Stories of Innovation
INNOVATION Quebec
LE CENTRE D’ÉTUDE DE LA FORÊT (CEF)
LE CENTRE D’ÉTUDE DE LA FORÊT (CEF) EST UN REGROUPEMENT STRATÉGIQUE FINANCÉ PAR LE FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC – NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) DEPUIS 2006. Il est le seul regroupement au Québec à avoir pour mission centrale la formation avancée et la recherche sur la forêt. La mission scientifique...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ZAGITAS
THE ZAGITAS STORY ACTUALLY BEGAN MANY YEARS AGO BECAUSE OF THE FOUNDER’S PASSION TO SIMPLIFY AND IMPROVE PEOPLE’S WORK THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Carlos Secada as a child with his parents and sister lived alone in the middle of the Amazon jungle. He grew up deprived of any initiative coming from modernity and technology. It was only after returning to the city and studying, that he managed to start working for Accenture, and...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
VELORIC CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
American University’s Kogod School of Business breeds the spirit of changemakers at the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship. It’s more than just an academic unit; it’s a thriving ecosystem where entrepreneurial dreams are developed, challenged, and nurtured. Entrepreneurship is a worldview. Entrepreneurs are risk-taking, resilient, innovative problem-solvers and dreamers with the...
INNOVATION Quebec
CRVI (CENTRE DE ROBOTIQUE ET DE VISION INDUSTRIELLES)
IS A KEY PLAYER IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ROBOTICS, COMPUTER VISION, AND AI TECHNOLOGY IN QUEBEC
The first six such centres were established in 1983 following a presentation at the Quebec Economic Summit. The goal was to help kickstart the Quebec economy by turning Cégeps across the province into drivers of regional growth and technological development. Three more centres were inaugurated the following year, including CSR...
INNOVATION Quebec
TOPMED
CCTT FOR HEALTH INNOVATION
TOPMED assists organizations involved in healthcare, adaptation, rehabilitation and mobility. We develop, customize, optimize and validate devices, equipment and technologies for vulnerable populations and athletes. TOPMED develops and conducts applied research projects focused on innovation and technological improvement, working in collaboration with laboratories—public or private—and businesses to provide social, mechanical...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
OEIRAS
The Municipality
Today, Oeiras is a municipality of reference, the result of four decades of detailed, thoughtful, avant-garde planning based on the unique and broad vision of Isaltino Morais. A man who became Mayor in 1985 and who, from the first moment, outlined a strategy that extended beyond the four years of...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
Maximus
Reimagining Public Service Through Technology
Across government agencies, digital systems guide citizens through enrollment and benefits programs that support everyday life. Access to those programs depends on infrastructure capable of managing volumes of information while maintaining accuracy and security. From its headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Maximus helps government agencies deliver those services with speed and...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
STEMSEL
Empowering Adelaide’s Youth through STEMSEL Foundation’s Revolutionary runlinc Technology
STEMSEL Foundation Inc is a not-for-profit organization based in Adelaide that is dedicated to empowering the youth through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Founded by engineer and educator Peng Choo and Miroslav Kostecki in 2014, the foundation strives to engage and inspire young people to pursue STEM related...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
CROPIFY
ELIMINATING SUBJECTIVE TESTING OF PULSE AND GRAIN CROPS
CHALLENGEGlobally, grain and pulse crops are classified to determine the grade of a crop. This grade determines the financial return to the seller / farmer. The classification process currently consists of approximately 53% subjective and 47% objective testing. Subjective testing leads to disputes and a lack of confidence in the...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
BEKTEK
INNOVATING MANAGEMENT: CUTTING-EDGE HR, PAYROLL, AND MORE FOR TODAY’S WORKFORCE
INTRODUCTIONSince our inception, Bektek has been on a remarkable journey of innovation and growth. What began as a pioneering venture into Time and Attendance management, with the introduction of HostedTime, our flagship software, has evolved into a one stop solution for today’s workforce. OUR STORYAt Bektek, our story is one...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Rhoads Industries
Forging the Future of American Manufacturing
For more than a century, Rhoads Industries, Inc. has quietly evolved alongside the American industrial landscape. What began in 1896 as a small Philadelphia-based operation has grown into a key contributor to the nation’s maritime and defense infrastructure. The company’s origins trace back to Samuel Rhoads, whose early patents for...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
UNIONWEAR
USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.
Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Thunderbird Entertainment
Harnessing Content as a Force for Good
The global pandemic accelerated the way audiences worldwide consume content — and the steady growth of streaming content continues today. In fact, Nielsen reported in July 2022 that streaming viewership surpassed pandemic records, with North American audiences watching an average of 190.9 billion minutes of streamed content per week. Fueling...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
FLUX
NURTURED BY FARM LIFE DURING HIS FORMATIVE YEARS, JORDY DISCOVERED A WORLD OF INTRIGUING CHALLENGES
Fuelled by his innate curiosity and determination, Jordy fearlessly embraced the role of problem solver, eager to make a tangible difference in the agricultural landscape. Fueled by a deep-rooted passion for sustainable farming practices, Jordy founded Flux Robotics, an agri-tech startup poised to be the next step change in agriculture....
INNOVATE® Nashville
LODESTONE ADVISORY GROUP
Is reimagining venture capital and economic development from the ground up
When we founded Lodestone Advisory Group in 2013, business leaders were tired of a management consulting industry that was a stiff, black box offering one-size-fits-all “solutions,” with little accountability on end results. Lodestone, named after the naturally occurring magnetic powder that gave early merchants and tradesmen the ability to navigate...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
USCREEN
BUILDING A MORE CONNECTED CREATOR FUTURE THROUGH THE POWER OF MEMBERSHIPS
USCREEN IS AN ALL-IN-ONE MEMBERSHIP PLATFORM BUILT FOR VIDEO CREATORS. Uscreen started as a bootstrapped company in 2014 with just an idea to start streaming DVDs and quickly pivoted to helping their customers sell video on demand subscriptions. Early customers include Yoga with Adriene and Sarah Beth Yoga, two highly...
INNOVATE® South Florida
Premier Virtual
LAUNCHED IN LATE 2019 WHERE OUR MOTTO AT THE TIME WAS ‘FUTURE FOCUSED’
LAUNCHED IN LATE 2019 WHERE OUR MOTTO AT THE TIME WAS ‘FUTURE FOCUSED’ From the very beginning, we knew that our virtual hiring event platform was ahead of its time and that employers would have to be ‘Future Focused’ to embrace it. Founder and President of Premier Virtual, Steve Edwards,...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
NORDIC ANGELS
THE NORDIC REGION HAS LONG BEEN CELEBRATED FOR ITS STABILITY, RESILIENCE, INNOVATION, AND ABILITY TO TURN INNOVATIVE IDEAS INTO GLOBAL COMPANIES.
Yet behind every breakthrough founder, there is a backbone of early believers – angels who provide not only capital, but experience, networks, and confidence at the most fragile stage of company building. For too long, this backbone has been fragmented. Individual angels operate in isolation, limiting their influence. Nordic Angels...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
LionShare Cowork
Opportunity To Grow
With the entrepreneur, small business owner, and business professional in mind, we provide you an opportunity to grow, to shine, and to succeed. Our fully furnished innovative spaces give you the creative and productive flow you need to achieve your goals and get work done. Founder, Mike Januzzi discovered an...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHUM
THE CHUM IS AN INNOVATIVE HOSPITAL SERVING THE PEOPLE OF QUEBEC.
Nearly 18,000 people work, practice, study and work here. The CHUM offers the best specialized and super specialized care to all Quebecers and improves their health, based on scientific knowledge that is constantly updated by a research and teaching community. The CHUM Research Centre is the largest research center in...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
KION
FROM GLOBAL VISION TO LOCAL INGENUITY: HOW KION NORTH AMERICA IS DRIVING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION
IN AN INDUSTRY OFTEN DEFINED BY POWER AND PRECISION, KION NORTH AMERICA STANDS APART FOR SOMETHING MORE INTANGIBLE: ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. FROM ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING TO A CULTURE THAT VALUES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, KION NA’S APPROACH IS ONE OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION, LOCAL EXECUTION, AND DEEP CUSTOMER FOCUS. AT...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
THE INDUS ENTREPRENEUR
ABOUT THE INDUS ENTREPRENEUR (TiE) ORGANIZATIONTiE ranks among the world’s largest ecosystems for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. With a global reach and a local focus, the heart of TiE’s efforts lies in its five foundational programs, – Mentoring, Networking, Education, Funding, and Incubation. With a focus on giving back...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ECOPIA
CREATING A DIGITAL TWIN OF THE EARTH LEVERAGING AI-BASED MAPPING SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE DECISION-MAKING
Since 2013, Ecopia AI has been on a mission to create a digital twin of the world using artificial intelligence (AI). Originally spun out of a Ph.D project at the University of Waterloo, Ecopia’s maps have grown from detailing a single small city to mapping entire continents while evolving from...
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,...
