Stories of Innovation
SharpSpring
The company, built in Gainesville, is committed to fueling growth and deepening roots in its hometown
When SharpSpring CEO Rick Carlson gets questions about moving his growing tech company to a larger, more metropolitan city, his answer is always the same. “We have no plans to go anywhere. The talent coming out of the university is fueling the emergence of a true tech center in Gainesville,...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
E-RESIDENCY
THE FUTURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
With 100% of its public services digitalized and a streamlined, business-friendly environment, Estonia has established itself as a strategic destination for those looking to expand their business, launch operations, or work in the European Union. Internationally recognised as the world’s most digital nation, Estonia promotes initiatives such as e-Residency to...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
CONTAINER QUICK LOCK NV
A COMPANY BASED IN BELGIUM THAT MANUFACTURES AND DISTRIBUTES THE CONTAINER QUICK-LOCK SYSTEM WORLDWIDE
Container Quick-Lock develops semi – and fully automatic locking systems for locking boxes and containers on Van’s and Trailers. All our locks have the following advantages, regardless of their purpose: SAFER | QUICKER | EASIER | SMARTER | CONNECTED The locking systems of Container Quick-Lock are game changers in the...
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® Washington DMV Edition
FLEXPODS
Our mission is to empower a collective of fitness and wellness professionals to build their brand
Laurent is a regular on the media circuit, seen on Oprah’s Live Your Best Life Tour, the Dr.Oz Show, TEDx talks, and many local news programs. Laurent had an idea. His idea was to create a space to support the fitness community. Providing affordable expertly designed and fully equipped fitness...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
SHOUT-IT-NOW
TACKLING HIV THROUGH INNOVATIVE, TECH-ENABLED, COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING
Shout-It-Now (Shout) is an innovative social enterprise, empowering youth to own their sexuality. We concentrate on hard to reach communities; we go to the places where they are, provide services they want, in such a way that they choose to keep coming back. We are a local South African organisation...
INNOVATE® Nashville
TEACH FOR AMERICA
TRANSFORMING CLASSROOMS AND EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES
A National Movement to Expand Educational Opportunity This year, Teach For America marks its 35th anniversary – a milestone that celebrates a movement of leaders working alongside communities to expand opportunity for all children. Since its founding in 1990, Teach For America has recruited, developed, and supported a diverse network...
INNOVATE® Kansas City
KC Digital Drive
Designing the Digital Backbone of a City
Building Tomorrow’s Kansas City Established in 2012 by the cities of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, KC Digital Drive serves as a regional technology and innovation intermediary. While technologies evolve and community needs change, its purpose has remained constant: helping cities and communities prepare for the future by...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
BENEDICT COLLEGE
Pioneering an Entrepreneurial Revolution
In the heart of Columbia, South Carolina, Benedict College is redefining the landscape of higher education by fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the forefront of this transformation is the Burroughs Enterprise, Startup, and Technology (B.E.S.T.) Innovation Lab, a dynamic hub that empowers students, faculty, and entrepreneurs to...
INNOVATE™ Kitchener Waterloo
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
STUDENT-LED INNOVATION, POWERED BY PURPOSE AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Students aren’t just learning about local and global challenges — they’re tackling them head-on with innovative and impactful solutions to drive change in Laurier’s campus communities in Waterloo Region, Brantford, Milton and beyond. Laurier equips students with the skills and mindset necessary to innovate with purpose, shaping the next generation...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
SHARE FOOD PROGRAM
FOOD IS A HUMAN RIGHT AND HUNGER CAN BE SOLVED
Hunger is solvable, and one organization headquartered in North Philadelphia maintains that they know exactly how. Founded 40 years ago, Share Food Program is the leading hunger-relief organization on food bank in the Greater Philadelphia region. Though food distribution, education, and advocacy, Share serves around 500,000 individuals each month, more...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
Monsana
AI finds the options, doctors choose the right one.
Doctors make treatment decisions every day. But sometimes, the most promising option isn’t part of the standard treatment, it is part of a clinical trial. In Belgium alone, over 1,400 clinical trials run each year. Yet with doctors seeing 30 or more patients a day, keeping up with them is...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
MIDTOWN YOUTH ACADEMY
Fighting for youth through boxing and books
In establishing Midtown Youth Academy in 1977, Golden Gloves champ Eugene “Thunder” Hughes began with a make-shift boxing ring and a noble goal: draw at-risk youth away from the mean and drug-infested streets of Washington, D.C., and guide them to a successful path in life. “We let them knock themselves...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
ROCKWELL AUTOMATION
EXPANDING HUMAN POSSIBILITY
The Allen-Bradley® Clock Tower, part of the Rockwell Automation headquarters, is an iconic piece of the Milwaukee skyline and a symbol of the city’s rich industrial and technological heritage. For 120 years, Rockwell Automation has been innovating and engineering solutions that advance industrial automation – allowing manufacturers around the globe...
INNOVATE® Maryland
VENTURE FOR T.H.E.M
Building Pathways For The Next Generation Of Innovators
Across HBCU campuses, startup ideas move through dorm room conversations, classrooms, student organizations, and late-night brainstorming sessions long before they ever reach investors or boardrooms. Talent has never been in short supply. Access, however, often has been. Long before Venture for T.H.E.M formally launched, CEO and Founder Kiante Bush kept...
