ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator Demo Day 2021

Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator

D E M O DAY 2 0 2 1

TH E E LLEVAT E WOM EN EN TR EPR ENEUR S PR E-ACCEL ER ATO R IS A P R OG R AM S PEC IF IC ALLY DE SIGNED FO R WO MEN ENTR EPR ENEUR S

A program by

Funded by:

In partnership with:

With support from:

Media partners:

During this virtual event, ten Quebec-based women entrepreneurs will present their businesses to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and pitch for over $20,000 in awards.

The YES ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator is possible with funding from the Government of Canada and the support of community partners like the City of Montreal, SAP Labs Canada and Desjardins. We are also incredibly grateful for the contributions of our program and media partners and the volunteer advisors, speakers, and mentors from the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Thank you!

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Letter from Aki Tchitacov, Executive Director, YES

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A Note From Mayor Valérie Plante

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Partner Message

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Event Agenda

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Judges & Speakers

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ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator 2021 Cohort

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A K I TCH ITAC OV E X E C U TI V E DI REC TOR, Y ES

Good evening everyone, It is my pleasure to welcome you to our second annual ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator pitch event.

With only 16% of small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec owned by women, we knew that there was work to do. Layer on the economic shock delivered courtesy of COVID-19, and our community has a considerable challenge ahead. But as we climb out of the pandemic, you can see that there is opportunity in the recovery.

Economic shock can breed innovation, and we’re already seeing that at YES, having helped 37% more businesses start or grow in the last year. As we work to rebuild the economy post-pandemic, we must ensure that we build it back better – more equitable and more sustainable.

In order to achieve the level of support and opportunity that’s needed, YES has always relied

on the power of our community. From the Government of Canada’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy to the City of Montreal, corporate partners like SAP Labs Canada and Desjardins, Dentons and Montreal Financial, to the many, many volunteers, staff and experts who lend their support in a myriad of ways to this program, I extend my heartfelt thanks.

Our community continues to come together to help open the doors of entrepreneurship to more women across Quebec. Women like the 10 dedicated and hard-working members of this year’s Pre-Accelerator cohort.

I want to congratulate all of you on your work this year. My hope for you is that you can feel the support and encouragement from everyone here tonight, even as we tune in online.

We’re all rooting for you.

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M OT D E L A MAIRES S E, M M E VA L É R IE P LAN T E A N OT E F R O M MAYOR VA LÉ R I E P L A N T E

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Montréal est une ville audacieuse et propice à la création de nouvelles entreprises.

Montréal is a vibrant city that encourages the creation of new businesses.

Grâce à des organismes comme YES, qui a ouvert ses portes il y a 25 ans, les courageuses et courageux qui se plongent dans leur passions peuvent passer à l’action avec confiance!

Thanks to organizations like YES, which opened its doors 25 years ago, the brave individuals who pursue their passions can take action with confidence!

Dans les circonstances actuelles, nous devons plus que jamais continuer de nous serrer les coudes.

C’est ensemble que nous pourrons innover et relancer l’économie de notre métropole.

In today’s circumstances, we need to continue to pull together more than ever. Together, we can innovate and revive the economy of our metropolis.

Face à la crise sanitaire et économique, les entrepreneurs de Montréal ont fait preuve de courage, de créativité et de résilience.

In the face of the health and economic crisis, Montréal’s entrepreneurs have shown courage, creativity and resilience.

Nous sommes fiers de multiplier les mesures et les programmes pour aider la relève entrepreneuriale de notre ville à traverser cette période difficile.

La Ville de Montréal continue de placer les entrepreneurs et les startups au cœur de sa stratégie de relance et de développement économique.

We are proud to be increasing the number of measures and programs to help our city’s next generation of entrepreneurs through this difficult period. The City of Montréal continues to place entrepreneurs and startups at the heart of its economic recovery and development strategy.

Les jeunes entreprises constituent une importante clé de la relance et c’est inspirant de voir des événements tels que le concours de pitch pour le pré-accélérateur ELLEver de YES. Bravo aux participantes de cet événement, bravo aux femmes extraordinaires qui osent se lancer en affaires. Je vous souhaite de continuer à poursuivre vos rêves!