INNOVATION Quebec
LE CENTRE D’ÉTUDE DE LA FORÊT (CEF)
LE CENTRE D’ÉTUDE DE LA FORÊT (CEF) EST UN REGROUPEMENT STRATÉGIQUE FINANCÉ PAR LE FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC – NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) DEPUIS 2006. Il est le seul regroupement au Québec à avoir pour mission centrale la formation avancée et la recherche sur la forêt. La mission scientifique...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ZAGITAS
THE ZAGITAS STORY ACTUALLY BEGAN MANY YEARS AGO BECAUSE OF THE FOUNDER’S PASSION TO SIMPLIFY AND IMPROVE PEOPLE’S WORK THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Carlos Secada as a child with his parents and sister lived alone in the middle of the Amazon jungle. He grew up deprived of any initiative coming from modernity and technology. It was only after returning to the city and studying, that he managed to start working for Accenture, and...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
VELORIC CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
American University’s Kogod School of Business breeds the spirit of changemakers at the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship. It’s more than just an academic unit; it’s a thriving ecosystem where entrepreneurial dreams are developed, challenged, and nurtured. Entrepreneurship is a worldview. Entrepreneurs are risk-taking, resilient, innovative problem-solvers and dreamers with the...
INNOVATION Quebec
CRVI (CENTRE DE ROBOTIQUE ET DE VISION INDUSTRIELLES)
IS A KEY PLAYER IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ROBOTICS, COMPUTER VISION, AND AI TECHNOLOGY IN QUEBEC
The first six such centres were established in 1983 following a presentation at the Quebec Economic Summit. The goal was to help kickstart the Quebec economy by turning Cégeps across the province into drivers of regional growth and technological development. Three more centres were inaugurated the following year, including CSR...
INNOVATION Quebec
TOPMED
CCTT FOR HEALTH INNOVATION
TOPMED assists organizations involved in healthcare, adaptation, rehabilitation and mobility. We develop, customize, optimize and validate devices, equipment and technologies for vulnerable populations and athletes. TOPMED develops and conducts applied research projects focused on innovation and technological improvement, working in collaboration with laboratories—public or private—and businesses to provide social, mechanical...
INNOVATE™ Oeiras
OEIRAS
The Municipality
Today, Oeiras is a municipality of reference, the result of four decades of detailed, thoughtful, avant-garde planning based on the unique and broad vision of Isaltino Morais. A man who became Mayor in 1985 and who, from the first moment, outlined a strategy that extended beyond the four years of...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
Maximus
Reimagining Public Service Through Technology
Across government agencies, digital systems guide citizens through enrollment and benefits programs that support everyday life. Access to those programs depends on infrastructure capable of managing volumes of information while maintaining accuracy and security. From its headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Maximus helps government agencies deliver those services with speed and...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
STEMSEL
Empowering Adelaide’s Youth through STEMSEL Foundation’s Revolutionary runlinc Technology
STEMSEL Foundation Inc is a not-for-profit organization based in Adelaide that is dedicated to empowering the youth through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Founded by engineer and educator Peng Choo and Miroslav Kostecki in 2014, the foundation strives to engage and inspire young people to pursue STEM related...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
CROPIFY
ELIMINATING SUBJECTIVE TESTING OF PULSE AND GRAIN CROPS
CHALLENGEGlobally, grain and pulse crops are classified to determine the grade of a crop. This grade determines the financial return to the seller / farmer. The classification process currently consists of approximately 53% subjective and 47% objective testing. Subjective testing leads to disputes and a lack of confidence in the...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
BEKTEK
INNOVATING MANAGEMENT: CUTTING-EDGE HR, PAYROLL, AND MORE FOR TODAY’S WORKFORCE
INTRODUCTIONSince our inception, Bektek has been on a remarkable journey of innovation and growth. What began as a pioneering venture into Time and Attendance management, with the introduction of HostedTime, our flagship software, has evolved into a one stop solution for today’s workforce. OUR STORYAt Bektek, our story is one...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Rhoads Industries
Forging the Future of American Manufacturing
For more than a century, Rhoads Industries, Inc. has quietly evolved alongside the American industrial landscape. What began in 1896 as a small Philadelphia-based operation has grown into a key contributor to the nation’s maritime and defense infrastructure. The company’s origins trace back to Samuel Rhoads, whose early patents for...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
UNIONWEAR
USA MADE BASEBALL CAPS AND TOTE BAGS: DESIGNED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MANUFACTURED BY ROBOTS.
Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Thunderbird Entertainment
Harnessing Content as a Force for Good
The global pandemic accelerated the way audiences worldwide consume content — and the steady growth of streaming content continues today. In fact, Nielsen reported in July 2022 that streaming viewership surpassed pandemic records, with North American audiences watching an average of 190.9 billion minutes of streamed content per week. Fueling...
INNOVATE™ Adelaide
FLUX
NURTURED BY FARM LIFE DURING HIS FORMATIVE YEARS, JORDY DISCOVERED A WORLD OF INTRIGUING CHALLENGES
Fuelled by his innate curiosity and determination, Jordy fearlessly embraced the role of problem solver, eager to make a tangible difference in the agricultural landscape. Fueled by a deep-rooted passion for sustainable farming practices, Jordy founded Flux Robotics, an agri-tech startup poised to be the next step change in agriculture....
INNOVATE® Nashville
LODESTONE ADVISORY GROUP
Is reimagining venture capital and economic development from the ground up
When we founded Lodestone Advisory Group in 2013, business leaders were tired of a management consulting industry that was a stiff, black box offering one-size-fits-all “solutions,” with little accountability on end results. Lodestone, named after the naturally occurring magnetic powder that gave early merchants and tradesmen the ability to navigate...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
USCREEN
BUILDING A MORE CONNECTED CREATOR FUTURE THROUGH THE POWER OF MEMBERSHIPS
USCREEN IS AN ALL-IN-ONE MEMBERSHIP PLATFORM BUILT FOR VIDEO CREATORS. Uscreen started as a bootstrapped company in 2014 with just an idea to start streaming DVDs and quickly pivoted to helping their customers sell video on demand subscriptions. Early customers include Yoga with Adriene and Sarah Beth Yoga, two highly...
INNOVATE® South Florida
Premier Virtual
LAUNCHED IN LATE 2019 WHERE OUR MOTTO AT THE TIME WAS ‘FUTURE FOCUSED’
LAUNCHED IN LATE 2019 WHERE OUR MOTTO AT THE TIME WAS ‘FUTURE FOCUSED’ From the very beginning, we knew that our virtual hiring event platform was ahead of its time and that employers would have to be ‘Future Focused’ to embrace it. Founder and President of Premier Virtual, Steve Edwards,...
INNOVATE™ Stockholm
NORDIC ANGELS
THE NORDIC REGION HAS LONG BEEN CELEBRATED FOR ITS STABILITY, RESILIENCE, INNOVATION, AND ABILITY TO TURN INNOVATIVE IDEAS INTO GLOBAL COMPANIES.
Yet behind every breakthrough founder, there is a backbone of early believers – angels who provide not only capital, but experience, networks, and confidence at the most fragile stage of company building. For too long, this backbone has been fragmented. Individual angels operate in isolation, limiting their influence. Nordic Angels...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
LionShare Cowork
Opportunity To Grow
With the entrepreneur, small business owner, and business professional in mind, we provide you an opportunity to grow, to shine, and to succeed. Our fully furnished innovative spaces give you the creative and productive flow you need to achieve your goals and get work done. Founder, Mike Januzzi discovered an...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHUM
THE CHUM IS AN INNOVATIVE HOSPITAL SERVING THE PEOPLE OF QUEBEC.
Nearly 18,000 people work, practice, study and work here. The CHUM offers the best specialized and super specialized care to all Quebecers and improves their health, based on scientific knowledge that is constantly updated by a research and teaching community. The CHUM Research Centre is the largest research center in...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
KION
FROM GLOBAL VISION TO LOCAL INGENUITY: HOW KION NORTH AMERICA IS DRIVING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION
IN AN INDUSTRY OFTEN DEFINED BY POWER AND PRECISION, KION NORTH AMERICA STANDS APART FOR SOMETHING MORE INTANGIBLE: ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. FROM ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING TO A CULTURE THAT VALUES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, KION NA’S APPROACH IS ONE OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION, LOCAL EXECUTION, AND DEEP CUSTOMER FOCUS. AT...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
THE INDUS ENTREPRENEUR
ABOUT THE INDUS ENTREPRENEUR (TiE) ORGANIZATIONTiE ranks among the world’s largest ecosystems for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. With a global reach and a local focus, the heart of TiE’s efforts lies in its five foundational programs, – Mentoring, Networking, Education, Funding, and Incubation. With a focus on giving back...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ECOPIA
CREATING A DIGITAL TWIN OF THE EARTH LEVERAGING AI-BASED MAPPING SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE DECISION-MAKING
Since 2013, Ecopia AI has been on a mission to create a digital twin of the world using artificial intelligence (AI). Originally spun out of a Ph.D project at the University of Waterloo, Ecopia’s maps have grown from detailing a single small city to mapping entire continents while evolving from...
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,...