Stories of Innovation

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

upace™

Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers

Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers In 2014, Rachel Koretsky founded Upace, which has since skyrocketed to become the top mobile app engagement and reservation platform, supporting over one million members of community recreation centers across the US and Canada. Her journey started at American University, driven by a...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation

DVIRC

FORGING THE NEXT CHAPTER OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

In 1988, DVIRC was founded to bolster Southeastern Pennsylvania’s industrial base, a home to more than 6,500 manufacturers. The region’s future as a critical manufacturing hub hinged on its ability to compete in an increasingly global economy. DVIRC was established to accelerate that competitiveness, pioneering the right-sizing of best practices...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Popular Are Pickup Trucks in American Car Sharing?

From Workhorses to Weekend Getaways: The Rise of Pickups in Car Sharing

From Workhorses to Weekend Getaways: The Rise of Pickups in Car Sharing Pickup trucks aren’t just vehicles in America—they’re a lifestyle. For decades, they’ve been hauling gear, towing trailers, and getting folks out into the wild or across town with a mattress strapped in the back. But lately, pickups have...

INNOVATE® South Florida

BDB - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

PALM BEACH COUNTY’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION: A NEW ERA OF GROWTH AND INNOVATION

Since 2020, Palm Beach County has undergone a significant economic shift, diversifying beyond its traditional strongholds in agriculture, construction, and tourism. While these sectors remain essential, a recent study highlights the emergence of three key industries: Finance, Life Sciences/Healthcare, and Corporate Headquarters. This shift has been driven by intentional efforts...

INNOVATE® Nashville

MINDFUL

MINDFUL-Add kindness to your tech stack

Add kindness to your tech stack.

Revitalizing a 25-year-old software company is no small task, but can be a pathway towards innovation and compelling value creation for employees, customers, and investors. That’s the story of Mindful, a contact center software company that relocated to Nashville in 2018, which was acquired by Medallia in 2022 after an...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

PETROVA EMPIRE (PTY) LTD

PETROVA EMPIRE (PTY) LTD-WAS FOUNDED IN JANUARY 2020. PETROVA EMPIRE IS A SUPPLIES COMPANY

WAS FOUNDED IN JANUARY 2020. PETROVA EMPIRE IS A SUPPLIES COMPANY

Among the supplies is the supply of computer hardware, software & accessories i.e., CPU’s, computers, printers, mouse pads, computer parts, fax machines, floppy disks, kettles, VDU, etc. We believe in supplying that which we specialise in. However, Petrova Empire also supplies mobile and web software solutions. We figured, since we...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

MASC

Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence: The Maritime Association of South Carolina’s Journey into the Future.

The Maritime Association of South Carolina (MASC) is proud to celebrate a century of service to the maritime community in 2026. For almost 100 years, MASC has been at the heart of South Carolina’s dynamic maritime industry, forging strong connections, advancing critical issues & paving the way for a prosperous...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

LEVEL EX

Playing Is Training: Chicago’s Gaming And Healthcare Legacies Meet At Level Ex

Today, Level Ex has 750,000 medical professionals playing its games to advance their skills and earn Continuing Medical Education (CME). The story of how it changed the way medicine is learned and practiced is as much an ode to Chicago as it is a start-up success story....

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

AfroCharts

AMPLIFYING THE PULSE OF AFRICAN MUSIC WORLDWIDE

AMPLIFYING THE PULSE OFAFRICAN MUSIC WORLDWIDE AfroCharts, founded by Leonard Novati in 2020, is a pioneering digital music platform dedicated to showcasing the rich tapestry of African music to the global audiences. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, AfroCharts has rapidly grown to become a vibrant hub for artists, fans, and event...

