Stories of Innovation
INNOVATION Quebec
LAVAL INNOV
Founded in 2018 at the instigation of visionary Laval residents and benefiting from the financial support of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI) and the city of Laval, Laval Innov aims to make innovation an essential lever for the sustainable development of Laval
As a Regional Space for Acceleration and Growth (ERAC) in Laval, it aims to stimulate and enhance the appropriation and integration of innovation in the territory, whether through its activities with companies or through the implementation of important structuring projects with a regional scope. Innovate in LavalStrategically positioned north of...
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™ South Africa
AWCA INVESTMENT HOLDINGS
AFRICAN WOMEN CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (AWCA) PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE ENTRY OF YOUNG WOMEN INTO THE HISTORICALLY ALMOST IMPENETRABLE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY (CA) PROFESSION
Having overcome exactly the struggles with which AWCA exists to assist, inspirational Founder, Sindi Mabaso-Koyana talks us through some of what makes the organization so special and valuable to aspirational women who are mentored and supported throughout their journey of becoming and CA and even beyond, to ensure their successful...
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...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
HAVE YOU HEARD
WE ARE A MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY, HOWEVER, OUR DNA, HOW WE STARTED AND OUR REASON FOR BEING HAS ALWAYS MADE US DIFFERENT
We were never just advertising people wanting to do big TV ads, we were entrepreneurs wanting to build brands and businesses. We were also very inexperienced and naïve and while that made things much more challenging in the early years, it has made us more effective the more time has...
INNOVATE® Miami
Code Explorers
Preparing the Next Generation for the 4th Industrial Revolution
Code Explorers is a technology research and training development organization. Today’s global workforce faces an urgent need to gain new skills to keep up-to-date with the changing requirements of their jobs. Similarly, the global workforce of tomorrow – today’s children and youth – urgently need an education that sets them...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Airstream Ventures
Business.Entertainment.Sports
Memorable moments come in many different shapes and sizes. Airstream Ventures partners with events, companies, and non-profits to create those moments and unique experiences that connect the community on a deeper level. In July of 2018, Alan Verlander and Joel Lamp decided to take a risk and leave their current...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIRANO
KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION
CIRANO is the leading institution in Quebec for knowledge enhancement in the economic evaluation of decisions on major societal issues, and for the development and evaluation of public policies. Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, Polytechnique Montreal professor, President and CEO, CIRANO Catherine Beaudry Polytechnique Montréal “CIRANO plays a crucial role in Quebec’s...
INNOVATE® Nashville
SwitchPoint Ventures
We build companies around pioneering technologies.
Our journey began a decade ago, here in Nashville – a city known for creativity and reinvention. That same spirit shaped how we approach innovation: with collaboration, grit, and a builder’s mindset. At SwitchPoint Ventures, we build companies around pioneering technologies – particularly in AI, data science, and digital innovation...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
STUDIO C&G
Alright stop! Collaborate and listen! We hit the tech industry with a brand new intention!
Alright stop! Collaborate and listen! We hit the tech industry with a brand new intention! What is something you see all the time? Is it companies focusing on iteration, always eager to jump directly into the development of neat, new technology? (A desire to explore the Great Unknown – to...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
AIRE
THE TRUST THAT LED ESTONIAN COMPANIES ONTO AI AND ROBOTICS PATHS
In October 2021, AIRE began operations as one of Estonia’s leading AI and robotics innovation centres. The centre was established with the aim of supporting local industrial companies in adopting artificial intelligence and robotics solutions. Today, AIRE plays a central role in accelerating digital transformation, serving as a trustworthy bridge...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
SFU’s CHARLES CHANG INSTITUTE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
INNOVATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
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...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
SolvedAF Consulting Inc
SolvedAF inverts the traditional consulting model by partnering with organizations to grow their businesses through fractional leadership and right sourcing.
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...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
VERASONI
CEOs and CMOs are demanding more clarity, efficiency, performance and efficacy from their marketing enterprises. As marketing gets noisier, brands turn to Verasoni as a guiding light of calm and for measured strategies, and they have since 2005. Recognized for innovation and strategic guidance to clients ranging from Fortune 500...
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® Georgia
REPAY
ATLANTA’S REPAY REVAMPS PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE ADVANTAGES FOR CONSUMERS & BUSINESSES
History & PurposeREPAY was founded in 2006 by John Morris and Shaler Alias with the goal of providing fast, frictionless, and fail-safe integrated payment processing solutions for consumers and businesses. Morris serves as REPAY’s CEO to this day, and Alias co-leads as president from the company’s headquarters in Atlanta. REPAY’s...
