed off and the next runner is gearing up for a race of a lifetime. A race that needs running.
Joanna, we’re so thankful for your service and we look forward to keeping you in our corner.
Melissa, we can’t wait to see you lace up your shoes and lead our team in the New Year. There’s some exciting things stirring up at League of Innovators and we can’t wait to show them to the world.
To learn more about League of Innovators founder program, click here.
To request a meeting with Melissa, click here.
Support the work at League of Innovators, donate here.
Youth entrepreneurship is on the rise! Here at the League of Innovators (LOI), we ensure that the young Canadian entrepreneurs and future leaders of Canada have barrier-free access to resources and the national community of support that guarantee their success throughout their entrepreneurial journey no matter their background or what they are building. That's why the Labs accelerator program for youth-led startups is free, with no equity, and no strings attached.
Labs is a virtual national accelerator program that starts up again with its seventh cohort on September 7th, 2021. Over the 12-weeks, young entrepreneurs get access to live workshops, ask me anything sessions, coaching, venture huddles, resources, tools, mentorship, and community. New this cohort are two new program streams built into the Labs accelerator. Firstly, the Social Impact Stream with a series of workshops to aimed build conscious leaders and dive deeper with our social entrepreneurs. Secondly, is the Black Youth Entrepreneurs Growth Program which is designed to provide Black Youth Entrepreneurs with access to the entire suite of Labs Accelerator Program benefits, including exclusive content, resources, workshops, peer community, business coaching, and a curated stream of resources and tools built specifically for Black Youth Entrepreneurs in partnership with Black Entrepreneurs and Businesses Society of Canada (BEBC).
The League of Innovators Community will be welcoming a group of 79 founders who are building 41 ventures from across Canada to our sector agnostic and business model agnostic program. Collectively this cohort has raised $916,000 to date to fuel the fire of their startups. This cohort has 20% startups, 11% product-based startups, 23% service-driven businesses, 24% social-good organizations, and 22% software companies.
This cohort consists of 42% female entrepreneurs, 20% are Black, 3% Indigenous and 50% people of colour, 6% neurodiverse founders, 3% physically disabled founders, 6% belong to the LGBTQ+ community, 32% are immigrants and 27% speak English as their second language. Here at LOI, creating a diverse community is critical to creating a learning environment where founders from across the country can learn from each other's lived experiences and expand their network. Read on to learn more about the Labs Batch 7 cohort and the next generation of game-changing Canadian startups.
6ixplore is a marketplace for local businesses that aims to solve the problem of discovery. We are creating a user friendly app that will help users connect with local businesses and the community. We hope to bring the power of NFTs into daily life and democratize the use of blockchain technology for all local businesses.
Awkward Turtle Studios is a media services business working with purpose-driven, social impact entrepreneurs, social enterprises, businesses and organizations to elevate their work and digital marketing strategies through authentic, emotion-centric storytelling. I provide holistic photo and video production services from concept development to distribution. I focus on telling stories from an intersectional perspective that amplifies diverse identities and experiences to advocate for social justice.
CASE is enabling a circular supply chain model for plastic takeout containers. With our collection bin service, we divert waste from landfills by collecting clean plastic takeout containers to recycle and resell them to restaurants.
The digital companion to case competitions - CaseCom gives organizers the tools to host engaging and interactive events anywhere without breaking a sweat.
Cequest captures CO2 from the air and ocean via seawater electrolysis for long-term sequestration as a mineral bicarbonate (read: rock) in the sea. This process adds alkalinity to the ocean and helps reverse ocean acidification while also creating hydrogen gas that can be sold or used to produce electricity.
ClinicalVR
Founders: Sanchit Gupta, Kalter Hali & Tyvaughn Holness
ClinicalVR is an early-stage start-up aiming to utilize virtual reality to dramatically reduce pain and anxiety during medical procedures. Our goal is threefold: 1) improve clinical outcomes; 2) enrich patient experience and 3) enhance clinician experience.
Clutch App is an online platform that connects new drivers with licensed instructors nearby, with a service marketplace that connects users with relevant products and services like insurance providers and dealerships along their journey as a new to experienced driver.
ECU Design Careers is an independent community aiming to bridge the gap between art & design education and the creative industry. We help the students connect with industry mentors and provide various mentorship activities for their early careers.
Envly Inc. is a one-stop digital mall for access to eco-friendly products. This app makes shopping what it should have always been - sustainable and intentional.
Forest City SynBio is building an incubator and accelerator to support the next generation of synthetic biology innovators. We equip early-stage life science startups with the resources they need to bring their ideas to life and grow the Canadian bioeconomy.
Free Periods Canada is a grassroots non-profit organization that promotes intersectional period equity, education and access to essential reproductive and menstrual supplies.
Students find the process of going abroad confusing, time-consuming, costly, and for those who have been through the process frustrating by the lack of guidance in funding the experience. GOmana is designed to streamline the information with student budgets and partners to provide one universal platform. With information on funding resources/deadlines, time management, logistical paperwork, and experienced peers to shed insight on the process, our goal is to make it so easy; no one can say no to GOmana!
Heka is web platform powered by AI that helps people who have physical discomfort or pain understand the options that exist to help them fix their pain. It then matches them with the ideal physiotherapist who has the expertise for that specific problem, so that people can get back to a pain free life as fast as possible.
International Hub is an online community and database that contains sourced opportunities that empower Canadian and international students and early-career professionals with professional development resources to achieve their dream careers.
@internationalhub
KINactivity
Founder: Shaquelle Hibbert
The KINactivity spaces was created for women to cleanse themselves of diet-culture and learn how to accept and love their bodies while living a healthy lifestyle.
Kira Made This (KMT) is a custom sneaker/footwear art brand. KMT offers a customization service to clients and corporations, along with creating art-based content on social media platforms. KMT specializes in art influenced by music/musicians, organic textures, and Asian art/culture.
Founders: Eugine Ncube, Gallican Kalimuvumba Buki, Omonosifon Udo, Patrick Cajina Cortez & Ivan Wilfried Ulrich Ngandjui Touko
La Connexional’s mission is to promote development, social integration, social inclusion and multicultural understanding between African, Black, Caribbean, Latinx and Canadian communities. We achieve this mission by being a source of historical and cultural education, as well as creating unique experiences such as culturally relevant dance workshops, networking events and festivals.
Lifeplanting is a financial education business aimed to help young professionals in Canada learn how to have mastery over their money and start living a life of financial freedom.
MODASTY is set to be your one-stop online marketplace for modest fashion. Inspired by the shopping challenges of all women who shop for modest fashion, MODASTY aggregates modest inventory from sellers all over the world and brings it onto one online space for one seamless checkout.
