Stories of Innovation
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Beacon HR
MAINTAINING PEACE OF MIND FOR FOUNDERS WITH FLEXIBLE TALENT SOLUTIONS
Beacon HR is in the business of transforming companies to help them become stronger, more modern, and more resilient. Change seems to be the only constant in this era of the Great Resignation, followed by a recessionary environment. Scrambling to come up with short-term actions and pivots to stay competitive...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Launch Tennessee
Advances legacy of innovation
Public-private partnership Launch Tennessee has spent more than a decade creating a unique statewide startup ecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs in all 95 counties across the Volunteer State by providing capital, commercialization support, and connections. “It’s a great privilege to work on behalf of the entire state to boost innovation and entrepreneurship,”...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
VISUAL CAPITALIST
MAKING THE WORLD’S INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE WITH THE POWER OF DATA STORYTELLING
Every two years, there is more new data being created than throughout all of previous human history. As a result of this growing information overload, it’s becoming harder and harder to understand the root causes leading to the future trends shaping our world. Visual Capitalist is an independent media company...
INNOVATION Quebec
SCALE AI
VERS UNE ÉCONOMIE PROPULSÉE PAR L’IA POUR LE CANADA
En tant que grappe d’innovation mondiale du Canada en IA, Scale AI agit comme un pôle d’investissement et d’innovation pour accélérer l’adoption et l’intégration rapide de l’intelligence artificielle dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement, à travers des projets porteurs pour l’économie d’ici. Véritable lien pancanadien entre les différents piliers de la communauté...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
CODE on the beach
North Florida’s premier software development conference
Founded in 2013 as a non-profit organization, Code on the Beach continues to be North Florida’s premier software development conference. Over the course of 7 years, we have featured hundreds of speakers from around the globe. We have covered everything from programming languages to product management to UI/UX design principles...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
YORKTEL
YOUR CATALYST FOR COLLABORATION IN AV, IT, AND VOICE
In a world where the only constant is change, the ability to adapt and innovate is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity. Within the increasingly dynamic collaboration industry, Yorktel stands as a shining example of a company that embodies these qualities. Their journey as a Managed Collaboration Services Provider...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Latoria Williams — Chief Executive Officer, 1F Cash Advance
1F Cash Advance is a fintech company that provides short-term financial support for people who have trouble qualifying for traditional bank loans. The company was founded and is led by CEO Latoria Williams. Her business journey began with the realization that nearly half of Americans do not have an emergency...
INNOVATION Quebec
CDCQ
CCTT IN COMPOSITES DEVELOPMENT
Founded in 1989, the Centre de développement des composites du Québec (CDCQ) is an applied research centre affiliated and integrated with the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme—the only college in Quebec offering a technical program in composite materials engineering. The CDCQ’s research facilities are adjacent to the CEGEP. Our mission and visionThrough...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
HEY LISTEN GAMES
Teaching With Video Games
Hey Listen Games was born out of my passion for gaming and my desire to find ways to best teach my students. I teach at Ellis Preparatory Academy, a public high school in New York City dedicated to a one hundred percent immigrant and ENL (English as a New Language)...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DIG SOUTH
BUILDING THE SOUTH’S TECH FUTURE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
In 2012, with two young children at home and a bold vision for the South’s untapped potential, Stanfield Gray and his wife, Sunny Gray, launched DIG SOUTH in Charleston, South Carolina. They were driven by a simple question: Why should a child from the South have fewer opportunities than a...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
RENTCARS
SEARCH, COMPARE, RENT. CAR RENTAL AT THE BEST PRICES
In the dynamic landscape of global mobility solutions, Rentcars stands out as the largest online car rental platform in Latin America, connecting users with rental companies worldwide. Founded in 2009 in Curitiba, Rentcars has been at the forefront of innovation, offering a unique experience to users, not only through a...
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® Puerto Rico
TALE+
A group of bilingual speech-language pathologists dedicated to helping others communicate better
TALE+ is a teletherapy company made up of a group of licensed, bilingual, speech language pathologists whose mission is to help others be more confident in their language of choice, while also supporting the professional growth of speech pathologists. Founded and based in Puerto Rico, TALE+’s focus is twofold: expanding...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Eatible Delights
Working Tirelessly to Bring Customers’ Visions to Life
You may not find “Humble Beginnings” or “soul-searing passion” in the nutrition facts of any label – on any product – in all the world; but at 1540 E Wadsworth Avenue in Philadelphia, it’s been a key ingredient. June 26, 2026 will make 30 years of business for David Simms....