INNOVATE® Nashville
CIRCA
BRANDING THAT DRIVES MEANINGFUL & MEASURED GROWTH
Circa helps organizations in vital growth periods uncover who they are, connect with who they serve, and build brands that last. In 2015, founders Tori Thomas and Laura Deleot set out with a clear vision: create what matters. They built Circa to not only deliver value for clients, but also...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
BAZ ART
ART SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS -BAZ-ART CREATES PUBLIC INTERACTION THROUGH URBAN ART
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
VEROSOURCE SOLUTIONS
PUTTING THE POWER OF HEALTHCARE DATAIN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE
It was March 2016 and VeroSource had to lay off its sole employee. Picture it: Everything was looking great for VeroSource, the digital healthcare start-up based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The company was about to celebrate its second anniversary. It had just landed a deal with a large company...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
PLANET HATCH
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS Welcome to Planet Hatch, a vibrant entrepreneurial hub, incubator, and collaborative workplace. We empower startups across diverse sectors by providing the essential resources to turn bold ideas into successful ventures. In partnership with Ignite, Planet Hatch is dedicated to nurturing first-time entrepreneurs and newcomers, shaping the future...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
NEWZOO
TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WITH ONE BIG IDEA — THAT’S THE GIST OF NEWZOO’S BEGINNINGS
But Newzoo wasn’t its founder’s (Peter Warman and Thijs Hagoort) first venture into the world of business. Far from it. After becoming friends playing basketball in high school, the industrious duo sold custom-designed t-shirts. Those early days taught them a valuable lesson: custom production based on manuals does not scale...
INNOVATE® Nashville
FIRST SOUTH FINANCIAL
BANKING WITH FRIENDS
The Story of First South Financial’s Strength, Innovation, and Community Impact. For nearly seven decades, First South Financial has stood as a trusted partner in helping individuals, families, and business owners achieve their financial goals. What began as a modest effort to provide accessible banking services has grown into one...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Hazlnut
The Company Helping To Bring New-Age Technology To The Small Businesses In Their Community
Meet Hazlnut, the company helping to bring new-age technology to the small businesses in their community. Today, people expect to have access to restaurants and retail stores on the web. Hazlnut is an all-in-one integrated solution that helps companies develop relationships with their customers through beautifully designed websites and custom...
SharpSpring
The company, built in Gainesville, is committed to fueling growth and deepening roots in its hometown
When SharpSpring CEO Rick Carlson gets questions about moving his growing tech company to a larger, more metropolitan city, his answer is always the same. “We have no plans to go anywhere. The talent coming out of the university is fueling the emergence of a true tech center in Gainesville,...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
E-RESIDENCY
THE FUTURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
With 100% of its public services digitalized and a streamlined, business-friendly environment, Estonia has established itself as a strategic destination for those looking to expand their business, launch operations, or work in the European Union. Internationally recognised as the world’s most digital nation, Estonia promotes initiatives such as e-Residency to...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
CONTAINER QUICK LOCK NV
A COMPANY BASED IN BELGIUM THAT MANUFACTURES AND DISTRIBUTES THE CONTAINER QUICK-LOCK SYSTEM WORLDWIDE
Container Quick-Lock develops semi – and fully automatic locking systems for locking boxes and containers on Van’s and Trailers. All our locks have the following advantages, regardless of their purpose: SAFER | QUICKER | EASIER | SMARTER | CONNECTED The locking systems of Container Quick-Lock are game changers in the...
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® Washington DMV Edition
FLEXPODS
Our mission is to empower a collective of fitness and wellness professionals to build their brand
Laurent is a regular on the media circuit, seen on Oprah’s Live Your Best Life Tour, the Dr.Oz Show, TEDx talks, and many local news programs. Laurent had an idea. His idea was to create a space to support the fitness community. Providing affordable expertly designed and fully equipped fitness...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
SHOUT-IT-NOW
TACKLING HIV THROUGH INNOVATIVE, TECH-ENABLED, COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING
Shout-It-Now (Shout) is an innovative social enterprise, empowering youth to own their sexuality. We concentrate on hard to reach communities; we go to the places where they are, provide services they want, in such a way that they choose to keep coming back. We are a local South African organisation...
INNOVATE® Nashville
TEACH FOR AMERICA
TRANSFORMING CLASSROOMS AND EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES
A National Movement to Expand Educational Opportunity This year, Teach For America marks its 35th anniversary – a milestone that celebrates a movement of leaders working alongside communities to expand opportunity for all children. Since its founding in 1990, Teach For America has recruited, developed, and supported a diverse network...
INNOVATE® Kansas City
KC Digital Drive
Designing the Digital Backbone of a City
Building Tomorrow’s Kansas City Established in 2012 by the cities of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, KC Digital Drive serves as a regional technology and innovation intermediary. While technologies evolve and community needs change, its purpose has remained constant: helping cities and communities prepare for the future by...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
BENEDICT COLLEGE
Pioneering an Entrepreneurial Revolution
In the heart of Columbia, South Carolina, Benedict College is redefining the landscape of higher education by fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the forefront of this transformation is the Burroughs Enterprise, Startup, and Technology (B.E.S.T.) Innovation Lab, a dynamic hub that empowers students, faculty, and entrepreneurs to...