Founders: Prabhakara Subramanya Jois, Meiqi He & Dan Huy Tran
At OpAI Innovations, we are developing a smartphone app which plastic surgeons can use to scan their patients' breasts during surgery and obtain information on the symmetry of the breasts.
PayTrail is a platform committed to eliminating paper receipt waste. We partner with retailers and point of sales systems to allow customers to send, track, organize and search all of their receipts in one universal location, without ever printing a receipt.
Founders: Christopher Tran, Nathan Knight & Fardeen Chowdhury
From the first contact to the final donation, Prospr helps you engage your donors, all without making it feel like a chore.
Delivering a great experience for your donors shouldn't be cost-prohibitive. That's why we're building a robust platform that helps organizations maximize their impact.
Ram Canyon Industries produces uncommon gear from uncommon materials for uncommon folks with a taste for the extreme and a passion for planet earth. We use discarded and up-cycled materials to produce ultra-durable Canadian-made adventure gear.
RetinaLogik is a social enterprise that centralizes virtual eye exams, making screening effortless, and facilitates earlier detection of retinal conditions such as glaucoma. Our portable exams cost significantly less, enable remote diagnosis, and have advanced eye health analysis. Our mission is to enhance access to eye exams for 2 million people by 2026. Help us change lives and save vision, in and outside Canada.
Reusables.com is a packaging-as-service platform for zero waste food retail. Reusables enables restaurants, cafes, and grocers to easily transition from single-use packaging to reusable packaging. Our vision is zero waste.
Rocketbrew is an e-commerce dashboard that tracks competitive changes. We help online sellers grow faster by aggregating sales and traffic data into insights.
ShopMe is an e-commerce platform that allows its users to automatically capture customizable order details instead of need to deal with the hassle of direct message inquiries.
Founders: Zuberi Attard, Scott Braddon & Brent Colby
We help students thrive in their personal and academic life by getting them access to services that help them with their finances, wellbeing, and academics for up to 90% off. We're making the term "struggling student" a thing of the past.
Swen Equity is dedicated to the achievement of health equity. We enhance health and social service practitioners and organizations through innovative strategies and specialized training that advances inclusive care and transforms inequitable practices.
The Canadian Courage Project strives to support youth and their animal companions transitioning out of shelters into independent housing. Through wellness workshops, departure kits and mental health resources, 1000 youth have been supported to date.
Tribe Network is Canada’s BIPOC Entrepreneurship & Innovation Hub. Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour can access our knowledge hub, opportunities portal, and community.
TUFF Media specializes in scaling business with digital advertising and performance-based services. Our custom-built campaigns provide solutions for a range of businesses: e-commerce, lead generation, user acquisition, brand awareness, and more.
Founders: Daniaal Mahmood, Felix Chan, Daniel Jiang, Allan Wu & Brice Zhao
Visuo is a video production company that specializes in providing quality and accessible video marketing services to startups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Our business model leverages student talent, streamlines the production process, and serves overlooked clients in the videography market.
@visuostudios
WellbyShania
Founder: Shania Bhopa
WellbyShania hopes to fill the gap in the children's book market with health-focused educational books. Peer-reviewed books by Shania's naturopath mother and physician sister engage with each human body element, with their first launched book Gurk the Gut and Bianca the Brain on a path to mindfulness.
Yasa is democratizing personalized fitness instruction at home, starting with yoga. Without the cost of a human yoga instructor, Yasa allows for live audio and visual feedback while you complete personalized yoga sessions at home. With enhanced movement tracking via the user's camera, users can have real-time recommendations allowing you to practice at any time and have tailored sessions.
Yögels sells healthy and delicious bagels. Our bagels are half the calories, half the carbs, and higher in protein than traditional bagels. We believe that healthy food shouldn't have to sacrifice taste.
Are you thinking about entrepreneurship but are a little nervous about the industry? Have you been wondering what it’s like to pitch an idea to investors? Do you want to see young entrepreneurs in action? If so, get inspiration from skilled entrepreneurs by watching them present innovative ideas and solutions at a pitch off event. Use entrepreneur competitions and events as an opportunity to get to know yourself as an aspiring entrepreneur and grow in the community. Here are some benefits you can gain just from attending networking events, pitch-off competitions, and more!
Learn from Leading Experts
The best advantage you can have as an aspiring entrepreneur is learning from those that are in the same journey as you. See for yourself what it's like to be in a higher level stage of the entrepreneurial journey. Take note of how these experts present themselves, their business, and their innovative solutions to key stakeholders such as investors, funding partners, and potential customers.
Get Inspiration from Like-Minded Entrepreneurs
If you are starting your entrepreneurial journey, inspiration and creativity is key to help you get started. If you are struggling with brainstorming, take inspiration from upcoming and rising trends within the industry and community to help kickstart your idea generation process. The best ideas are the ideas that people know and care about. So be curious and dive into areas that will inspire and motivate you!
Connect With Your Community
Attending networking events is the best way to connect with the entrepreneurial community. One of the most important benefits of networking is being able to meet influencers in your industry along with people in similar positions as you. This will give you valuable insight on your industry and community by having connections with people that may be able to share their knowledge and provide you with unique opportunities.
Motivation to Get Started!
The best way to get started with something you are passionate about is putting yourself in the perfect environment! Why not throw yourself right into it! Being exposed to people and situations that can help you grow to the entrepreneur you want to be can be extremely motivating!
If you want to take advantage of networking opportunities, check out The Impact Innovation Challenge Pitch Off Event happening August 24 and watch teams pitch their impactful ideas to create change in the world! Use this as your opportunity to grow as an entrepreneur and begin your journey. Check it out here to register and attend the free live event!
Our Annual Impact Innovation Challenge for young entrepreneurs across Canada has been mindblowing. Youth innovation is alive and rising! This year, the Impact Innovation Challenge consists of 3 categories of different kinds of ventures: Aspiring, Growth, and Non-Profit Entrepreneurs. The challenge focuses on entrepreneurs building a social impact venture and will pitch their startup and startup ideas for a chance to win cash, mentorship, legal support and coaching prizes to boost their startup. Thank you to our partners for supporting youth in Canada. These prizes are made possible by our cash prize partner SAP, RBC, Hootsuite, Osler, AO, Scale Collaborative and more! A special thank you to our submission review committee, our judging panel and Volition for offering pitch training for our finalists!
Here are the finalists that you’ll be seeing at our Impact Innovation Challenge 2021!
Aspiring Ventures:
The Aspiring Category represents aspiring entrepreneurs with brand new ideas that focuses on their idea and solution to their problem. This category is suited for youth exploring entrepreneurship for the first time and have been working on their problem and solution for less than a year! Here are your aspiring entrepreneurs!