INNOVATION Quebec
Centre ACER
The maple syrup research, development and technology transfer center, has been a world leader in innovation for the maple industry since 1998
For nearly 25 years, Centre ACER has been stimulating excellence and supporting the quality and profitability of the maple syrup industry. By combining knowledge and vision, this network of true innovation promotes the influence and international development of the maple industry in Quebec and ensures its sustainability. Comprised of...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Plug and Play Detroit
Driving the Future of Mobility
A city synonymous with automotive innovation, Plug and Play’s Detroit operation is making waves with its groundbreaking approach to mobility. As a global leader in fostering innovation, Plug and Play has established itself as a critical player in the tech ecosystem. However, in Detroit, the organization is doing more than...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
HKLM
BLAZING A TRAIL FOR AFRICAN BRANDING
“Nineteen years ago, Gary Harwood and I were assigned to a project in Lagos, Nigeria, by the large multinational for which we were working. On the evening of the first day of the project, we sat in the hotel bar enjoying an ice-cold local beer and wondered, what on Earth...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHUM
THE CHUM IS AN INNOVATIVE HOSPITAL SERVING THE PEOPLE OF QUEBEC.
Nearly 18,000 people work, practice, study and work here. The CHUM offers the best specialized and super specialized care to all Quebecers and improves their health, based on scientific knowledge that is constantly updated by a research and teaching community. The CHUM Research Centre is the largest research center in...
INNOVATE® South Florida
LEVATAS
VISUAL AI FOR EVERY INSPECTION
VISUAL AI FOR EVERY INSPECTION The AI platform and model library from Levatas enables mobile robots, autonomous drones and unmanned submersibles to understand what they’re seeing in our customer’s dynamic, real-world environments, alerting human co-workers to potential safety, security, and maintenance anomalies. These automated inspection solutions keep humans out of...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
ADULT YOU
LIFE IS A GAME, LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT WELL
A LEARNING PLATFORM DESIGNED FOR REAL ADULTS NAVIGATING REAL LIVE. What does Adult You do? Adult You harnesses industry-leading gamified learning to empower adults with essential life skills, making personal growth as engaging as the best games and social platforms. We’re here to help adults thrive in their everyday lives....
INNOVATE® Georgia
BLACKROCK
CHARTING THE WAY FORWARD
For BlackRock, continuous innovation is key. BlackRock’s Aladdin® business—which provides an investment management platform for institutional investors and wealth managers—is at the heart of the company’s tech innovation. Aladdin provides a unified investment management platform that gives clients a full view of their portfolio, across public and private markets—and enables...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia
Bridging Cultures, Building Prosperity
In the vibrant mosaic of Philadelphia, where generations of Asian immigrants have shaped the city’s restaurants, corner stores, tech startups, and professional services, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia (AACCGP) serves as a vital bridge between heritage and horizon. Founded in 1999 as a volunteer-led initiative, the...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
LAUNCH PAD JOB CLUB
To Create A Career Networking Community That Provides Professional Resources, Accountability, And Growth For All
COMMUNITY.That is what Launch Pad Job Club offers to the job seeker. We offer a supportive community to bolster the job seeker who may have just been laid off and is experiencing a real “deer in the headlights” moment. Or maybe that job seeker has been off the job market...
INNOVATE® Los Angeles
WAVEMAKER THREE-SIXTY HEALTH
LA’s Go-To Health-tech Venture Capital Firm
The WHY L.A.’s healthcare innovation ecosystem is so incredibly strong thanks to remarkable institutions like UCLA Medical Center, CedarsSinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Keck Hospital of USC, SCAN, Amgen, and many more, plus world-class universities including Caltech, UCLA and USC. Yet for decades, the city was missing a venture...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
Beacon HR
MAINTAINING PEACE OF MIND FOR FOUNDERS WITH FLEXIBLE TALENT SOLUTIONS
Beacon HR is in the business of transforming companies to help them become stronger, more modern, and more resilient. Change seems to be the only constant in this era of the Great Resignation, followed by a recessionary environment. Scrambling to come up with short-term actions and pivots to stay competitive...
