INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2

Within a span of five months in 1997, a local pulp and papermill experienced the collapse and death of two employees on-site. It was determined that both employees suffered from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). The prospect of future deaths at the site was palpable, and preventative solutions were non-existent. This...

How Matidor.com StartedVincent and Sean are Vancouver-based serial entrepreneurs who come from very different backgrounds but share one vision. Vincent’s previous experience at Google Earth and as a product manager at Dassault Systèmes revealed a gap in how people in the field managed projects. When Sean moved back to town...

JIBE Ecommerce.JIBE is a digital ecommerce agency, originally founded in 2009 to help better-life brands transform into thriving ecommerce businesses by helping them navigate and build their growing technology ecosystem. In the decade or so since, JIBE has grown from building brochure business websites to a multidisciplinary team of developers,...

Lumira Ventures is one of the most active and dynamic healthcare venture capital firms in North America. Our mission is to generate the greatest impact in the healthcare ecosystem through investments in transformative biopharmaceutical and medical device companies across North America. By investing in exceptional entrepreneurs and building transformative life...

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) has been recognized as Western Canada’s leading business association since its inception in 1887. Born out of the Great Fire that wiped out what would eventually become the city of Vancouver, the Board of Trade’s membership now employs more than a third of...

With over 27 years of experience delivering high-quality construction projects. Emerge starts construction by building components of the project in a manufacturing plant for the above-ground portion of a multi-story building at the time of groundbreaking. While the underground foundation and parking structure is being constructed, concrete and steel precast...

OnTraccr is on a mission to automate the way construction work is managed. This company provides next-generation automation software that helps any construction contractor automate their documentation, eliminate manual data entry, and gain real-time visibility into every aspect of its operations. OnTraccr was founded by a group of experienced construction...

INFORMA FINANCIAL – THE IMPORTANCE OF A WELL-ROUNDED TOTAL BENEFITS EXPERIENCE IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN. Informa’s founder, Cliff Pipke, began this business out of a desire to help service the insurance needs of families, as well as those of the small business owner. As Informa’s...

ORGANIKA-A SINCERE PASSION FOR DELIVERING HIGH QUALITY CUSTOMER CARE AND LEADING WITH INNOVATION, HAS BECOME ORGANIKA’S KEYDIFFERENTIATOR IN THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS SPACE. It has led Organika to achieve uncapped market success and global growth, even amidst a pandemic. Breaking out into 7,000 stores across the world, Organika has grown...

BC entrepreneurs Bill Roche and Charles Chang have a vision to make Canada more competitive by nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit in young people. In 2017, they co-founded Young Entrepreneurs of Canada Association, a registered Canadian charity that operates under the name PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs. “Our mandate is to help school-aged...

Filament Health was founded by experts in botanical extraction and commercialization. We honed our expertise at Mazza Innovation, a natural extraction startup, which our team scaled from pre-seed to an exit in 2018. At Mazza, we developed and commercialized patent-protected extraction technologies at a 35,000 ft2 commercial-scale, GMP facility. After...

Thrive Health is a digital healthcare platform company, founded in 2016 with a mission to make healthcare work better for everyone. The company provides an interactive patient engagement solution that enables healthcare providers to build custom clinical workflows, and offers patients enhanced access to their health data. Thrive Health’s innovative...

World-Class Spirit & InnovationAs the World’s #1 university for Entrepreneurial Spirit and #1 in Canada for Innovation*, Simon Fraser University is recognized as one of Canada’s most supportive post-secondary ecosystems for innovative research and education across disciplines. The heart of its entrepreneurship education pillar beats in the Charles Chang Institute...

Throughout their careers as leaders in a variety of industries, Rhys and Jerry started to realize that the problems they were being asked to solve had less to do with operational work, and far more to do with people and culture. Witnessing as they became involved with these, the impact...

Benchmark Sixty is not your usual entrepreneurial story. It wasn’t an idea that was burning inside of a serial entrepreneur, or a strategically thought out plan. It was an “accidental startup” that sprouted from the pain points of an industry that was devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. What started as...

Attention entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and high-performance leaders who want to get ahead! The way we’re working is not working, it’s a crisis. Burnout is costing the global economy trillions of dollars in lost productivity and innovation. Not to mention, rising health care costs. Burnout feels like emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced...

The shared kitchen industry, also known as commissaries, is a rapidly growing sector that is changing how people think about food and culinary entrepreneurship. When starting or scaling a business, food and beverage based entrepreneurs face significant challenges and risks and require significant investment in space, equipment, and overhead costs....

The Canadian tech sector is booming, there’s no question about that. In 2021, despite the impacts of the pandemic and the general economic downturn, the information and communications technology (ICT) reflected a total 5.3% of the national GDP — that’s $104.5billion. This number, alongside a teeming collective of businesses that...

Across the province, innovators, entrepreneurs, and emerging businesses are evolving industries and creating positive impact for British Columbians and the rest of the world. Whether it’s finding sustainable solutions or creating breakthrough technologies, British Columbia is teeming with great ideas that are advancing how we work and live in exciting...

What if you were challenged to go outside to solve puzzles, find and play with hidden objects, and enjoy sightseeing and off-the-beaten-path gems in beautiful Vancouver? Yes, we know you’d say yes. Foxtrail is a popular outdoor self-guided team-building adventure that combines scavenger hunts, escape games, and sightseeing. Founded 21...

In the upcoming decades, global food systems will profoundly change as we adapt to more sustainable food production and distribution approaches. Farmers are currently being challenged to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Backed by years of research...

The First Nations Technology Council (The Technology Council) is an Indigenous-led organization that serves all 204 First Nations communities across the Province of British Columbia. Established in 2002, they are mandated by BC First Nations Leadership to provide digital skills training to Indigenous learners, realize digital equity, and ensure Indigenous...

Floorspace originated from Matt Carlson’s experience in the industry, while working as Executive Vice President at a prominent commercial real estate brokerage. During his tenure, Matt observed the challenges faced by both seasoned brokers and young professionals aspiring to enter the commercial real estate industry. Certain hurdles like limited and...

SolvedAF Consulting is a boutique management advisory firm that uses a unique approach to facilitate digital transformation and organizational growth, enabling innovation for its clients. With their foundational fractional leadership service model the goal at SolvedAF is to create an infrastructure of support services for startups and small to medium...