Stories of Innovation

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...

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...

AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY-WE ARE COMMITTED TO INFUSING A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. A 10-YEAR-OLD UNIVERSITY WITH 195 YEARS OF HISTORYAs the state’s flagship health sciences and medical research university, home of the state’s Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, and one of...

Europe stands at a turning point. Global supply chains are increasingly shaped by geopolitical shifts, critical technologies are still developed elsewhere, and many European industries struggle with succession and growth. To safeguard prosperity, the continent needs to build its own strength. A Europe-first economy means homegrown technologies, resilient supply chains,...

Unionwear manufactures – from scratch—100% made in USA baseball hats, backpacks, messenger bags, portfolios, and binders, with 160 union sewers in Newark, NJ. Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren, and has evolved by buying legacy manufacturers of...

ESPAT (Esports Pixels and Technology) is a technology company that is utilizing the legacy digital media licensing model to help gaming and esports IP holders monetize their digital assets. Through computer vision and machine learning technology, the company is converting traditional licensed assets into interactive, commerce-enabled experiences for viewers/consumers. As...

If you’re serious about building a startup in Nashville, meet your secret weapon: the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC). Founded in 2010, EC is a nonprofit built by business leaders to be—literally—Nashville’s “home to entrepreneurship.” What sets it apart? It’s not just talk: EC has helped over 14,000 entrepreneurs, including more...

The acute shortage of technology workers in the United States has driven up wages significantly. The median annual salary of an entry-level employee working on a help desk is $53,470, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary for all tech workers is $81,000. The expected growth...

Marknology In the chaotic world of e-commerce, few agencies have not only survived but thrived by rewriting the rules. Marknology is an Amazon brand accelerator that is one of those rare exceptions—a company that didn’t follow the playbook because it wrote a better one. Founded by Andrew Morgans, Marknology is...

If you’re a young person in the District of Columbia, this is where your aspirations take shape.Skills Nation is your go-to source to explore a variety of innovative tools and resources designed to elevate your potential and uncover exciting career opportunities. Skills Nation, an initiative of the federal workforce programs...

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....

SpécialisationLe Centre de recherche pour l’inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap (CRISPESH) est un centre collégial de recherche appliquée et de transfert (CCTT) en pratiques sociales novatrices affilié au cégep du Vieux Montréal et au collège Dawson. Ses champs d’expertises sont l’inclusion scolaire, professionnelle et sociale des personnes en...

Innovation often comes from adding more. Sheepdog Brew Co. built its business by asking what could be stripped away instead. Founded in Manitoba by former Winnipeg Police Service officer and Army Reservist Shawn Black, Sheepdog Brew Co. set out to challenge a coffee industry increasingly driven by flavours, trends and...

“We’re not in the business of printing. We’re in the business of unlocking potential.” One company is reshaping how the world thinks about printed products globally in the fast-rising design and tech landscape. Since 2016, Antigro Designer has been rewriting the rules for personalization, automation, and scalability in the print...

Owning one of Canada’s most successful Healthcare Recruiting Agencies, Workwolf’s Cofounder and CEO, Erik Simins, spent years working with enterprise companies to help establish more efficient ways to identify, attract and hire talent. Overseeing thousands of hiring cycles, one thing was very clear; resumes were the prominent source of data...

For as long as internal combustion engines have required maintenance, the oil change has been viewed as a necessary, albeit messy, evil. Between the risk of skin contact with scalding fluids and the inevitable “oil bath” that occurs when a filter is breached, the process has remained stubbornly primitive. However,...

PilotoMail was born in a high traffic mailroom at Piloto 151 coworking spaces in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Stolberg siblings, Sofia and Juan Carlos, had been running the first and largest coworking operation on the Island for 6 years, and, as more entrepreneurs, freelancers, professionals and corporates joined their membership...

Since the inception of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, we’ve been guided by a bold vision of technology as an economic driver in the region. We’ve operated with a civic mindset, while remaining curious to address the region’s most pressing needs in tech. As the region has advanced, we’ve kept...

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...

What exactly is innovation? It’s more than a brand new way of thinking, though that is definitely a key part of the equation. Genuine innovation also must have a practical application; that is, be impactfully useful. Sometimes the combination of novel idea and usefulness reach the summit and forge a...

From classrooms and retail counters to military service and recent graduation, professionals from many backgrounds are finding their way into technology. Practical training provides the bridge that helps them build real-world skills and begin new careers. For more than three decades, Centriq Training has helped people take that step. Based...

Miovision, founded in 2005 by three University of Waterloo students, has steadily evolved into a global leader in intelligent traffic management, operating in 64 countries, managing over 120,000 intersections across 17,000 municipalities. Rooted in the belief that cities deserve to control their data and systems, Miovision offers municipalities modern, scalable...

Back for its 20th year, GoSec is an annual conference where the best and brightest experts in IT security from across various sectors facilitate the exchange of ideas, open discussion, disseminate insights and develop lasting relationships that strengthen the cybersecurity community. Set in the world class city of Montréal in...

Philadelphia is a city defined by its history of civic engagement, political innovation, and trade and culture in the early days of the United States of America. Two-hundred-and-fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia’s identity as a center for political activation is still going strong. In...