Transition Space
Meet the Transition Space Team, Will, Charlotte, Caleb, Lindsay, and Sarah! Transition Space is an online hub dedicated to helping Ontario youth navigate the adult disability system. This team takes a collaborative approach to provide information on components of the disability system, share personalized community resources to connect youth to the adult disability system, and facilitate conversations between youth, families, and care providers.
Cequest
Meet Devinder, Founder of Cequest! Cequest has a vision to create a place where children can walk outside and breathe in clean air where biodiversity thrives both on land and sea. Cequest brings a solution with the potential to sequester over 10 Gt of carbon dioxide per year by 2050. Cequest sequesters carbon to produce clean hydrogen fuel as well as a bicarbonate that can be released into the ocean to combat ocean acidification.
Orwell
Meet the Orwell Team, Veer, Pranav, and Jai! Orwell is the world’s first anti-social media platform! Their goal is to mitigate social media addiction in an accessible manner allowing for the improvement of both mental health and productivity in youths and adults alike. They are a non-profit technology company committed to transforming mental health for everyone.
PALcares
Meet the PALCares team, Dylan, Darby, Sasha, and Luke! PALcares provides social good impact for community members who struggle to obtain relevant and applicable support and for government and non-profit stakeholders who lack the infrastructure to address service gaps, service duplication and sector inefficiencies. PALcares guides the community with an online interface that connects them to a personalized list of relevant social supports.
ClinicalVR
Meet the ClinicalVR team, Andrew, Kalter, Sanchi, Tyvaughn! ClinicalVR utilizes virtual reality (VR) technology. They are an early-stage start-up trying to change the lack of VR in clinical practice by providing hospitals and outpatient clinics with VR headsets, VR software which includes VR experiences developed based on patient and healthcare provider feedback, and VR support/training.
Kaptis
Meet the Kaptis Team, Anupra, Taira, and Riya! Since the beginning of the climate crisis, carbon dioxide has been viewed as a pollutant we need to remove. Kaptis views it as a resource. The Kaptis team is aiming to build a reactor that can convert captured carbon dioxide to valuable solid carbon products, with a focus on graphene.
MODASTY
Meet Roaa, founder of MODASTY. MODASTY will be the only online marketplace for modest fashion. Inspired by the shopping challenges of all women who shop for modest fashion, MODASTY will aggregate modest and islamic inventory from brands and boutiques all over the world and bring it into one online space for one seamless checkout. MODASTY is the Amazon of modest fashion.
Growth Ventures
The Growth category represents entrepreneurs at an early stage for profit impact business that have been operating for less than two years and have validated their model through early traction! Meet your Growth entrepreneurs!
FlutterCare
Meet Dolma, CEO and Founder of Flutter Care Inc., a digital health company based in Vancouver, B.C. whose technology promotes positive pregnancy experiences and outcomes. Flutter Care, a new technology designed to predict and prevent pregnancy complications, has received recognition from 8+ institutions. This includes the Canadian Medical Association, British Columbia’s Medical Device Development Center, and Innovation UBC. In 2020, Flutter Care was announced as a winner of Startup Canada’s SDG Impact Pitch Competition for their work to advance gender equality.
Apricotton
Meet Chloe Beaudoin and Jessica Miao, Co-Founders of Apricotton! Apricotton is a Toronto-based teen bra brand that helps girls across Canada and the U.S find bras that fit and make them feel confident. They eliminate the awkwardness of going to the store to buy a girl’s first bra. Most importantly, they design bras tailored to every girl’s body type, so that they can grow as she grows.
Typha Co.
Meet Alec and Julien, Co-Founders of Typha Co. Typha Co. vision is to ultimately bring production in-house by deploying the first of its kind Typha bio-refinery, which will integrate a spectrum of bio-based products (chemicals, materials, feed) and bioenergy (heat, electrical power, biofuels). They are empowering the collective good to solve Lake WInnipeg’s environmental crisis!
PEKO Produce
Meet the PEKO Produce Team, Arielle and Sang Le! Peko Produce delivers "peculiar" products to your doorstep for up to 40% off retail prices. Peko Produce purchases otherwise unsold “imperfect” produce from farmers and brokers at wholesale, providing them revenue that would have otherwise been unrecognized and discarded. They then compile all the varieties of produce into a box, sold at a fixed cost to the consumer at a heavily discounted price (in contrast to other retail grocery stores). Their mission is to empower access to affordable, healthy diets and rescue local food waste, one delivery at a time.
Reusables.com
Meet the Reusables Team, Anastasia and Jason! Reusables was founded to help eliminate single-use plastics from our daily routines. Despite the convenience of single-use plastics, they present a threat to our planet and we would prefer to live in a world without them.They decided to break down the barriers between private, public and academic institutions and design a robust solution that is reshaping the way we consume.
Hydronos Financial Technologies
Meet the Hydronos Financial Technologies Team, Jeremy and Philip! Hydronos establishes and offers an investable tokenized product for small-scale, sustainable infrastructure. The digital security, which uses blockchain technology to represent a tradable asset, enables private retail investors to invest in an asset class that had been previously difficult to invest in due to lack of liquidity, high transaction costs and limited transparency.
ROVR
Meet the ROVR Team, Anthony and Kyle! ROVR is a VR Social Network that connects people based on common interests, mutual friends, and groups. ROVR enables the coolest thing about Social VR (and the Metaverse): that you can meet really interesting people easily, for free across any distance, and naturally befriend them. As VR hits the mainstream, ROVR will bring niche communities together, starting with the power VR users of today. When people make friends in VR, or bring their IRL friends to VR, they become power-users and realize the potential of Social VR. ROVR will be the social glue of the Metaverse.
Non-Profit Ventures
Meet your Non-Profit Entrepreneurs! This category represents early stage impact driven nonprofits that have validated their model through early traction.
Free Periods Canada Foundation
Meet the Free Periods Canada Foundation Team, Zeba and Niki! Free Periods Canada Foundation is a grassroots, youth-run, registered non-profit organization. They are focused on fighting menstrual inequity and period stigma in Canada. Their solution is a unique integration of technology and community engagement in the field of menstrual equity advocacy, which does not currently exist in Canada. This tool can also be used as a networking opportunity for those interested in menstrual activism to connect with each other and other sexual and reproductive health experts.
Threading Change Foundation
Meet Sophia, Founder of Threading Change Foundation! Threading Change is a youth-led not-for-profit organization envisioning a future where fashion is ethical and circular, rooted in justice with climate, gender, and racial equity at the forefront. They work at the intersections of consumer education and industry transformation through our tri-impact model of education, innovative storytelling, and policy research.