Startups are an important key to recovery and it is inspiring to see events such as the ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator Demo Day. Bravo to the participants of this event, bravo to the extraordinary women who dare to start their own business. I wish you all the best in pursuing your dreams!

Valérie Plante Mairesse de Montréal Mayor of Montréal

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A N OT E F R O M O NE O F O U R PA RT NE R S

C IN DY FAGE N M AN AG I N G DI REC TOR, S AP LABS C ANA DA SAP Labs Canada is proud to stand with YES Employment + Entrepreneurship’s ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Program. This program supports women founders who power innovation and are building tomorrow’s strong, purposeful companies.

For SAP, social and inclusive entrepreneurship is the fabric of economic growth and the engine of humanitarian and environmental impact. Thank you YES for making these programs possible and best of luck to the entrepreneurs on ELLEvate Demo Day!

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D E MO DAY AG E N DA 6:00 PM Doors Open & Networking

6:15 PM Welcome & Introductions

6:30 PM Pitches Begin

7:10 PM 5-Minute Break

7:15 PM Pitches Continue

8:10 PM Q&A with Debbie Hynes

8:35 PM Presentation of ELLEvate 2021 Awards

8:40 PM Concluding Remarks

9:00 PM End of Event

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D E M O DAY JUDGES & SPEA K E R S

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E R IC A D IA MO N D, E MC E E FO UND ER , B LISS ESSENTIA L CERTIFIED LIFE COACH Teaching women how to prioritize self-care, Erica Diamond is a Certified Life Coach and Certified Yoga & Meditation Teacher. In addition to her weekly role as a Lifestyle and Parenting Correspondent on Global TV, Erica is the Founder of Bliss Essential (BlissEssential.co), a Professional Speaker, Host of The Erica Diamond Podcast, Course Creator of Busy To Bliss (BusyToBliss. com), Author of the women’s entrepreneurial book 99 Things Women Wish They Knew Before Starting Their Own Business, and Founder & Editor-In-Chief of the Award-Winning Lifestyle Platform EricaDiamond.com® (previously WomenOnTheFence.com®).

Erica has been named to the coveted list of The Top 20 Women in Canada, FORBES Magazine’s Top 100 Sites for Women and a Profit Hot 50 Canadian Company. A Huffington Post contributor, Erica was also the Spokesperson for National Entrepreneurship Day. Erica has generously offered a Bliss Essential discount to all of this evening’s guests. Use code BLISS20 to get 20% off your next purchase at blissessential.co

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D E B B IE H YN E S , S P E A K ER R EGIO NA L CO MMUNICATIO NS MA NAGER , CB C Debbie Hynes is a storyteller and writer who uses narrative to bring brands to life. In the past two decades she has helped technology companies, start-ups and community organizations tell their stories to better connect with audiences.

Debbie has a Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University and a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University. Her personal essays have been published in magazines and online. Currently Debbie is the Regional Manager, Communications, Marketing and Brand for CBC Quebec.

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MA R IE -AG N È S C H AVA N E , J U D G E INVESTMENT MA NAGER , D ESJA R D IN S Before joining Desjardins in 1999, Marie-Agnès Chavane worked in sales and marketing in the biotech sector and pharmaceutical industry in France and Canada.

After starting with Desjardins as an analyst, Marie-Agnès became an investment manager in various markets, including technology, life sciences and the service sector.

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D E N IS E B R A N C O G O N Ç A LV E S , J U D G E SENIO R GL O B A L D IR ECTO R , SA P Denise Branco Gonçalves brings over twenty years of IT management leading multicultural and multifunction teams to SAP Channel Business.

Denise holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Information Technology from the University of Brasilia. She has a proven record of building productive and meaningful relationships with partners and customers and helping companies’ succeed. Working alongside sales, marketing and channel organizations globally, Denise has been using her dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit to successfully drive growth for SAP cloud solutions through the SAP partner ecosystem.

Denise is also involved in SAP’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, and is part of the global executive board of directors for SAP Business Women’s Network, a grassroots group with more than 14,000 members and 86 chapters around the world.

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P H IL IP P E T E L IO, J U D G E FO UND ER , STA RTUPFEST An entrepreneur passionate about the startup world, Philippe Telio is the founder of the International Startup Festival (Startupfest), a successful series of international conferences on the business of startups.

