Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
VARSITY ESPORTS FOUNDATION
YOU CAN DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION
WHO WE ARE The Varsity Esports Foundation is a global non-profit organization established to offer financial assistance to schools and to provide a pipeline for students to reach their potential through esports. We strive to increase literacy around the esports industry’s positive impact on healthy lifestyles, mental health, community, and...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY NEW BRUNSWICK
Excellence in Scholarly Leadership, Innovative Research, Student Success, and Community Engagement
Rutgers University–New Brunswick, a top 20 public university (U.S. News and World Report), is proud to show the world what excellence looks like. What fuels our innovation? Membership in the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Association of American Universities. More than 20 programs and schools in the nation’s top...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
REVOLUTIONIZING HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH A TOP-TIER RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY A KEY PLAYER IN AUSTIN’S INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMDriving from San Marcos to Austin, you can’t help but notice all the growth taking place along the I-35 corridor. With a population boom in Central Texas concentrated around the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan, and well on its way to merging...
INNOVATE® Maryland
THE BIOTECH CORRIDOR
WHERE INNOVATION LEADS
There must be more MDs and PhDs per capita in a 10-mile radius of Rockville, Maryland, than anywhere else in the country. Montgomery County is the foundation of the Biotech Corridor, a dynamic hub for life science research, innovation, and commercialization, with 13,000 private sector employees and 400 life sciences...
INNOVATION Quebec
FINTECH MONTRÉAL
“THE QUEBEC FINTECH INDUSTRY IS THRIVING. WITH THE LARGEST FINTECH HUB IN CANADA AND THE FINTECH CANADA FORUM, A MAJOR ANNUAL INDUSTRY GATHERING, THE STAGE IS SET FOR INNOVATION TO MEET THE REAL NEEDS OF A TRANSFORMING INDUSTRY.” Sebastian Boisjoly, vice-président, FinTech et Innovations technologiques, Finance Montréal Financial technologies (FinTech)...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Catch Talent
We focus on understanding the career needs of individuals in the workforce.
Real Relationships Matter Catch Talent is a high-touch recruiting agency that delivers end-to-end talent acquisition solutions to growing technology, financial services, healthcare, digital & creative, professional services, and government contracting companies. Headquartered in Charleston, SC, Catch specializes in the full talent attraction life cycle by sourcing and recruiting qualified candidates...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
NIKO PARTNERS
COMPANIES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE MARKETS IN WHICH THEY COMPETE
When consumers and students think of the video game industry and esports, they think of the excitement and entertainment of it all – but rarely about the data that guides the strategy of a business and of the game development plan. A market research firm provides the data that helps...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
H3ALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC
REVOLUTIONIZING HEALTHCARE THROUGH EMPOWERMENT, ACCESSIBILITY, AND AUTONOMY
The founder’s father was raised in a one-room home in the country side of a small town in Ethiopia that is unknown to most people. Tin roof, mudded walls. The founder’s mother from another town where education wasn’t supposed to be the path for women. His parents didn’t have access...
INNOVATE® Miami
Crea7ive
Using Data To Predict User Behavior And Optimize Creativity
We are a data-driven creative agency focused on helping brands succeed across multi-cultural markets. From branding and web development to predictive marketing and digital strategy, our portfolio includes global brands such as Wendy’s, Zumba, Kraft, Armani Casa, and Disney. Shortly after arriving in Miami from Argentina in 2005 and while...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola
What It Takes To Found a Successful Tech Firm
Take it from someone who knows: Scaling a firm from simple startup to unicorn status isn’t for the faint of heart. For Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the founder and CEO of the African e-payments platform Flutterwave, earning a valuation of more than $1 billion wasn’t about having the best idea or...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
NEODENT
FOCUSED ON INNOVATION AND EDUCATION, NEODENT IS A REFERENCE IN DENTAL IMPLANTS IN BRAZIL
Celebrating 30-years of democratizing implants treatment in Brazil, the company advances in developing solutions to make oral health accessible to the population. “In the 1990s, over a third of the Brazilian population couldn’t even dream of properly taking care of their oral health, let alone consider dental implants,” declares Geninho...
INNOVATE® Seattle
DEFINED.AI
ENABLING CREATORS OF THE FUTURE - TRANSFORMING AI TRAINING, ONE DATASET AT A TIME
At Defined.ai, our commitment is to enable the builders of AI with ethically sourced data and deliver conversational AI to digitally low-resourced markets. I had the idea of founding the company when I realized how the Conversational AI market was becoming mainstream, and everyone was building multilingual voice search and...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
GESTRAN
LEADING FLEET MANAGEMENT IN INNOVATIVE CURITIBA
Gestran, headquartered in the innovative and progressive city of Curitiba, stands as a remarkable example of innovation and efficiency in the fleet management sector. Founded in the vibrant capital of Paraná, the company has made its mark in both the Brazilian and international markets. Since its inception in 1999, Gestran...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
POPPY FLOWERS
POPPY TRANSFORMS THE PROCESS OF BUYING WEDDING FLOWERS INTO A SEAMLESS DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.
