Stories of Innovation

Founded in 2020, Com-Sec has emerged as a leading provider of comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, empowering businesses to safeguard their digital assets and achieve regulatory compliance. With a team of highly skilled cybersecurity experts boasting decades of industry experience, Com-Sec has become a trusted partner for organizations across various sectors. A...

Cullen Gilchrist founded Union Kitchen in 2012 to partner with food businesses of all sizes to grow and scale their success. Cullen got his start in the food industry with his sister and friends when they opened the Blind Dog Cafe. Faced with the challenge of increased demand and not...

“At Forceget, we aim to transform supply chain management from a reactive process into a proactive, data-driven solution.” Forceget Supply Chain Logistics began its journey with a clear mission: to empower businesses by delivering more than just freight movement. Founded by Burak and Nihan Yolga, the company emerged with...

They both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met in high school. When Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina graduated, they headed off to the University of Iowa together.   They shared a dorm room and one of those boxy Macintosh computers. It was the early 1990s. Most people...

Le Laboratoire en innovation ouverte (LLio) est un centre collégial de transfert lié au Cégep de Rivièredu-Loup. Son champ d’expertise est l’innovation ouverte et collaborative. Sa mission est de faciliter l’adoption de pratiques d’innovation ouverte, notamment celles impliquant les usagers. Le LLio s’intéresse aux pratiques, acteurs et espaces d’innovation ouverte....

Mahlako a Phahla, founded by sisters Makole Mupita and Meta Mhlarhi, is named after our mother Mahlako to pay homage to her pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit in building a successful family business at a time when it was difficult for many black people to do so.   Mahlako is an...

Redbrick LMD is reshaping Washington, D.C.’s skyline and redefining urban living. This organization is at the forefront of innovation and sustainability, transforming the region’s real estate development landscape. With a focus on long-term societal trends and a commitment to community, Redbrick is not just constructing buildings; it’s crafting legacies. A...

The story of Nature’s Fynd™ begins millions of years ago, in an acidic hot spring located in what is today Yellowstone National Park when a remarkable microbe was born. In 2009, NASA-backed research on extremophiles led our co-founder to the park’s hot springs. He then isolated and discovered a remarkable...

There is an economic transformation underway in Alberta and Creative Destruction Lab – Rockies (“CDL-Rockies”) is playing an important role in that transformation. CDL-Rockies is focused on accelerating the commercial potential of the next generation of promising science- and technology-based ventures across a variety of sectors, including energy and agriculture....

The health crisis has presented companies with new challenges. The appetite for digitization is now larger than ever before. Start-ups play an important role as drivers of innovation. Gumption is an innovation hub and ecosystem for young companies. The group’s 20 companies focus on business challenges and IT solutions, such...

Numana est un organisme à but non lucratif (OBNL) québécois et agit en tant que macro-accélérateur en créant, promouvant et dynamisant des projets d’écosystèmes technologiques en TIC. Dans cette mission, Numana regroupe des écosystèmes composés d’entreprises qui utilisent des technologies et d’entreprises qui fournissent des TIC (matériel, logiciels et applications),...

In July 2010, nine inches of rain fell in a very short amount of time, filling the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s (MMSD) service area pipes with some 64 billion gallons of water. A storm of this severity is only likely to occur once every 500 years, but the frequency is...

Depuis 2016, nous avons la conviction que la collaboration et la mutualisation des pratiques et des ressources (le mouvement) de tous ceux et celles qui par leur accompagnement permettent de réaliser en moins de temps qu’il n’en faudrait autrement (les accélérateurs), peuvent décupler l’impact des startups (l’innovation) de toutes les...

When Tara Turkington, CEO of marketing agency Flow Communications, was asked to arrange a visit for a few people to South Africa, nobody realised it was the genesis of something remarkable. Flow Travel organises exciting, immersive trips for small groups to wherever our guests lead us. We like to do...

As Europe faces widening wealth gaps, rising climate pressures, and a demographic shift toward longer retirements, traditional financial advice is no longer enough. Companies today want more than solid pension and investment products — they want to build resilience, protect their people and position themselves as employers of choice in...

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...

The Bensadoun School of Retail Management (BSRM) at McGill University recently launched a retail innovation lab. This initiative is a collaboration between McGill University and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT). The lab is a convenience store as well as a living lab that operates on the McGill University campus and houses...

Whether it’s developing new products, reducing costs, or increasing accessibility, innovations in manufacturing can improve the lives of companies and consumers alike. The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) is leading that charge with a mission to cultivate, scale, and integrate those innovations into the market — and develop the workforce...

NovelYeast is an R&D company with world-leading expertise in the design and development of superior industrial yeast strains. Our superior yeast strains for bioethanol and isobutanol production support the transition to a more sustainable bio-based economy in the sectors of automobile and aviation transport. Superior yeast strains for production of...

In the halls of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., two organizations met in 2019. PodTechs and Baycrest became partners in podcasting. Fast forward half a decade later, and in 2024, the duo accomplished a rare feat: Defy Dementia, which unpacks the significant effects of caregiving on brain health,...

Their mission is to overcome longstanding stereotypes that surround skateboarding by helping others, reinforcing positivity, and supporting a healthy lifestyle. Also known as the Skate Crusaders, they have handpicked talent from across the metropolitan region and dedicate themselves to meaningfully help those in need. The team is comprised of girls/women...

Cyber security is an arms race that is positioned to continue indefinitely. New technologies are constantly emerging to combat cyber criminals, but regardless, criminals discover how to exploit them. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and other security-focused vendors detect many of these attacks and alert their customers and the community,...

Julie Lilliston Communications Shapes the Future of PR. When Julie Lilliston founded Julie Lilliston Communications in 2014, she envisioned more than just another public relations firm. Drawing from more than two decades of corporate communications expertise at global agencies Weber Shandwick and MSL Group, she set out to revolutionize how...

The backbone of many new ventures is intellectual property – a swirl of ideas that can include inventions, branding, product designs, and a variety of intangibles that make an undertaking worth pursuing. Most ventures begin with curious minds asking questions, identifying a gap in a market, or challenging the status...