INNOVATION Quebec
INÉDI
CCTT EN DESIGN INDUSTRIEL
Les designers industriels interviennent dans la conception de produits avec lesquels vous interagissez au quotidien. Que vous soyez agriculteur, athlète, thérapeute, artiste de cirque ou manufacturier, il est fort probable qu’un designer industriel ait été impliqué dans laconception des expériences, des services ou des produits que vous utilisez. Le design...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
SC TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
SOUTH CAROLINA’S TECHNICAL COLLEGES ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE
In a state known for its industrious spirit and manufacturing strength, the South Carolina Technical College System has quietly – and powerfully – become the engine driving economic growth, workforce transformation, and social mobility. With 16 colleges strategically located across the state, this system isn’t just preparing students for jobs...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
AUGUST BROWN
TRANSFORMING INNOVATION INTO MARKET SUCCESS
INSIGHT. INNOVATE. IMPROVE. August Brown has established itself as a trailblazer in Milwaukee’s innovation ecosystem, bridging the often-daunting gap between research and market execution. Founded by Dr. Gordon Nameni and Erik Vickstrom, this boutique agency has become synonymous with strategic excellence and groundbreaking impact. “It all really started in 2018,”...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Fem Equity
Our vision is to close the pay gap for career women by $1 BILLION DOLLARS by 2030
Fem Equity, a pioneering career & workforce platform driven by artificial intelligence, has reached a significant milestone by generating over a million dollars in salary impact since its establishment. With a vision to narrow the pay gap for career women by $1 billion by 2030, Fem Equity is dedicated to...
INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®
FERRAIUOLI, LLC
20 YEARS PIONEERING INNOVATION
Intellectual Property and Data SecurityThe pursuit and protection of intellectual property rights requires specialized know- how. Ferraiuoli is a multi-service law firm whose practice gives great emphasis to intellectual property matters. Ferraiuoli’s Intellectual Property Department is the leading intellectual property practice in Puerto Rico, according to Chambers & Partner’s Global...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ALT TEX
FOOD-TO-FABRIC FASHION
Fashion’s Pollution ProblemThe $2.5 trillion fashion industry is one of the top-most polluting industries in the world, generating 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the heavy reliance by the industry on synthetic, petroleum-derived, fabrics such as polyester, is projected to create over a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
LUCENT BIOSCIENCES
GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
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...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
Northeastern University Arlington
Engineering Talent for Where Policy, Security, and Technology Converge
For more than 125 years, Northeastern University has built its reputation around one defining idea: learning works best when it is connected directly to the world it aims to serve. That belief has powered a global university system spanning 13 campuses across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom....
INNOVATION Quebec
LAVAL INNOV
Founded in 2018 at the instigation of visionary Laval residents and benefiting from the financial support of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI) and the city of Laval, Laval Innov aims to make innovation an essential lever for the sustainable development of Laval
As a Regional Space for Acceleration and Growth (ERAC) in Laval, it aims to stimulate and enhance the appropriation and integration of innovation in the territory, whether through its activities with companies or through the implementation of important structuring projects with a regional scope. Innovate in LavalStrategically positioned north of...
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™ South Africa
AWCA INVESTMENT HOLDINGS
AFRICAN WOMEN CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (AWCA) PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE ENTRY OF YOUNG WOMEN INTO THE HISTORICALLY ALMOST IMPENETRABLE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY (CA) PROFESSION
Having overcome exactly the struggles with which AWCA exists to assist, inspirational Founder, Sindi Mabaso-Koyana talks us through some of what makes the organization so special and valuable to aspirational women who are mentored and supported throughout their journey of becoming and CA and even beyond, to ensure their successful...
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...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
HAVE YOU HEARD
WE ARE A MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY, HOWEVER, OUR DNA, HOW WE STARTED AND OUR REASON FOR BEING HAS ALWAYS MADE US DIFFERENT
We were never just advertising people wanting to do big TV ads, we were entrepreneurs wanting to build brands and businesses. We were also very inexperienced and naïve and while that made things much more challenging in the early years, it has made us more effective the more time has...
INNOVATE® Miami
Code Explorers
Preparing the Next Generation for the 4th Industrial Revolution
Code Explorers is a technology research and training development organization. Today’s global workforce faces an urgent need to gain new skills to keep up-to-date with the changing requirements of their jobs. Similarly, the global workforce of tomorrow – today’s children and youth – urgently need an education that sets them...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
Airstream Ventures
Business.Entertainment.Sports
Memorable moments come in many different shapes and sizes. Airstream Ventures partners with events, companies, and non-profits to create those moments and unique experiences that connect the community on a deeper level. In July of 2018, Alan Verlander and Joel Lamp decided to take a risk and leave their current...
INNOVATION Quebec
CIRANO
KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION
CIRANO is the leading institution in Quebec for knowledge enhancement in the economic evaluation of decisions on major societal issues, and for the development and evaluation of public policies. Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, Polytechnique Montreal professor, President and CEO, CIRANO Catherine Beaudry Polytechnique Montréal “CIRANO plays a crucial role in Quebec’s...
INNOVATE® Nashville
SwitchPoint Ventures
We build companies around pioneering technologies.