Poppy Flowers, the fastest-growing wedding florist in the country, is revolutionizing the wedding and floral industries with its innovative booking and fulfillment platform for wedding flowers. Poppy’s platform offers a more enjoyable, fun, and transparent experience for couples, florists, and farmers, distinguishing itself in a $5 billion industry. Since its...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Platypus Labs
Innovation is mission critical
We provide holistic, fully-orchestrated programs to help harness and deploy innovation. Similar to the platypus, we believe that the greatest innovations are an amalgamation of seemingly disparate insights and ideas, that together create surprisingly, unexpected outcomes enabling organizations to deliver their own toxic blow and outpunch the competition. We live...
INNOVATION Quebec
Montréal InVivo
Au cœur de l’écosystème des sciences de la vie et des technologies de la santé du Grand Montréal
Montréal InVivo est un réseau d’échanges, de mobilisation et de collaborations dans l’écosystème des sciences de la vie et technologies de la santé (SVTS). Fondé en 2007 et dirigé par Frank Béraud depuis 2015, la mission de cet organisme à but non lucratif est de faire avancer et progresser la...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
NOWPOW
Built On The Idea That “Knowledge Is Power,” This Women-Owned And Operated SaaS Platform Uses Community Resource Networks And Evidence Based Referral Technology To Connect People To The Right Health And Social Resources Through All Of Life’s Ages And Stages
Healthcare innovation is often defined by radical discoveries like new vaccines or groundbreaking surgical techniques. But just as important are the innovations that reimagine how we use existing resources. These advancements make it possible for everyone to live their healthiest lives — through more equitable access to services that promote...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Fairfax County EDA
Igniting Innovation and Growth in Fairfax County.
Fairfax County is not just a hub for innovation; it’s a powerhouse supported by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). Chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia and governed by a board of county business leaders, FCEDA is dedicated to transforming Fairfax County into one of the world’s premier business...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
MARSH
OUR PURPOSE IS POSSIBILITY. AT MARSH, THE IDEA OF POSSIBILITY ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT
OUR PURPOSE IS POSSIBILITY. AT MARSH, THE IDEA OF POSSIBILITY ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT — IT’S SOMETHING WE’VE LIVED FOR OVER 150 YEARS. We help our clients and colleagues grow — and our communities thrive — by protecting and promoting Possibility. We seek better ways to manage risk...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MANAGINGLIFE
PUTTING INNOVATION IN THE HANDS OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS
Chronic pain affects approximately 1 in 5 people and is one of the most difficult to treat chronic conditions. It’s a leading reason people seek healthcare, use opioid medication, and go on disability. Often referred to as the silent epidemic, the burden of chronic pain carries immense costs to individuals,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
DYNAMIK FOCUS
Creating local and digital activations at events or on streaming platforms to help promote your product or service
Dynamik Focus was Founded in October 2016 By Aziza Brown. After varying experiences with previous esports teams, and seeing a need for representation and structure in the growing esports space, she partnered with former teammate Devin Harris, and Dynamik Focus was born. Soon after the organization was founded, Dynamik Focus...
INNOVATION Quebec
CRITM
Une ressource incontournable pour l’innovation en transformation métallique
L’industrie de la transformation métallique revêt une importance majeure dans l’économie du Québec. Avec de multiples défis à relever en matière de main-d’œuvre, de compétitivité mondiale, de productivité, d’énergie et d’empreinte environnementale, les entreprises doivent se démarquer et innover constamment. C’est en 2014, pour répondre à ses enjeux, que le...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Driven
Ending legal debt traps with smart payments
In the U.S., over 11 million people havehad their driver’s licenses suspendeddue to unpaid fines. This isn’t just aninconvenience – it’s a direct hit to financialstability. Losing the ability to drive meanslosing access to jobs, education, andessential services. In cities like Detroit,where public transit is unreliable, asuspended license can mean...