INNOVATE™ Kitchener Waterloo
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
STUDENT-LED INNOVATION, POWERED BY PURPOSE AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Students aren’t just learning about local and global challenges — they’re tackling them head-on with innovative and impactful solutions to drive change in Laurier’s campus communities in Waterloo Region, Brantford, Milton and beyond. Laurier equips students with the skills and mindset necessary to innovate with purpose, shaping the next generation...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia: 250 Years of Innovation
SHARE FOOD PROGRAM
FOOD IS A HUMAN RIGHT AND HUNGER CAN BE SOLVED
Hunger is solvable, and one organization headquartered in North Philadelphia maintains that they know exactly how. Founded 40 years ago, Share Food Program is the leading hunger-relief organization on food bank in the Greater Philadelphia region. Though food distribution, education, and advocacy, Share serves around 500,000 individuals each month, more...
INNOVATE™ Flanders
Monsana
AI finds the options, doctors choose the right one.
Doctors make treatment decisions every day. But sometimes, the most promising option isn’t part of the standard treatment, it is part of a clinical trial. In Belgium alone, over 1,400 clinical trials run each year. Yet with doctors seeing 30 or more patients a day, keeping up with them is...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
MIDTOWN YOUTH ACADEMY
Fighting for youth through boxing and books
In establishing Midtown Youth Academy in 1977, Golden Gloves champ Eugene “Thunder” Hughes began with a make-shift boxing ring and a noble goal: draw at-risk youth away from the mean and drug-infested streets of Washington, D.C., and guide them to a successful path in life. “We let them knock themselves...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
ROCKWELL AUTOMATION
EXPANDING HUMAN POSSIBILITY
The Allen-Bradley® Clock Tower, part of the Rockwell Automation headquarters, is an iconic piece of the Milwaukee skyline and a symbol of the city’s rich industrial and technological heritage. For 120 years, Rockwell Automation has been innovating and engineering solutions that advance industrial automation – allowing manufacturers around the globe...
INNOVATE® Maryland
VENTURE FOR T.H.E.M
Building Pathways For The Next Generation Of Innovators
Across HBCU campuses, startup ideas move through dorm room conversations, classrooms, student organizations, and late-night brainstorming sessions long before they ever reach investors or boardrooms. Talent has never been in short supply. Access, however, often has been. Long before Venture for T.H.E.M formally launched, CEO and Founder Kiante Bush kept...
INNOVATE® Nashville
CIRCA
BRANDING THAT DRIVES MEANINGFUL & MEASURED GROWTH
Circa helps organizations in vital growth periods uncover who they are, connect with who they serve, and build brands that last. In 2015, founders Tori Thomas and Laura Deleot set out with a clear vision: create what matters. They built Circa to not only deliver value for clients, but also...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
BAZ ART
ART SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS -BAZ-ART CREATES PUBLIC INTERACTION THROUGH URBAN ART
INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1
Enduvo’s
No-Code Platform Enables Anyone With the Power to Create and Share Immersive Content Within Their Organizations and the Metaverse
Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
VEROSOURCE SOLUTIONS
PUTTING THE POWER OF HEALTHCARE DATAIN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE
It was March 2016 and VeroSource had to lay off its sole employee. Picture it: Everything was looking great for VeroSource, the digital healthcare start-up based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The company was about to celebrate its second anniversary. It had just landed a deal with a large company...
INNOVATE™ Atlantic Canada
PLANET HATCH
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS Welcome to Planet Hatch, a vibrant entrepreneurial hub, incubator, and collaborative workplace. We empower startups across diverse sectors by providing the essential resources to turn bold ideas into successful ventures. In partnership with Ignite, Planet Hatch is dedicated to nurturing first-time entrepreneurs and newcomers, shaping the future...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
NEWZOO
TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WITH ONE BIG IDEA — THAT’S THE GIST OF NEWZOO’S BEGINNINGS
But Newzoo wasn’t its founder’s (Peter Warman and Thijs Hagoort) first venture into the world of business. Far from it. After becoming friends playing basketball in high school, the industrious duo sold custom-designed t-shirts. Those early days taught them a valuable lesson: custom production based on manuals does not scale...
INNOVATE® Nashville
FIRST SOUTH FINANCIAL
BANKING WITH FRIENDS
The Story of First South Financial’s Strength, Innovation, and Community Impact. For nearly seven decades, First South Financial has stood as a trusted partner in helping individuals, families, and business owners achieve their financial goals. What began as a modest effort to provide accessible banking services has grown into one...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Hazlnut
The Company Helping To Bring New-Age Technology To The Small Businesses In Their Community
Meet Hazlnut, the company helping to bring new-age technology to the small businesses in their community. Today, people expect to have access to restaurants and retail stores on the web. Hazlnut is an all-in-one integrated solution that helps companies develop relationships with their customers through beautifully designed websites and custom...