Stories of Innovation

Co-founded by University of Toronto graduates, Bashir Khan, Ayaan Haider and Shayaan Haider in 2018, AirMatrix builds the world’s most precise drone road systems. AirMatrix is innovating at the bleeding edge and is affiliated with Communitech, MaRS, IRAP and DMZ. AirMatrix is a member of Transport Canada’s action team on...

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...

In February 2019, a mere conversation that I had with a JCSU athletics administrator about the paucity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that possessed structured on-campus esports programming became the impetus behind my development of a proposal later that day for an esports and gaming academic program. The...

Founded by three experienced systems developers and sales professionals, the company was born with the goal to offer the market a platform with all the features that a marketing and sales department need to achieve its goals. During the previous experiences of its founders, an opportunity was noticed in providing...

Pioneering Innovation in BiohealthNestled in the heart of America’s Midwest, BioForward Wisconsin represents Wisconsin’s vibrant biohealth sector which stands as a beacon of innovation and economic growth. A 501(c) 6 member association established in 1988 as the Wisconsin Biotechnology Association, the organization initially focused on biotechnology. It expanded its membership...

Mission University of Montreal’s entrepreneurship center (CEuMONTRÉAL) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, while providing support to entrepreneurs for the creation of scientific and technological businesses in several fields, such as life sciences, biomedical, education, agriculture, law, etc. For over 20...

Founded in 2018, the FBBA is a dedicated and diverse network of business leaders who work together to represent and unite the blockchain community in the state of Florida. We bring together regulators, representatives, and industry leaders to create an innovation and technology focused environment, which benefits all Floridians. The...

In 2011, VendEngine started as a simple concept — digitizing financial transactions for law enforcement, jails and prisons while providing easy, safe, and secure methods to transmit money between family members and inmates. Once the company got going however, this simple concept, something that had been done in nearly every...

About usGERAD is an interuniversity research centre working at the heart of digital intelligence. It aims to be a reference point in the area of decision mathematics and its applications to complex systems, by bringing together university and industry researchers to carry out large-scale R&D projects. Its contributions can be...

Across Northern Virginia, progress rarely follows a straight line. Breakthrough technologies emerge alongside evolving regulations, new markets develop beside established industries, and organizations are expected to move quickly while continuing to deliver results. In this environment, complexity is not an obstacle: it’s the starting point. KPMG helps organizations across the...

Founded in 2018, company CEO / Managing Director, Kimal Singh, and COO / Director, Joshua Cleary, met onsite as contract technicians. The pair recognised flaws in the industry standard technology and methods when they discovered an opportunity to transform the non-destructive testing industry. Once NDE Solutions was created, it became...

Founded in Sweden and built on over two decades of scientific research, Mavatar is at the forefront of a new era in precision medicine. Its proprietary technology platform combines biological expertise, advanced machine learning, and high-resolution molecular data to create digital twins—virtual models of both patients and diseases that simulate...

The Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) is a community of business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals committed to empowering individuals by helping them start and grow their businesses. As the largest community of Latino business owners across Illinois and the Midwest, they represent more than 100,000 businesses. Latinos in Illinois...

Tribe Network is a community of racialized people pursuing technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. They envision a world where Black, Indigenous, and people of colour are at the forefront of these disciplines, fully armed with the knowledge, resources, skills, and connections they need to start, build, and scale thriving businesses. TRIBE...

Nestled in the heart of Georgia, the University of West Georgia (UWG) stands as a beacon of innovation and research, setting the stage for a future in which creativity and entrepreneurial spirit thrive. As the seventh-largest public university in the state, UWG is not just an institution of higher learning;...

An integral part of our DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships, working together to identify our customers’ needs and provide solutions that fuel their success. We have preserved this keen focus on solving business challenges since our founding in 1984. Len Bosack and wife Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford...

Hotmilk is the innovation ecosystem of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), considered the most innovative university in the country. Regarded as the primary innovation ecosystem in Paraná (and positioned among the largest in Brazil), Hotmilk operates on multiple fronts: accelerating over 100 resident startups, opening new business opportunities...

The World Trade Center (WTC) is the largest business network in the world and one of the most important associations of executives and entrepreneurs. It was created in the 1960s from a fair in Queens, New York City, by the Rockefeller family. Currently the WTC is present in 91 countries,...

“Interning at Illuminate helped me row both as an individual and professional by giving me a platform to test my leadership skills, and most importantly by providing me with an invaluable network of connections at my disposal. Believe it or not, but the most important lesson I took from my...

Montréal InVivo is a network for exchange, mobilization and collaboration in the life sciences and health technologies (LSHT) ecosystem. Founded in 2007 and headed by Frank Béraud since 2015, the mission of this non-profit organization is to advance and develop the LSHT cluster in the Montréal region by establishing a...

Portage Ventures (“Portage”) is a venture investor that partners with some of the world’s most innovative financial technology companies. Portage is the venture capital arm of multi-asset class alternative investment firm Sagard. It was cofounded in 2016 by Paul Desmarais III (Executive Chairman and CEO of Sagard) and Adam Felesky...

Kamana brings workflow efficiency and security to an antiquated industry, connecting healthcare employers with qualified professionals to fill contract staffing needs. The contract healthcare staffing industry is fundamentally flawed. Travel healthcare professionals, who change locations (and employers) every three months, consistently complain about the lack of continuity across the industry....

Senso is a leading intelligence and engagement platform designed to help mortgage lenders increase interest income growth and lifetime value by proactively engaging borrowers leading up to their next home purchase or refinance transaction. How It All Came Together Founded in the heart of Toronto’s innovation ecosystem in 2017, founders...

In the face of the obstacles challenging the augmented reality community, the BUNDLAR platform makes AR simple, affordable, and accessible to the average creator. We accomplish this with our proprietary Content Management System (CMS) and integrated mobile application. Instead of hiring expensive developers to build AR experiences, businesses and institutions...