INNOVATE® Nashville
RACHEL + WINFREE
In a data-driven economy, being able to use your data to make better decisions, develop better products, or better target your customer are skills that will separate businesses that thrive from those that fail
Small businesses make up 99.9% of all companies in the United States. Within a year, 20% of new small businesses fail. That number rises to 30% before the end of the second year. After five years, half of those small businesses have failed. Profits only start trickling in after 18...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
VARSITY ESPORTS FOUNDATION
YOU CAN DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION
WHO WE ARE The Varsity Esports Foundation is a global non-profit organization established to offer financial assistance to schools and to provide a pipeline for students to reach their potential through esports. We strive to increase literacy around the esports industry’s positive impact on healthy lifestyles, mental health, community, and...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY NEW BRUNSWICK
Excellence in Scholarly Leadership, Innovative Research, Student Success, and Community Engagement
Rutgers University–New Brunswick, a top 20 public university (U.S. News and World Report), is proud to show the world what excellence looks like. What fuels our innovation? Membership in the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Association of American Universities. More than 20 programs and schools in the nation’s top...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
REVOLUTIONIZING HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH A TOP-TIER RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY A KEY PLAYER IN AUSTIN’S INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMDriving from San Marcos to Austin, you can’t help but notice all the growth taking place along the I-35 corridor. With a population boom in Central Texas concentrated around the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan, and well on its way to merging...
INNOVATE® Maryland
THE BIOTECH CORRIDOR
WHERE INNOVATION LEADS
There must be more MDs and PhDs per capita in a 10-mile radius of Rockville, Maryland, than anywhere else in the country. Montgomery County is the foundation of the Biotech Corridor, a dynamic hub for life science research, innovation, and commercialization, with 13,000 private sector employees and 400 life sciences...
INNOVATION Quebec
FINTECH MONTRÉAL
“THE QUEBEC FINTECH INDUSTRY IS THRIVING. WITH THE LARGEST FINTECH HUB IN CANADA AND THE FINTECH CANADA FORUM, A MAJOR ANNUAL INDUSTRY GATHERING, THE STAGE IS SET FOR INNOVATION TO MEET THE REAL NEEDS OF A TRANSFORMING INDUSTRY.” Sebastian Boisjoly, vice-président, FinTech et Innovations technologiques, Finance Montréal Financial technologies (FinTech)...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
Catch Talent
We focus on understanding the career needs of individuals in the workforce.
Real Relationships Matter Catch Talent is a high-touch recruiting agency that delivers end-to-end talent acquisition solutions to growing technology, financial services, healthcare, digital & creative, professional services, and government contracting companies. Headquartered in Charleston, SC, Catch specializes in the full talent attraction life cycle by sourcing and recruiting qualified candidates...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
NIKO PARTNERS
COMPANIES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE MARKETS IN WHICH THEY COMPETE
When consumers and students think of the video game industry and esports, they think of the excitement and entertainment of it all – but rarely about the data that guides the strategy of a business and of the game development plan. A market research firm provides the data that helps...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
H3ALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC
REVOLUTIONIZING HEALTHCARE THROUGH EMPOWERMENT, ACCESSIBILITY, AND AUTONOMY
The founder’s father was raised in a one-room home in the country side of a small town in Ethiopia that is unknown to most people. Tin roof, mudded walls. The founder’s mother from another town where education wasn’t supposed to be the path for women. His parents didn’t have access...
INNOVATE® Miami
Crea7ive
Using Data To Predict User Behavior And Optimize Creativity
We are a data-driven creative agency focused on helping brands succeed across multi-cultural markets. From branding and web development to predictive marketing and digital strategy, our portfolio includes global brands such as Wendy’s, Zumba, Kraft, Armani Casa, and Disney. Shortly after arriving in Miami from Argentina in 2005 and while...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola
What It Takes To Found a Successful Tech Firm
Take it from someone who knows: Scaling a firm from simple startup to unicorn status isn’t for the faint of heart. For Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the founder and CEO of the African e-payments platform Flutterwave, earning a valuation of more than $1 billion wasn’t about having the best idea or...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
NEODENT
FOCUSED ON INNOVATION AND EDUCATION, NEODENT IS A REFERENCE IN DENTAL IMPLANTS IN BRAZIL
Celebrating 30-years of democratizing implants treatment in Brazil, the company advances in developing solutions to make oral health accessible to the population. “In the 1990s, over a third of the Brazilian population couldn’t even dream of properly taking care of their oral health, let alone consider dental implants,” declares Geninho...
INNOVATE® Seattle
DEFINED.AI
ENABLING CREATORS OF THE FUTURE - TRANSFORMING AI TRAINING, ONE DATASET AT A TIME
At Defined.ai, our commitment is to enable the builders of AI with ethically sourced data and deliver conversational AI to digitally low-resourced markets. I had the idea of founding the company when I realized how the Conversational AI market was becoming mainstream, and everyone was building multilingual voice search and...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
GESTRAN
LEADING FLEET MANAGEMENT IN INNOVATIVE CURITIBA
Gestran, headquartered in the innovative and progressive city of Curitiba, stands as a remarkable example of innovation and efficiency in the fleet management sector. Founded in the vibrant capital of Paraná, the company has made its mark in both the Brazilian and international markets. Since its inception in 1999, Gestran...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
POPPY FLOWERS
POPPY TRANSFORMS THE PROCESS OF BUYING WEDDING FLOWERS INTO A SEAMLESS DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.