INNOVATE® Nashville
Launch Tennessee
Advances legacy of innovation
Public-private partnership Launch Tennessee has spent more than a decade creating a unique statewide startup ecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs in all 95 counties across the Volunteer State by providing capital, commercialization support, and connections. “It’s a great privilege to work on behalf of the entire state to boost innovation and entrepreneurship,”...
INNOVATE™ Vancouver Vol.2
VISUAL CAPITALIST
MAKING THE WORLD’S INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE WITH THE POWER OF DATA STORYTELLING
Every two years, there is more new data being created than throughout all of previous human history. As a result of this growing information overload, it’s becoming harder and harder to understand the root causes leading to the future trends shaping our world. Visual Capitalist is an independent media company...
INNOVATION Quebec
SCALE AI
VERS UNE ÉCONOMIE PROPULSÉE PAR L’IA POUR LE CANADA
En tant que grappe d’innovation mondiale du Canada en IA, Scale AI agit comme un pôle d’investissement et d’innovation pour accélérer l’adoption et l’intégration rapide de l’intelligence artificielle dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement, à travers des projets porteurs pour l’économie d’ici. Véritable lien pancanadien entre les différents piliers de la communauté...
INNOVATE® Jacksonville
CODE on the beach
North Florida’s premier software development conference
Founded in 2013 as a non-profit organization, Code on the Beach continues to be North Florida’s premier software development conference. Over the course of 7 years, we have featured hundreds of speakers from around the globe. We have covered everything from programming languages to product management to UI/UX design principles...
INNOVATE® New Jersey Vol.2
YORKTEL
YOUR CATALYST FOR COLLABORATION IN AV, IT, AND VOICE
In a world where the only constant is change, the ability to adapt and innovate is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity. Within the increasingly dynamic collaboration industry, Yorktel stands as a shining example of a company that embodies these qualities. Their journey as a Managed Collaboration Services Provider...
Global Innovation Spotlight
Latoria Williams — Chief Executive Officer, 1F Cash Advance
1F Cash Advance is a fintech company that provides short-term financial support for people who have trouble qualifying for traditional bank loans. The company was founded and is led by CEO Latoria Williams. Her business journey began with the realization that nearly half of Americans do not have an emergency...
INNOVATION Quebec
CDCQ
CCTT IN COMPOSITES DEVELOPMENT
Founded in 1989, the Centre de développement des composites du Québec (CDCQ) is an applied research centre affiliated and integrated with the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme—the only college in Quebec offering a technical program in composite materials engineering. The CDCQ’s research facilities are adjacent to the CEGEP. Our mission and visionThrough...
INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports
HEY LISTEN GAMES
Teaching With Video Games
Hey Listen Games was born out of my passion for gaming and my desire to find ways to best teach my students. I teach at Ellis Preparatory Academy, a public high school in New York City dedicated to a one hundred percent immigrant and ENL (English as a New Language)...
INNOVATE® South Carolina
DIG SOUTH
BUILDING THE SOUTH’S TECH FUTURE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
In 2012, with two young children at home and a bold vision for the South’s untapped potential, Stanfield Gray and his wife, Sunny Gray, launched DIG SOUTH in Charleston, South Carolina. They were driven by a simple question: Why should a child from the South have fewer opportunities than a...
INNOVATE™ Curitiba
RENTCARS
SEARCH, COMPARE, RENT. CAR RENTAL AT THE BEST PRICES
In the dynamic landscape of global mobility solutions, Rentcars stands out as the largest online car rental platform in Latin America, connecting users with rental companies worldwide. Founded in 2009 in Curitiba, Rentcars has been at the forefront of innovation, offering a unique experience to users, not only through a...
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® Puerto Rico
TALE+
A group of bilingual speech-language pathologists dedicated to helping others communicate better
TALE+ is a teletherapy company made up of a group of licensed, bilingual, speech language pathologists whose mission is to help others be more confident in their language of choice, while also supporting the professional growth of speech pathologists. Founded and based in Puerto Rico, TALE+’s focus is twofold: expanding...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Eatible Delights
Working Tirelessly to Bring Customers’ Visions to Life
You may not find “Humble Beginnings” or “soul-searing passion” in the nutrition facts of any label – on any product – in all the world; but at 1540 E Wadsworth Avenue in Philadelphia, it’s been a key ingredient. June 26, 2026 will make 30 years of business for David Simms....