INNOVATION Quebec

LE CENTRE D’OPTIQUE, PHOTONIQUE ET LASERS (COPL)

LE COPL EST UN ENVIRONNEMENT INTÉGRÉ DE RECHERCHE COLLABORATIVE ET DE FORMATION INCLUSIVE RASSEMBLANT DES EXPERTISES MULTIDISCIPLINAIRES

Son leadership au niveau national contribue grandement à l’essor scientifique et économique des technologies de l’optique et de la photonique au Québec. Depuis 1989, le COPL facilite les collaborations entre des équipes de recherche multidisciplinaires et favorise la mise en commun d’infrastructures et d’expertises de recherche. Sa contribution a permis...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Soft2Bet Built a Culture of Innovation from the Inside Out

Innovation as a Culture, Not a Department

In the hyper-paced iGaming industry, where change is constant and customer attention fleeting, some companies simply try to keep up. But others reimagine the race altogether. Soft2Bet belongs firmly in the latter camp. Rather than chasing trends, the company has consistently invested in its internal innovation engine — a culture-first,...

INNOVATE® Detroit

TREMEC

A Tier 1 Supplier Continuously Innovating and Elevating Performance

TREMEC is a leading manufacturer of high-performance, highly engineered propulsion and driveline systems, subsystems, and componentry supporting conventional, hybrid, and fully electrified vehicles. TREMEC is agile and vertically integrated focusing on niche and moderate-volume applications across abroad spectrum of sectors including passenger car, commercial truck, vocational truck, off-highway heavy-duty, off-road...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

UNICEF

POSSIBILITY-DRIVEN, PROBLEM-LED, ACCELERATING PROGRESS FOR THIS AND COMING GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Headquartered in Stockholm and backed by the Government of Sweden, the UNICEF Office of Innovation (OOI) brings together communities, public and private sector partners and collaborators across 190 countries to turn frontier technology and innovative approaches into scalable solutions for global social impact. THE PROBLEM WORTH SOLVING Nearly 5 million...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

STELLAR GAME ASSETS

STEP UP YOUR GAME

If you love video games, you may have thought about making one. So, what’s stopping you? Ten years ago, the answer likely would have been the industry itself. Video games were typically produced only by studios with enough capital to house the entire game creation pipeline. And that pipeline was...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

CareerBeacon

A Human Approach to HR Technology

While the recruitment industry changes faster than ever, CareerBeacon stands apart through a fundamental principle often overlooked in tech innovation: empathy. When Yves Boudreau and co-founder Benoit Bourque acquired CareerBeacon in 2021, they saw more than just a job board – they saw the opportunity to transform how talent connects...

INNOVATE® Miami

FinConecta

FinConecta - Providing the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking

Providing the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking

FinConecta provides the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking. Through one single integration, FinConecta can easily connect Financial Institutions’ core banking systems with third-party FinTech providers worldwide. The platform that tests and integrates tech solutions 10x faster, accelerating open banking. The digital era brings new disruptive technologies, innovative business...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

CUBISMI

A Vanguard of Healthcare’s Transformation

“Grassroots physician leadership will be vital for patient-centered transformative innovation.” – Dr. Moira Schieke Cubismi is redefining the frontiers of healthcare through the synergy of AI, cloud, and physician-led human-centered design. Guided by the visionary leadership of Dr. Moira Schieke, Cubismi is leading transformative innovation to usher in a new...

Global Innovation Spotlight

EdTech innovations save teachers nearly 6 hours every week

Integrating modern edtech innovations into classroom platforms gives educators nearly six hours back each week by automating manual assignment grading and lesson plan formatting. When you manage growing educational businesses, helping teachers reclaim lost administrative hours is the single fastest way to boost platform adoption. Leading online educational companies eliminate...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

ASQ

PIONEERING QUALITY FOR A THRIVING FUTURE

For nearly eight decades, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) has been a global leader in quality management. From its origins in the post-World War II era to its role today, ASQ has driven innovation, guided industries through transformation, and fostered continuous improvement. Headquartered in Milwaukee, ASQ is instrumental in...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Voyager Capital

INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES WHERE INNOVATION MEETS GROWTH.

INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES WHEREINNOVATION MEETS GROWTH. Voyager Capital thrives on working with early-stage entrepreneurs who drive innovation and take risks to create new markets. Founded in 1997 in Seattle, WA, Voyager is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in B2B companies in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. When you...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

2U

2U’S- BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE

A BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE

FOUNDED IN 2008 IN MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC, 2U, INC. SET OUT TO CREATE THE WORLD’S BEST ONLINE EDUCATION AND THEY’VE BEEN DEFYING THE ODDS EVER SINCE. ALSO AROUND THE EXACT SAME TIME AND COINCIDING WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE MOOC REVOLUTION, GETSMARTER WAS ALSO FOUNDED. Early on in the industry,...

Global Innovation Spotlight

The Free Browser Tool Stack

How one founder runs a startup without paid subscriptions

Running a startup without paid subscriptions forces every choice to be practical. The best setup is a small group of browser-based services that handle writing, planning, files, design, communication, and basic finance. I keep the workflow lean because every recurring fee reduces runway, and the ability to edit PDF documents...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Ellingson Group

THE STARTUP WHISPERER: A GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

Employee Benefits | Sea-Mountain Insurance THE STARTUP WHISPERER: A GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. The Company Ellingson Group has redefined what it means to be an employee benefits brokerage by specializing in the unique needs of startups, tech companies, and venture capital firms. These industries are the engines of economic...

INNOVATE® South Florida

 I.T. SOLUTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA

AWARD-WINNING MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDER WITH A LOT OF HEART

AWARD-WINNING MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDER WITH A LOT OF HEART There’s no need to travel to a major metropolitan city to visit one of the best Managed Service Providers in the country. Instead, point the GPS towards a quaint seaside town in Palm Beach County. Headquartered just steps from the...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

upace™

Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers

Revolutionizing How Members Engage with Recreation Centers In 2014, Rachel Koretsky founded Upace, which has since skyrocketed to become the top mobile app engagement and reservation platform, supporting over one million members of community recreation centers across the US and Canada. Her journey started at American University, driven by a...

INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation

DVIRC

FORGING THE NEXT CHAPTER OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

In 1988, DVIRC was founded to bolster Southeastern Pennsylvania’s industrial base, a home to more than 6,500 manufacturers. The region’s future as a critical manufacturing hub hinged on its ability to compete in an increasingly global economy. DVIRC was established to accelerate that competitiveness, pioneering the right-sizing of best practices...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Popular Are Pickup Trucks in American Car Sharing?

From Workhorses to Weekend Getaways: The Rise of Pickups in Car Sharing

From Workhorses to Weekend Getaways: The Rise of Pickups in Car Sharing Pickup trucks aren’t just vehicles in America—they’re a lifestyle. For decades, they’ve been hauling gear, towing trailers, and getting folks out into the wild or across town with a mattress strapped in the back. But lately, pickups have...

INNOVATE® South Florida

BDB - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

PALM BEACH COUNTY’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION: A NEW ERA OF GROWTH AND INNOVATION

Since 2020, Palm Beach County has undergone a significant economic shift, diversifying beyond its traditional strongholds in agriculture, construction, and tourism. While these sectors remain essential, a recent study highlights the emergence of three key industries: Finance, Life Sciences/Healthcare, and Corporate Headquarters. This shift has been driven by intentional efforts...

INNOVATE® Nashville

MINDFUL

MINDFUL-Add kindness to your tech stack

Add kindness to your tech stack.

Revitalizing a 25-year-old software company is no small task, but can be a pathway towards innovation and compelling value creation for employees, customers, and investors. That’s the story of Mindful, a contact center software company that relocated to Nashville in 2018, which was acquired by Medallia in 2022 after an...