Poppy Flowers, the fastest-growing wedding florist in the country, is revolutionizing the wedding and floral industries with its innovative booking and fulfillment platform for wedding flowers. Poppy’s platform offers a more enjoyable, fun, and transparent experience for couples, florists, and farmers, distinguishing itself in a $5 billion industry. Since its...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Platypus Labs
Innovation is mission critical
We provide holistic, fully-orchestrated programs to help harness and deploy innovation. Similar to the platypus, we believe that the greatest innovations are an amalgamation of seemingly disparate insights and ideas, that together create surprisingly, unexpected outcomes enabling organizations to deliver their own toxic blow and outpunch the competition. We live...
INNOVATION Quebec
Montréal InVivo
Au cœur de l’écosystème des sciences de la vie et des technologies de la santé du Grand Montréal
Montréal InVivo est un réseau d’échanges, de mobilisation et de collaborations dans l’écosystème des sciences de la vie et technologies de la santé (SVTS). Fondé en 2007 et dirigé par Frank Béraud depuis 2015, la mission de cet organisme à but non lucratif est de faire avancer et progresser la...
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
NOWPOW
Built On The Idea That “Knowledge Is Power,” This Women-Owned And Operated SaaS Platform Uses Community Resource Networks And Evidence Based Referral Technology To Connect People To The Right Health And Social Resources Through All Of Life’s Ages And Stages
Healthcare innovation is often defined by radical discoveries like new vaccines or groundbreaking surgical techniques. But just as important are the innovations that reimagine how we use existing resources. These advancements make it possible for everyone to live their healthiest lives — through more equitable access to services that promote...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Fairfax County EDA
Igniting Innovation and Growth in Fairfax County.
Fairfax County is not just a hub for innovation; it’s a powerhouse supported by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). Chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia and governed by a board of county business leaders, FCEDA is dedicated to transforming Fairfax County into one of the world’s premier business...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
MARSH
OUR PURPOSE IS POSSIBILITY. AT MARSH, THE IDEA OF POSSIBILITY ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT
OUR PURPOSE IS POSSIBILITY. AT MARSH, THE IDEA OF POSSIBILITY ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT — IT’S SOMETHING WE’VE LIVED FOR OVER 150 YEARS. We help our clients and colleagues grow — and our communities thrive — by protecting and promoting Possibility. We seek better ways to manage risk...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
MANAGINGLIFE
PUTTING INNOVATION IN THE HANDS OF CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS
Chronic pain affects approximately 1 in 5 people and is one of the most difficult to treat chronic conditions. It’s a leading reason people seek healthcare, use opioid medication, and go on disability. Often referred to as the silent epidemic, the burden of chronic pain carries immense costs to individuals,...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
DYNAMIK FOCUS
Creating local and digital activations at events or on streaming platforms to help promote your product or service
Dynamik Focus was Founded in October 2016 By Aziza Brown. After varying experiences with previous esports teams, and seeing a need for representation and structure in the growing esports space, she partnered with former teammate Devin Harris, and Dynamik Focus was born. Soon after the organization was founded, Dynamik Focus...
INNOVATION Quebec
CRITM
Une ressource incontournable pour l’innovation en transformation métallique
L’industrie de la transformation métallique revêt une importance majeure dans l’économie du Québec. Avec de multiples défis à relever en matière de main-d’œuvre, de compétitivité mondiale, de productivité, d’énergie et d’empreinte environnementale, les entreprises doivent se démarquer et innover constamment. C’est en 2014, pour répondre à ses enjeux, que le...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Driven
Ending legal debt traps with smart payments
In the U.S., over 11 million people havehad their driver’s licenses suspendeddue to unpaid fines. This isn’t just aninconvenience – it’s a direct hit to financialstability. Losing the ability to drive meanslosing access to jobs, education, andessential services. In cities like Detroit,where public transit is unreliable, asuspended license can mean...
INNOVATE® Nashville
RACHEL + WINFREE
In a data-driven economy, being able to use your data to make better decisions, develop better products, or better target your customer are skills that will separate businesses that thrive from those that fail
Small businesses make up 99.9% of all companies in the United States. Within a year, 20% of new small businesses fail. That number rises to 30% before the end of the second year. After five years, half of those small businesses have failed. Profits only start trickling in after 18...