Warrior Yoga Network
Meet the Warrior Yoga Network Team, Casse and Jesse! Warrior Yoga Network is a worldwide network of yoga and meditation teachers taking action to create a more inclusive and accessible yoga community. They are solving for the barriers that prevent people from accessing yoga and meditation as wellness practices. These are financial, social, cultural, geographic, physical barriers that prevent people from accessing wellness practices. These problems exist largely because the commodification of the wellness industry prioritizes profit - because of this, various systems of oppression are replicated and many people are left behind.
Youth Helping Youth Non-Profit
Meet Anjali, Founder of Youth Helping Youth Non-Profit! Youth Helping Youth (YHY) is an international organization that promotes youth development. YHY aims to bridge the accessibility gap of resources and opportunities (scholarships, jobs, volunteer positions, tutoring resources) available to youth in low-income communities through easily accessible digital marketing platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.
Break the Divide Foundation
Meet the Break The Divide Team, Sukhmeet and Abhayjeet! Break The Divide solves the challenges of apathy, denial, and polarization about issues through connection. They provide a space for young people to come together and connect with one another through genuine and intentional conversations. They help tackle the problem of the difficulty of tackling global issues by helping students focus on the challenges from local perspectives.
Accesso Canada
Meet the Accesso Canada team, Kath, Katie, Abigail, Tejas, Cecilia, Jim, and Gloria! Accesso Canada is a student-run collective of over 40 members from various backgrounds and interests. Based in Toronto, Accesso is focused on making the city more accessible through in depth reviews on how accessible malls and stores are across the GTA. Accesso Canada is not only an organization to promote the awareness for accessibility needs but also one to promote the youth voice and perspective regarding various issues.
Viability (Rebranding to Neurodivergent Futures)
Meet the Viability Team, Eliana, Vale, and Annanya! Viability is a youth-led organization dedicated to empowering neurodivergent youth in work, school, and life and supporting businesses in becoming more neuro-inclusive. Having operated in a disability space for 3.5 years, Viability has grown to offer a range of services including employment coaching, leadership programming, recreational programming, educational workshops, process consulting and community events. Unlike most other organizations in this space, they are disability-led and peer-to-peer, with 70% of our core team members identifying as neurodivergent.
Wow! We are blown away by the sheer number of ideas and innovation there are in this group of astounding finalists! Along with the diversity of applicant ideas and applicants residing from coast to coast of Canada. Now that you have met all the finalists, get ready to watch their amazing pitches at our Live Free Pitch Off event! This is a Pitch Off you don’t want to miss!
The finalists will present their impactful and innovative ideas for prizes on August 24, 2021. Come listen to the top teams pitch to a panel of judges for amazing prizes (including up to $5000 per category) and mentorship opportunities! Each category will be in its own breakout room and audience members can choose which room they’d like to attend! Click here to register and get access to the event! Support your community and favourite finalists!
Young people across Canada are tackling a wide array of problems across industries through entrepreneurial acumen. What we do at in the League of Innovators Labs program is accelerate the founders and their respective startups over the 12 weeks of virtual programming and beyond. It takes a village to move the next generation forward, but it is oh so worth it. With that in mind, meet the 30 youth-led startups joining the League of Innovators Community through Labs Batch 6!
Ace is an AI-enabled interview preparation platform on the mission to create confidence in communication. By giving automated & actionable feedback on mock interviews, Ace helps to effectively prepare any job seeker for their interview.
Founders: Tina Haertel, Varun Sharma, & Logan Underwood
Ad Auris is a narration platform for publishers. Using AI we transform written content into rich audio experiences, helping publishers bring greater accessibility to their content and drive engagement with their work.
Founders: Devin Alldrit, Glen Creaser, Javier Sanchez Mejorada & James Quinn
Afino is a social engagement platform that helps remote teams build relationships, boost motivation, and have fun. Our bot, Spike, learns about what types of activities your remote team loves, plans the activity, and hosts it for you!
@afinohq @afino.io
AfterSell
Founders: Armon Shokravi & Dhruv Patel
AfterSell is a software application that helps eCommerce store owners maximize their average order value while improving the customer experience. Our current product does this by implementing personalized post purchase offers. AfterSell is on a mission to help millions of eCommerce merchants build successful and profitable online businesses.
AppBuddy
Founders: Alisha Nanji & Natasha Nanji
AppBuddy is a platform that connects students looking for application help to “Helpers” (current students at their dream schools who are freelancing application services).
Apricotton is an online tween bra brand that makes stylish bras that are adjustable to a girl’s body, growing as she grows. The bras’ removable padding, elastic waistband, hideable straps, and moisture-wicking soft fabric make it last through multiple stages of puberty. We help girls feel comfortable with the bra shopping experience, improving their confidence during their most awkward stage: puberty.
@apricottongirls
Being Baked Cookies
Founder: Tanya Griffiths
Being Baked provides a unique culinary experience that stimulates the five senses and demands one’s full attention to be present and find joy. Each cookie order is sold with a custom note that provides comfort and reminds us of the impermanence of life's processes—making Being Baked a service delivered with a product.
@beingbakedcookies
Bino Books
Founders: Sydney Terry, Danielle Baxter, & Jessica Dassanayake
BinoBooks provides personalized e-storybooks for parents and their children in the pre-k to grade 2 age range. We create stories that act as conversation starters on complex, but important, topics like racism, COVID-19, gender expression, and more.
We are a slow fashion brand that is focused on creating a new sustainable standard for accessories. All our products, which include scrunchies, headbands, bandanas, oversized scrunchies, bucket hats and bags are handmade in Vancouver, Canada from naturally derived, biodegradable, remnant and vintage deadstock fabrics.
FentaGone’s mission is to reduce the amount of fentanyl-related overdoses occurring on the street level, where there currently lies no viable testing methods that protect street users.
I have started a non-profit business where I sell my artwork to raise money to host events where those with disabilities and illnesses can come and express themselves through art and feel special, just like how I feel when I do art!
HypeDocs empowers members to track their achievements in order to gain confidence, beat imposter syndrome and improve mental health. We provide a tool to let you write down your achievements and goals, connect with other members through accountability groups and send you weekly reminders about what makes you awesome.
School specializing in offering high quality lifeguard and first aid training. Successful candidates will receive certifications that are recognized internationally.
@lifeguardingacademy
moov
Founder: Kevin Lee
A gig-economy based personal home waste removal service. We are essentially "Uber" but for your homes unwanted goods.
Safi Sana Superfoods is a mission-driven company that is passionate about superfoods and the environment. We are committed to providing health foodies the most nutrient-dense, certified organic real foods sourced sustainably and donates 5% of sales to the Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary in Tanzania.