INNOVATE™ Botswana Vol.1

PETROVA EMPIRE (PTY) LTD

PETROVA EMPIRE (PTY) LTD-WAS FOUNDED IN JANUARY 2020. PETROVA EMPIRE IS A SUPPLIES COMPANY

WAS FOUNDED IN JANUARY 2020. PETROVA EMPIRE IS A SUPPLIES COMPANY

Among the supplies is the supply of computer hardware, software & accessories i.e., CPU’s, computers, printers, mouse pads, computer parts, fax machines, floppy disks, kettles, VDU, etc. We believe in supplying that which we specialise in. However, Petrova Empire also supplies mobile and web software solutions. We figured, since we...

INNOVATE® South Carolina

MASC

Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence: The Maritime Association of South Carolina’s Journey into the Future.

The Maritime Association of South Carolina (MASC) is proud to celebrate a century of service to the maritime community in 2026. For almost 100 years, MASC has been at the heart of South Carolina’s dynamic maritime industry, forging strong connections, advancing critical issues & paving the way for a prosperous...

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

LEVEL EX

Playing Is Training: Chicago’s Gaming And Healthcare Legacies Meet At Level Ex

Today, Level Ex has 750,000 medical professionals playing its games to advance their skills and earn Continuing Medical Education (CME). The story of how it changed the way medicine is learned and practiced is as much an ode to Chicago as it is a start-up success story....

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

AfroCharts

AMPLIFYING THE PULSE OF AFRICAN MUSIC WORLDWIDE

AMPLIFYING THE PULSE OFAFRICAN MUSIC WORLDWIDE AfroCharts, founded by Leonard Novati in 2020, is a pioneering digital music platform dedicated to showcasing the rich tapestry of African music to the global audiences. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, AfroCharts has rapidly grown to become a vibrant hub for artists, fans, and event...

INNOVATION Quebec

LE CENTRE D’OPTIQUE, PHOTONIQUE ET LASERS (COPL)

LE COPL EST UN ENVIRONNEMENT INTÉGRÉ DE RECHERCHE COLLABORATIVE ET DE FORMATION INCLUSIVE RASSEMBLANT DES EXPERTISES MULTIDISCIPLINAIRES

Son leadership au niveau national contribue grandement à l’essor scientifique et économique des technologies de l’optique et de la photonique au Québec. Depuis 1989, le COPL facilite les collaborations entre des équipes de recherche multidisciplinaires et favorise la mise en commun d’infrastructures et d’expertises de recherche. Sa contribution a permis...

Global Innovation Spotlight

How Soft2Bet Built a Culture of Innovation from the Inside Out

Innovation as a Culture, Not a Department

In the hyper-paced iGaming industry, where change is constant and customer attention fleeting, some companies simply try to keep up. But others reimagine the race altogether. Soft2Bet belongs firmly in the latter camp. Rather than chasing trends, the company has consistently invested in its internal innovation engine — a culture-first,...

INNOVATE® Detroit

TREMEC

A Tier 1 Supplier Continuously Innovating and Elevating Performance

TREMEC is a leading manufacturer of high-performance, highly engineered propulsion and driveline systems, subsystems, and componentry supporting conventional, hybrid, and fully electrified vehicles. TREMEC is agile and vertically integrated focusing on niche and moderate-volume applications across abroad spectrum of sectors including passenger car, commercial truck, vocational truck, off-highway heavy-duty, off-road...

INNOVATE™ Stockholm

UNICEF

POSSIBILITY-DRIVEN, PROBLEM-LED, ACCELERATING PROGRESS FOR THIS AND COMING GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Headquartered in Stockholm and backed by the Government of Sweden, the UNICEF Office of Innovation (OOI) brings together communities, public and private sector partners and collaborators across 190 countries to turn frontier technology and innovative approaches into scalable solutions for global social impact. THE PROBLEM WORTH SOLVING Nearly 5 million...

INNOVATE™ Alberta

STELLAR GAME ASSETS

STEP UP YOUR GAME

If you love video games, you may have thought about making one. So, what’s stopping you? Ten years ago, the answer likely would have been the industry itself. Video games were typically produced only by studios with enough capital to house the entire game creation pipeline. And that pipeline was...

INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada

CareerBeacon

A Human Approach to HR Technology

While the recruitment industry changes faster than ever, CareerBeacon stands apart through a fundamental principle often overlooked in tech innovation: empathy. When Yves Boudreau and co-founder Benoit Bourque acquired CareerBeacon in 2021, they saw more than just a job board – they saw the opportunity to transform how talent connects...

INNOVATE® Miami

FinConecta

FinConecta - Providing the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking

Providing the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking

FinConecta provides the technology infrastructure necessary to implement open banking. Through one single integration, FinConecta can easily connect Financial Institutions’ core banking systems with third-party FinTech providers worldwide. The platform that tests and integrates tech solutions 10x faster, accelerating open banking. The digital era brings new disruptive technologies, innovative business...

INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition

CUBISMI

A Vanguard of Healthcare’s Transformation

“Grassroots physician leadership will be vital for patient-centered transformative innovation.” – Dr. Moira Schieke Cubismi is redefining the frontiers of healthcare through the synergy of AI, cloud, and physician-led human-centered design. Guided by the visionary leadership of Dr. Moira Schieke, Cubismi is leading transformative innovation to usher in a new...

Global Innovation Spotlight

EdTech innovations save teachers nearly 6 hours every week

Integrating modern edtech innovations into classroom platforms gives educators nearly six hours back each week by automating manual assignment grading and lesson plan formatting. When you manage growing educational businesses, helping teachers reclaim lost administrative hours is the single fastest way to boost platform adoption. Leading online educational companies eliminate...

INNOVATE® Milwaukee

ASQ

PIONEERING QUALITY FOR A THRIVING FUTURE

For nearly eight decades, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) has been a global leader in quality management. From its origins in the post-World War II era to its role today, ASQ has driven innovation, guided industries through transformation, and fostered continuous improvement. Headquartered in Milwaukee, ASQ is instrumental in...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Voyager Capital

INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES WHERE INNOVATION MEETS GROWTH.

INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES WHEREINNOVATION MEETS GROWTH. Voyager Capital thrives on working with early-stage entrepreneurs who drive innovation and take risks to create new markets. Founded in 1997 in Seattle, WA, Voyager is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in B2B companies in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. When you...

INNOVATE™ South Africa

2U

2U’S- BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE

A BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE

FOUNDED IN 2008 IN MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC, 2U, INC. SET OUT TO CREATE THE WORLD’S BEST ONLINE EDUCATION AND THEY’VE BEEN DEFYING THE ODDS EVER SINCE. ALSO AROUND THE EXACT SAME TIME AND COINCIDING WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE MOOC REVOLUTION, GETSMARTER WAS ALSO FOUNDED. Early on in the industry,...

Global Innovation Spotlight

The Free Browser Tool Stack

How one founder runs a startup without paid subscriptions

Running a startup without paid subscriptions forces every choice to be practical. The best setup is a small group of browser-based services that handle writing, planning, files, design, communication, and basic finance. I keep the workflow lean because every recurring fee reduces runway, and the ability to edit PDF documents...

INNOVATE® Seattle

Ellingson Group

THE STARTUP WHISPERER: A GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

Employee Benefits | Sea-Mountain Insurance THE STARTUP WHISPERER: A GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. The Company Ellingson Group has redefined what it means to be an employee benefits brokerage by specializing in the unique needs of startups, tech companies, and venture capital firms. These industries are the engines of economic...

INNOVATE® South Florida

 I.T. SOLUTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA

AWARD-WINNING MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDER WITH A LOT OF HEART

AWARD-WINNING MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDER WITH A LOT OF HEART There’s no need to travel to a major metropolitan city to visit one of the best Managed Service Providers in the country. Instead, point the GPS towards a quaint seaside town in Palm Beach County. Headquartered just steps from the...

Ecosystems