INNOVATION Quebec
Centre ACER
The maple syrup research, development and technology transfer center, has been a world leader in innovation for the maple industry since 1998
For nearly 25 years, Centre ACER has been stimulating excellence and supporting the quality and profitability of the maple syrup industry. By combining knowledge and vision, this network of true innovation promotes the influence and international development of the maple industry in Quebec and ensures its sustainability. Comprised of...
INNOVATE® Detroit
Plug and Play Detroit
Driving the Future of Mobility
A city synonymous with automotive innovation, Plug and Play’s Detroit operation is making waves with its groundbreaking approach to mobility. As a global leader in fostering innovation, Plug and Play has established itself as a critical player in the tech ecosystem. However, in Detroit, the organization is doing more than...
INNOVATE™ South Africa
HKLM
BLAZING A TRAIL FOR AFRICAN BRANDING
“Nineteen years ago, Gary Harwood and I were assigned to a project in Lagos, Nigeria, by the large multinational for which we were working. On the evening of the first day of the project, we sat in the hotel bar enjoying an ice-cold local beer and wondered, what on Earth...
INNOVATION Quebec
CHUM
THE CHUM IS AN INNOVATIVE HOSPITAL SERVING THE PEOPLE OF QUEBEC.
Nearly 18,000 people work, practice, study and work here. The CHUM offers the best specialized and super specialized care to all Quebecers and improves their health, based on scientific knowledge that is constantly updated by a research and teaching community. The CHUM Research Centre is the largest research center in...
INNOVATE® South Florida
LEVATAS
VISUAL AI FOR EVERY INSPECTION
VISUAL AI FOR EVERY INSPECTION The AI platform and model library from Levatas enables mobile robots, autonomous drones and unmanned submersibles to understand what they’re seeing in our customer’s dynamic, real-world environments, alerting human co-workers to potential safety, security, and maintenance anomalies. These automated inspection solutions keep humans out of...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
ADULT YOU
LIFE IS A GAME, LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT WELL
A LEARNING PLATFORM DESIGNED FOR REAL ADULTS NAVIGATING REAL LIVE. What does Adult You do? Adult You harnesses industry-leading gamified learning to empower adults with essential life skills, making personal growth as engaging as the best games and social platforms. We’re here to help adults thrive in their everyday lives....
INNOVATE® Georgia
BLACKROCK
CHARTING THE WAY FORWARD
For BlackRock, continuous innovation is key. BlackRock’s Aladdin® business—which provides an investment management platform for institutional investors and wealth managers—is at the heart of the company’s tech innovation. Aladdin provides a unified investment management platform that gives clients a full view of their portfolio, across public and private markets—and enables...
INNOVATE® Philadelphia
Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia
Bridging Cultures, Building Prosperity
In the vibrant mosaic of Philadelphia, where generations of Asian immigrants have shaped the city’s restaurants, corner stores, tech startups, and professional services, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia (AACCGP) serves as a vital bridge between heritage and horizon. Founded in 1999 as a volunteer-led initiative, the...
INNOVATE® Austin Volume 2
LAUNCH PAD JOB CLUB
To Create A Career Networking Community That Provides Professional Resources, Accountability, And Growth For All
COMMUNITY.That is what Launch Pad Job Club offers to the job seeker. We offer a supportive community to bolster the job seeker who may have just been laid off and is experiencing a real “deer in the headlights” moment. Or maybe that job seeker has been off the job market...
INNOVATE® Los Angeles
WAVEMAKER THREE-SIXTY HEALTH
LA’s Go-To Health-tech Venture Capital Firm
The WHY L.A.’s healthcare innovation ecosystem is so incredibly strong thanks to remarkable institutions like UCLA Medical Center, CedarsSinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Keck Hospital of USC, SCAN, Amgen, and many more, plus world-class universities including Caltech, UCLA and USC. Yet for decades, the city was missing a venture...