Shomigo is a social shopping platform that aggregates upcoming and established brands, keeps users up to date with the latest trends and their friend’s activity, and allows users to interact with the Shomigo Community
Simply You solves the problem of eliminating waste by providing reusable alternatives to help reduce the consumption of single-use products that end up in the landfill annually.
SizeWize is building software that integrates into apparel brands' websites. We turn any website into a sizing tool that helps shoppers to easily find their best fit. We use data & machine learning to customize personalized recommendations for consumers.
@sizewize.ca
Sunshine Connected
Founders: Aminah Beg, Jenna Bulji, Samantha Gardner, & Syydney Grad
The platform will employ an elder friendly interface in order to increase seniors’ knowledge of tech and allow them to independently socialize and explore their interests. Using a volunteer “Buddy System” program between seniors and members of the youth, Sunshine Connected pairs buddies using a quiz to match common interests, facilitating mutually beneficial conversations and strong intergenerational relationships
We are a not for profit on a mission to help people cultivate a healthy relationship with social media. Our vision is a world where people spend less time on social media and more time connecting meaningfully with each other.
Threading Change is an ethical fashion organization envisioning a future where fashion is ethical and circular, rooted in justice with climate, gender, and racial equity at the forefront.
We work at the intersections of consumer education and industry transformation through our tri-impact model of education, innovative storytelling, and policy research.
VoxCell BioInnovation Inc. isfocused on the creation of Canada’s first multiphoton 3D printer/bioprinter. We aim to disrupt the drug development industry with a platform capable of fabricating truly biomimetic tissues with vasculature for in vitro drug testing.
It’s that time of the year again when the League of Innovators (LOI) launches back into the free, no equity, and no-strings-attached Labs virtual accelerator program with a sick community of youth entrepreneurs joining the LOI Community from coast to coast. Throughout the 12-week program, these 35 youth-led startups will buckle up and dive deep into working on their business as they learn from the best of the best serial entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts in Canada. Their focus will be working through the Labs program’s 12 modules to deliver on three key learning goals which are: Founder First, Getting Your House in Order and Building Connections. Our LOI team, partners and supporters are excited to be working with these 65 youth entrepreneurs in Labs’ most competitive and oversubscribed cohort to date. Without further ado, here is the next generation of business leaders and changemakers ready to take the Canadian economy and innovation ecosystem by storm.
Founders: Kristen Murray (23, St. John's NFLD) Patrick Bégin (25, St. John's NFLD)
Altroo helps workplaces manage social giving and corporate social responsibility by running programs (i.e fundraisers for causes) that align with the workplace's values, offer carbon offsets, manage volunteering events, and more!
Big Spoon Lil Spoon is a social venture that provides cooking classes, life-skills workshops and employment opportunities for youth with disabilities and their siblings.
The Black Hair Network is a complete hair platform, connecting artists and customers with the mission to build community, empower hair artists and promote black hair love.
Founders: Sana Mungroo (24, Milton ON) and Kabir Malkani (22, Stony Creek ON)
Curabit’s client dashboard allows business owners to pinpoint problem areas and trending topics in their business directly from customer input through a fully integrated end to end service.
Credit Elephant is a fintech solution in the credit industry. They help Canadians clean up their bad credit so they can regain financial freedom by addressing the elephant in the room, debt.
Founders: Daisy Browns (26, Vancouver BC) and Melody Lim (24, Vancouver BC)
Daisy Browns Ceramics creates functional and sculptural pottery intended for the home. These pieces are handmade, surface designed, and durable, providing unique and expressive homewares that are made locally with Canadian clay.
Founders: Jessica Bosman (24, Vancouver BC) and Bryn Davis (25, Toronto ON)
DOUBL is a start-up retailer that aims to provide women with a customizable bra by taking exact body measurements through existing 3D image technology.
Founders: Alyssia Jovellanos (23, Hamilton ON) and Martin Ciesielski-Listwan (23, Hamilton ON)
Elentless is an AI-based search and analytics platform that helps meritorious litigation cases cross the finish line and access non-recourse funding. Elentless drastically reduces the time it takes to do this for meritorious civil rights and personal injury cases, leveraging a database of millions of public court records. They also help lawyers uncover biases and actionable insights.
Founders: Pat Chaisang (25, Vancouver BC) and Jaskaran Bedi (27, Vancouver BC)
EMPOWER provides career development opportunities for international students to help them jumpstart their careers in Canada. They offer career development events & workshops, mentorship programs, and one-on-one job search support.
Founders: Rick Cha (32, Vancouver BC) and Hao Kun Du (Chris) (25, Vancouver BC)
Ensightful is a team management platform tailor-made for higher education that helps instructors facilitate better team projects with actionable data to improve student learning for collaboration and teamwork skills
Go Oil is changing the oil change process. They come to you through their smart vehicle maintenance subscription model, making car maintenance a breeze. Starting from $0.03 per km.
Founders: Manny Mand (23, Brampton ON), Gabriel Betlen (23, Pickering ON), Alexander (Sacha) Tilp (31, Toronto ON), Kieran Zakaria (27, Whitby ON), and Dominik Penner (22, Brandon MB)
Hackers for Change is a registered not-for-profit in the Canadian cybersecurity space educating and empowering charities to protect their computer and information systems allowing them to focus on maximizing their social impact. They also are providing the future generation of Canada's cybersecurity workforce with valuable hands-on experience.
HCKY 365 is an apparel company designed to represent the modern hockey fan. Their aim is to empower people to express themselves and their love of hockey off the ice through apparel.
Founders: Jessica Giuntoli (20, London ON), Bradley Staite (26, Toronto ON), and Malcolm Cardoza (26, Whitby ON)
Howlurr’s mission is to convert a dog's walk into measurable health metrics. Howlurr is making dog walking an enriching experience for owners and their beloved pets.
Industree is a construction job network that smartly matches workers to open project positions, automates the recruitment process, and streamlines communications between workers and the companies in one platform.
Founders: Jackson Cooper (19, Calgary AB), Huda Abbas (18, Calgary AB), Maggie Thai (19, Calgary AB), and Alec Lamb (18, Calgary AB)
JAMH's vision is to curate accessible AI-powered tools to promote success in an increasingly data-driven world. Their team is using natural language processing as well as novel content analysis techniques to address fake news and misinformation on the internet. JAMH is also validating the integration of their technology in the energy industry in regards to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting.
Founders: Juan S.B Rincon (23, Granby, QC), Etienne Penelle (23, Granby, QC), and Samuel Choquette (23, Granby, QC)
KOOL APPAREL is a clothing and accessories brand whose mission is to promote mental health awareness while donating 10% of profits to mental health organizations.