Our journey began a decade ago, here in Nashville – a city known for creativity and reinvention. That same spirit shaped how we approach innovation: with collaboration, grit, and a builder’s mindset. At SwitchPoint Ventures, we build companies around pioneering technologies – particularly in AI, data science, and digital innovation...
INNOVATE™ Alberta
STUDIO C&G
Alright stop! Collaborate and listen! We hit the tech industry with a brand new intention!
Alright stop! Collaborate and listen! We hit the tech industry with a brand new intention! What is something you see all the time? Is it companies focusing on iteration, always eager to jump directly into the development of neat, new technology? (A desire to explore the Great Unknown – to...
INNOVATE™ Estonia
AIRE
THE TRUST THAT LED ESTONIAN COMPANIES ONTO AI AND ROBOTICS PATHS
In October 2021, AIRE began operations as one of Estonia’s leading AI and robotics innovation centres. The centre was established with the aim of supporting local industrial companies in adopting artificial intelligence and robotics solutions. Today, AIRE plays a central role in accelerating digital transformation, serving as a trustworthy bridge...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
SFU’s CHARLES CHANG INSTITUTE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
INNOVATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
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...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
SolvedAF Consulting Inc
SolvedAF inverts the traditional consulting model by partnering with organizations to grow their businesses through fractional leadership and right sourcing.
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...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
VERASONI
CEOs and CMOs are demanding more clarity, efficiency, performance and efficacy from their marketing enterprises. As marketing gets noisier, brands turn to Verasoni as a guiding light of calm and for measured strategies, and they have since 2005. Recognized for innovation and strategic guidance to clients ranging from Fortune 500...
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® Georgia
REPAY
ATLANTA’S REPAY REVAMPS PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE ADVANTAGES FOR CONSUMERS & BUSINESSES
History & PurposeREPAY was founded in 2006 by John Morris and Shaler Alias with the goal of providing fast, frictionless, and fail-safe integrated payment processing solutions for consumers and businesses. Morris serves as REPAY’s CEO to this day, and Alias co-leads as president from the company’s headquarters in Atlanta. REPAY’s...
INNOVATION Quebec
INÉDI
CCTT EN DESIGN INDUSTRIEL
Les designers industriels interviennent dans la conception de produits avec lesquels vous interagissez au quotidien. Que vous soyez agriculteur, athlète, thérapeute, artiste de cirque ou manufacturier, il est fort probable qu’un designer industriel ait été impliqué dans laconception des expériences, des services ou des produits que vous utilisez. Le design...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
SC TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
SOUTH CAROLINA’S TECHNICAL COLLEGES ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE
In a state known for its industrious spirit and manufacturing strength, the South Carolina Technical College System has quietly – and powerfully – become the engine driving economic growth, workforce transformation, and social mobility. With 16 colleges strategically located across the state, this system isn’t just preparing students for jobs...
INNOVATE® Milwaukee
AUGUST BROWN
TRANSFORMING INNOVATION INTO MARKET SUCCESS
INSIGHT. INNOVATE. IMPROVE. August Brown has established itself as a trailblazer in Milwaukee’s innovation ecosystem, bridging the often-daunting gap between research and market execution. Founded by Dr. Gordon Nameni and Erik Vickstrom, this boutique agency has become synonymous with strategic excellence and groundbreaking impact. “It all really started in 2018,”...
INNOVATE® Washington DMV Edition
Fem Equity
Our vision is to close the pay gap for career women by $1 BILLION DOLLARS by 2030
Fem Equity, a pioneering career & workforce platform driven by artificial intelligence, has reached a significant milestone by generating over a million dollars in salary impact since its establishment. With a vision to narrow the pay gap for career women by $1 billion by 2030, Fem Equity is dedicated to...
INNOVATIONS in Pharmaceutical Development®
FERRAIUOLI, LLC
20 YEARS PIONEERING INNOVATION
Intellectual Property and Data SecurityThe pursuit and protection of intellectual property rights requires specialized know- how. Ferraiuoli is a multi-service law firm whose practice gives great emphasis to intellectual property matters. Ferraiuoli’s Intellectual Property Department is the leading intellectual property practice in Puerto Rico, according to Chambers & Partner’s Global...
INNOVATE™ Toronto
ALT TEX
FOOD-TO-FABRIC FASHION
Fashion’s Pollution ProblemThe $2.5 trillion fashion industry is one of the top-most polluting industries in the world, generating 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the heavy reliance by the industry on synthetic, petroleum-derived, fabrics such as polyester, is projected to create over a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
LUCENT BIOSCIENCES
GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
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...
INNOVATE® Northern Virginia
Northeastern University Arlington
Engineering Talent for Where Policy, Security, and Technology Converge
For more than 125 years, Northeastern University has built its reputation around one defining idea: learning works best when it is connected directly to the world it aims to serve. That belief has powered a global university system spanning 13 campuses across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom....