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.