LoopEducation is an academic consulting startup that leverages the lived experience of post-secondary students to provide academic consulting services at affordable rates and increase equitable access to quality higher education.
Founders: Fatimah Areola (20, Mississauga ON), Hussein Hassanali (19, Toronto ON), and Mylene Tu (20, Windsor ON)
Lumaki Labs Inc. is an educational technology start-up that focuses on shifting the nature of student opportunities by working with companies and educational institutions to explore and build on the potential of virtual internships. We're on a mission to pave paths that mobilize the next generation of workers.
Nutsie has innovated The World's Greatest Low-Carb Snacks. We create incredibly tasting keto-friendly snacks with 100% real ingredients like almonds & coconut, no sugar, no gluten, no artificial sweeteners/flavours, and only 3g of net carbs!
Founders: Christian Camarata (22, Mississauga ON), Matthew Cianci )(22, Mississauga ON), and Pavel Uvarov (33, Toronto ON)
OpenRace is the first-ever, real-time virtual running app. Our app uses GPS tracking software to provide live updates for key metrics such as: position, pace, distance, time and splits, ultimately improving a runners experience, results, or both. This also allows event organizers to offer an interactive race, add another revenue stream and reach a larger audience.
Founders: Mikaela Morelli (24, Winnipeg MB), Pascal McCarthy (24, Fredericton NB), and Kevin McCarthy (28, Fredericton NB)
Parados Cerebral Solutions is taking an objective approach to the concussion epidemic in sports in cooperation with the Concussion Legacy Foundation of Canada. By combining biomechanics with data analytics, the Parados team is currently developing data collection hardware devices to complement our advanced analytics platform.
At Sacred Foods, they believe in honouring food in its most natural form. Their lotus seeds are hand picked, popped in small batches and roasted to perfection using simple seasonings and olive oil. This divine superfood is packed with protein, fibre and minerals so you can indulge in snacking while still feeling nourished.
Welcome to SHINE - a group fitness program based that you can join digitally AND physically. Join the SHINE team in our 5 day/week class-based workout program. It's hard. It's fun. And it's effective - but no transformation pics or ab challenges here! The only goal is for you to leave each class feeling Stronger & more Confident than when you started.
Founders: Youssef Gendy (17, Oakville, ON) and Michael Hana (18, Oakville, ON)
TagTeach is a platform for high school teachers allowing them to do everything their job requires in one place through Google Classroom; creating and marking rubrics, planning lessons, and communicating feedback.
Founders: Ghalia Aamer (18, Edmonton AB), Deem Aamer (16, Edmonton AB) and Deeyan Rizwan (20, Edmonton AB)
8 out of 10 people struggle with public speaking, but existing resources to combat the fear are limited and expensive. TalkMaze solves this with its interactive digital platform that connects people across the globe with the training they need to build practical communication skills.
Founders: Jack Campbell (22, Victoria BC) and Nick Richardson (21, Vancouver BC)
True North Influence works with Government and industry leaders in reaching and inspiring youth to take action on important issues for now, and for their future. We strive to be brokers of honest, authentic communication via channels where youth engage both online and offline.
At TumblerShare e work in partnership with Renaissance Coffee at SFU Burnaby to facilitate our tumbler borrowing program. Our registered members pay a deposit for a membership card that allows them to borrow tumblers. When ordering a drink at Renaissance Coffee, members exchange their membership cards for a tumbler. When our members are finished with their drink, they simply drop off the empty tumbler and receive their card back for next time. Renaissance sanitizes and stores the tumblers for the next use.
United Women is a platform committed to amplifying the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) youth and women. Our content aims to situate marginalized voices within wider conversations of the sustainable developmental goals (SDGs), global policy, human rights, and more. United Women exists to start conversations and implement real change through our work.
Founders: Eliana Bravos (20, Markham ON) Lina Lam (19, Markham ON) and Peter Lai (20, Markham ON)
Viability Employment Services is a collective of neurodivergent and neurotypical youth working in partnership to empower neurodivergent youth in work, school, and life.
Founders: Livia Han (22, Oakville ON) Eve and Staszczyszyn (22, Granby QC)
WellnessWorld a B2B SaaS platform for post-secondary students to manage their wellness and engage in their campus community. WellnessWorld connects students to events, resources, and services, based on their unique needs, wants, and identity.
We’re excited to introduce you to Batch 4 of the LOI Labs virtual accelerator program. We are excited to be working with them over the next 12 weeks to support them in their growth as entrepreneurs and amplify their startups. As usual, we have an incredible round-up of diverse founders across the country working on some interesting problems. Read on to learn more about pretty kick-ass young people building tomorrow’s businesses today.
Founders: Eric Chaba (21, Edmonton AB) and Jonathan Mui (21, Edmonton AB)
The ultimate goal of Agriolabs was to do something about the vast amount of food waste that happens on this planet. We all waste food, and some food waste is almost unavoidable, but in North America the average household will waste 40% of the food they bring home and that seriously sucks. So how are we going to change that? Well, we can't change the world overnight, but we with the systems we build, we can provide our customers with fresh food, grown as locally as it gets: in your own home. Food grown at home means no transportation & grocery store waste. No unknown chemicals. And no more melting veggies in the fridge.
Did you know 26% of employees dread going to work? 85% are unhappy with their jobs. Unaddressed employee concerns lead to low retention, poor productivity and even lawsuits. Ariglad solves this by connecting HR to employees when they're most vulnerable. Employees can submit anonymous HR cases through Slack or Teams, and chat in real-time with HR to verify and resolve problems. HR can solve every case by tagging internal teams to cases (eg. legal) to get help fast or request to be connected to an external consultant (eg. in D&I or conflict resolution)
Founders: Amir Noorafkan (26, Toronto ON) and Arsalan Noorafkan (25, Toronto ON)
At Atlys Networks Inc. we are building a platform that helps people manage their personal data and unlock its hidden value. Our mobile application helps users collect their health, location, and digital activity data and store them in a private database on their device. The app is completely private and offline. Users can privately share data with people and organizations they trust.
My name is Maya and I'm the founder of Basecamp Cards. Basecamp Card Co. is a young company based out of Kelowna BC Canada that was started as a high-school project. I had been doing a week-long backpacking trip in the Canadian Rockies and whenever we'd get to Basecamp, we would break out the deck of cards. I realized how many awesome stories were out there if the right questions were asked. Playing a game of cards is a universally fun way to kick back with friends and I wanted to add even more versatility to the classic experience.
@basecampcardco
Bonfire
Founder: Natan Simchovich (25, Toronto ON)
Bonfire digitizes the food industry through interactive virtual experiences. We’re a marketplace connecting food professionals to foodies. Restaurants & chefs can easily host cooking classes on our digital platform to make immediate revenue with no upfront costs or overhead. Foodies can challenge friends and family through interactive activities built on top of the virtual class. US projections over the next 3 months predict $225B in lost sales, 6M job losses and up to 70% of restaurants permanently closing due to COVID-19. Bonfire will make immediate impact to help those in the food industry affected by COVID-19
Founders: Justin Bastarache (20, Sherbrooke, QC) and Nicolas Trottier (21, Sherbrooke, Quebec)
Capten Haps produces innovative ocean themed dad hats through consultation with various non-profit organizations that are made out of eco-friendly materials. As a social enterprise, 10% of their profits go towards ocean cleaning initiatives
Founders: Clayton Rannard (20, Vancouver BC) and Kyle Dulay (22, Richmond BC)
A platform for businesses exchange products & services for content and posts from creators. Collabstr alllows business owners to drive traffic and get in front of thousands of locals through micro-influencers.
@collabstr
Community Art
Founder: Gary Parker (22, Surrey BC)Dulay (22, Richmond BC)
Community Art is an art leasing company that helps businesses rent the work of local emerging artists. Artists get both revenue and exposure and businesses get fresh art for their spaces in a hassle-free way.
Dina Calligraphy offers calligraphy workshops to the public in the Metro Vancouver region, as well as corporate teambuilding workshops to companies. Dina Calligraphy is also building an online business that helps calligraphers build profitable calligraphy businesses through coaching and courses.
Founders: Jocelyn (Danie) Proby (31, Burnaby BC) and Ari Nitikman (23, Burnaby BC)
Elevate Ultimate provides high-quality Ultimate Frisbee programs for kids aged 6-19. Their aim is to develop skills and values that transcend the field, such as sportspersonship, personal accountability, and open-mindedness while also training young people on technical ultinate frisbee expertise!
Financiio is a financial literacy initiative targeting youth in high school and university, teaching them the important links between financial literacy, mental health, and employability.
@financiio
JN Cards
Founder: Jason Neitsch (21, Edmonton AB)
At JN Cards, we buy and sell Pokémon cards and codes.
Founders: Karen Lee (28, Burnaby BC) and Tanya Lee (30, Burnaby BC)
Feeling daunted in the workplace is a feeling that we can all relate to, and entrepreneurs Tanya and Karen were no different. Before starting LEZÉ the Label, the pair leveraged their wardrobe to combat self-doubt - but found that most dress pants they owned were neither versatile or comfortable. With a fond affinity for loungewear, the two became inspired to create a functional and fashionable pair of pants beyond one purpose. The goal is to create clothing that embody all types of activities and environments experienced by today's modern working women.
Founders: Karen Lee (28, Burnaby BC) and Tanya Lee (30, Burnaby BC)
LISN is a cross-platform mobile application that lets users and creators clip podcasts into short segments to make them more discoverable, consumable, and monetizable.
LISN is a cross-platform mobile application that lets users and creators clip podcasts into short segments to make them more discoverable, consumable, and monetizable.
Mala the Brand is a hand-poured soy candle company focused on creating uniquely scented candles that are eco-friendly and sustainable, without sacrificing quality or aesthetics! As a social enterprise they are committed to being as earth-friendly as possible, which is why with every purchase, their partner plants a tree in North America.
@malathebrand
Meegoz
Founders: Carter White (21, Victoria BC) and Jacob Macauley (21, Victoria BC)
Meegoz is a location-based social media platform based that empowers young people to discover their passions and meet their people though attending hyper-local events of all kinds.
MiTravel is a passion project looking to become the sole all-in-one travel planning and management software for everyone. Users of the mobile/web-application will be able to keep all of their travel information in one simplified, personalized platform that is shareable and collaborative for them and their friends to work together when planning a trip.
Founders: Seng Chiat Haw (22, Montreal QC), Michael Di Genova (25, Montreal QC) and Matthew Basmadjian (22, Montreal QC)
Neverguess is the 1st AI powered question management system that helps professors create, select, format, and grade their student's university exams in an effecient and data-driven way.
Okeh is an online appointment software system that is composed of a management platform, widget, and marketplace. Okeh’s goal is to empower small business owners to grow their business through effectively managing their own operations.
A unified collective that's defining beauty on their own terms. Peau’s focus is on creating connections between a community of real diverse beauty consumers where users can connect with others based on their compatibility of their features. Diversity in the beauty industry powered by Peau!
Prommoto allows businesses to advertise through vehicle wraps on the car’s of various drivers working for different ride sharing platform vehicles. Think advertising on a bus, but instead it’s on an Uber or Lyft!
Founders: Carrie Lai (24, Vancouver BC) and Derek Ho (29, Vancouver BC)
Reusable Bubble Tea Cups is aimed to create a solution for plastic waste. These reusable cups are sold direct-to-consumers, wholesale to retailers, and to students for fundraising purposes
Riff puts a music label online. They’re building a robo-adviser that provides custom growth plans to musicians, connects them with relevant industry contacts, and gives access to a platform to organize and grow their career.
Founders: Karan Ballal (23, Toronto ON) and Julian DiVito (23, Vaughan ON)
Slightly uses exposure therapy and other techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy delivered through the medium of virtual reality to help anyone dealing with social anxiety overcome their fears.
We are excited to present a cohort of 30 ventures commencing Labs Batch 3 at the League of Innovators. Labs is a 12-week virtual accelerator program designed to empower young Canadian entrepreneurs to take their businesses to the next level as they learn from the best serial entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts in Canada.
At Airo.Life, we want World Change. A healthy, stable environment for all earths current species. This is no small task, banking, education, media and our current political structure all have to evolve. We believe in our 4 pillars or 4 Ps of sustainable business. People, Planet, Passion, Profit. We've amassed industry specialists, consultants, business owners for the deployment of Airo.Life. Airo.Life first phase is to disrupt the smartphone, carrier and ad world. Then phase 2 the energy sector. Airo.Life - Be Free. Power to the People.
Aperture
Founder: Nima Mansouri (21, Toronto ON)
Aperture is a platform dedicated to connecting creatives with clients.
Founders: Shay Sharma (24, Edmonton AB), Shlok Srivastava (23, Edmonton AB) and Tony Abitegeka (25, Edmonton AB)
Bluejarvis Technologies aims to create a series of products to allow industry to take advantage of their informal communication and data. By mapping out natural language - based decision making, we aim to assist people working within their teams or on their assets through visual, text, and audio pathways on technology-agnostic platforms.
Founders: Sean Monteiro (22, Calgary AB) and Francesco Virga (22, Kingston ON)
Located at the center of your social graph, Bounce is a platform that lets you make and collect payments with friends while enabling you to follow your passions and host events. Simple and seamless, Bounce is the perfect choice for when you don’t want to deal with cash.
@bouncelife
Bumblechain
Founder: Kelcie Miller-Anderson (25, Calgary AB)
Blockchain supported supply chain management tool for fraud prevention in the honey industry.
Mission Roots Café is a student-run, not-for-profit sustainable coffee shop characterized by its innovative "choose-your-charity" system. Since launching in November 2017, we have supported ten local and global charities, provided hundreds of hours of experience to our many volunteers, won provincial and national awards, and engaged our school and community around the values of conscious consumption. We believe Mission Roots is a highly impactful and highly replicable business model, which is why we want to take it even further through the franchise "Cafés for Change".
Founders: Maria Wella (26, Toronto ON) and Zachary Huisman (25, Calgary AB)
Affordable and instant (think Airbnb or Uber) global photography booking platform for people who are always on the go and don't want to pay $450+ per photoshoot. Whether it is a special occasion (wedding, engagement, baby shower) or travelling with your partner/ best friend, a soccer game, or a night out, we have you covered. No need to live those special moments through your phone camera. Focus on creating the memories and we will focus on capturing them for you.
Carwhoop
Founder: Harman Walia (24, Vancouver BC)
We are a car subscription marketplace which is unlocking value of idle cars at dealerships by bringing them into new markets like drive-sharing and subscriptions.
Founders: Michelle Kwok (21, Vancouver BC) and Ravina Anand (23, Vancouver BC)
Elevating young females with assets and resources they need to discover their unique trajectory to success. We will be launching a membership portal with female founders and young female apprentices to allow for in depth work experience and mentorship.
@weareflik
Flippin
Founder: Brent Downey (24, Hamilton ON)
Flippin is a peer to peer digital network specialized for trades and contractors within Canada. The platform allows for greater network building, facilitation of funds and project management resources for those operating in the trades space.
At Flöka, we believe meaningful interventions start with rich data-sets that grow by asking intuitive questions. We know that the right questions are different for each user. We're building an ai-powered integrative health technology for women with the mission of scaling preventative care.
@flokalife
Hairstrong
Founder: Nicole Baranowski (22, London ON)
Hairstrong believes that women shouldn't be limited in athletics, so we've designed a product that allows women to compete without being distracted by their hair. Our Strongband lock hair in place so you can workout without losing focus.
Hempact
Founders: Anka Chan (20 Edmonton AB) and Nicole Sanchez (22, Fort Saskatchewan AB)
Hempact aims to provide eco-friendly products to reduce agricultural waste, promote sustainability, and educate others about women’s hygiene.
HeroHub is an online platform that creates a greater social impact by connecting local charities & non-profits to individuals or businesses who are seeking volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, charity events, and to donate new or gently-used items!
@officialherohub
LeapFrog
Founder: Joey Khalil (22, Halifax NS)
LeapFrog is a Fintech application that offers consumers and businesses in the Nightlife & Restaurant industry such as a club venue or a bar goer, solutions to problems that occur on a daily basis through the form of a mobile app.
MakerBars believes that energy bars should be affordable & tasty. All of our kits contain simple ingredients, sourced from Canadian partners. The kits are packed to the brim with plant-based protein and fibre. We believe that when you eat real food, you feel better!
Founders: Yamila Franco (24, Victoria BC) and Paige Whitehead (27, Victoria BC)
Nyoka Design Corp. focuses on the creation of sustainable products that heal our ecosystem. Our first creation, the Nyoka Light Wand, is a biodegradable, non-toxic glow stick powered by bioluminescence! In the spirit of Design for Rebirth (our take on the circular economy model). The Light Wand is designed to heal the ecosystem and sequester carbon as it degrades—leading us towards a sustainable and waste-free future. The Nyoka Light Wand contains biochar, a carbon sequestering substance used for soil remediation and acts as a prebiotic for beneficial soil organisms. Designed for Rebirth, every component in the Light Wand has been chosen for the benefit of the environment.
@lightbynyoka
Operation Take Two
Founders: Keneisha Charles (17, Toronto ON), Theresa Schwab (18, Victoria BC) and Aaliyah Charles (19 Toronto ON)
Operation Take Two is a youth-led social enterprise revolutionizing the global issue of waste by empowering communities to turn their trash into treasure. We do this by packing all the machinery and tools needed to recycle plastic waste into a repurposed shipping container—creating a self-sustaining community hub for youth-led creativity, education, and empowerment. With our three objectives of Reduce, Educate, and Collaborate, OTT provides a comprehensive local solution to a global issue.
Pepita Fresh
Founders: Katie Haddad (23, Burnaby BC) and Nancy Mach
Pepita Fresh is a vegan seed based milk alternative. We want to focus on creating seed based products.
Founders: Kamalpreet Minhas (20, London ON) and Shangbing Jiang (20, London ON)
Praxis is a direct-to-consumer company that aims to aid in consumers adoption of healthy lifestyle while increasing oral hygiene. Praxis is introducing the first morning and night toothpaste combination that aims to enhance productivity through improving user's quality of sleep and increasing wakeful hours. A simple, natural product offering that is enhanced by vitamin-mineral supplements. Praxis currently offers two toothpaste products: Rise and Rest.
Founders: Sangev Thavamani (20, Vancouver BC) and Amir Keshmiri (20, Vancouver BC)
ProToGo offers tailor-made enterprise software solutions for temp agencies within the construction industry who need help automating and optimizing time-consuming and tedious tasks.
QuiCloset
Founder: Athiya Rastogi (22, Scarborough ON)
Fashion search engine that helps shoppers find an item in the stores closest to them & allows instant pickups.
Reach Social Growth is automation that takes over the grunt work that needs to be done to keep online audiences engaged within a brands community. This allows social media marketers to focus more on brand, vision, and the quality of the content they're producing.
Founders: Jordan Davis (22, Winnipeg MB), Noah Palansky (23, Winnipeg MB) and Avi Stoller (25, Winnipeg MB)
Taiv replaces commercials in live TV so that businesses can show their own content instead.
@taivtv
TrendMi
Founder: Milton Calderon Donefer (22, Toronto ON)
TrendMi is a social e-commerce platform where users browse, shop and share all their favourite brands and styles while getting exclusive deals on items they’ve liked. Users receive a feed based on their unique taste and enjoy friction-less shopping while retailers receive valuable data on how consumer feedback of their products.
Youth Gravity is a completely youth-led, youth-initiated organization Youth Gravity aimed towards building a platform for young leaders to pursue projects they are passionate about in their own communities.