Over its 11-year history, Startupfest has earned itself a reputation for being unforgettable and unconventional, incorporating unique opportunities in an unbeatable festival atmosphere. As a result of the event’s success, Philippe also founded related initiatives: ScaletechConf and the Elevator World Tour. He is also the co-founder of FWD50, a three-day conference where the leading minds in government and technology come together to redefine what’s possible in an era of digital systems and connected citizens.

In addition to his contribution to the startup ecosystem in Canada, he is a Board Member for the OSMO Foundation and Bonjour Startup Montreal, hubs that support the growth and development of Montreal’s next generation technology entrepreneurs.

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E LLE VAT E W OMEN E NTR E P R E NEU RS P R E - ACC E L E RATOR 20 21 C O H O RT

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TH EADORA B O R C K F O U N D E R , L A PET IT E V IE C O.

Theadora Borck was born in Germany and moved to Canada when she was eight years old with her mother.

After earning her B.A. in Political Science from McGill University and gaining experience in kitchens in both Montreal and Hamburg, Germany, Theadora founded La Petite Vie Co., a plantbased and food-focused production company, last spring in Montreal. The company’s primary focus is oat milk and yogurt produced with Quebec oats and packaged in a sustainable way.

Theadora wants to provide workers with the ability to live the life they choose – for her, La Petite Vie Co.’s success will be defined by how many people are able to live well off of the success of the company.

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LEMA LI W I DA NA PATH IR A NAGE CEO & FO U N D ER, G ARDEN O F TOW E RS C AN ADA

As a Master Certified Health Coach, Lemali Widana Pathiranage strongly believes that how we nourish ourselves has a huge impact on everything we do. We can experience and enjoy a higher quality of life both physically and mentally if we have the right knowledge on nutrition and “REAL” food that is affordable to all.

Lemali aims to facilitate both by growing highly nutritious fresh produce sustainably and right in our neighbourhood, by making this produce affordable to all, and by educating the younger generation to appreciate REAL food.

imports, as well as the impact a lack of fresh, flavourful and affordable produce had on society.

In her research, Lemali has found a system with the potential to grow 250,000 plants per acre and provide 10 times the yield of traditional systems, all with no soil or digging, no pesticides and 5% of the water normally required. This highly scalable system has endless possibilities for Quebec.

As a new Canadian, Lemali realized we are very much reliant on imports to feed ourselves. She was inspired to research options after seeing the high cost and environmental impact of these

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K H US H B O O VA I DYA F O U N D E R , E D C ALIBRE

Khushboo Vaidya is founder of EdCalibre, an adventure-based STEM learning application for high school students.

After earning her MEng from the University of Waterloo and completing work experience in companies like Blackberry and Brock Solutions in Canada, Khushboo started a venture called Boarding Pass For Success in 2018. Through this platform, engineering students could schedule 1:1 mentoring sessions directly with industry experts in companies like Google, Amazon and iRobot to gain insights on how to improve their profile and develop skills for their career. They also conducted seminars and webinars for over 15,000 undergraduate students across India on topics like Engineering Innovation and Robotics, to inspire them towards application-based learning instead

of theoretical learning. This is what ignited the idea for starting EdCalibre.

EdCalibre’s mission is to inspire students, especially women, towards STEM careers and to build a strong STEM foundation. EdCalibre provides a gamified and visual learning platform that helps students to relate concepts with real-world applications, including sustainable development goals.

With their application, students can develop a logical mindset, break career stereotypes, and have an engaging learning experience via adventure tasks. With a belief that school is the best time to adapt to new learning patterns, EdCalibre is aimed at both students and schools.

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TESIA HAC K E T T F O U N D E R & OWN ER, C U EILLI

Tesia Hackett is the owner of Cueilli, a wild-crafted products business specializing in handmade, small-batch bitters from the Gaspesie terroir.

An avid wild-plant and medicine forager with a background in conservation, Tesia is an herbalist of Indigenous and settler ancestry hailing from Victoria, BC. After completing her formal studies under herbal Elder and educator Don Ollisin, as well as with Pacific Rim College Online where she received her certification as a Community Herbalist, Tesia worked and later joined the board of Wildsight Golden, an environmental non-profit organization that works to maintain biodiversity.

After delving into entrepreneurship ten years ago with a jewelry and leatherwork business in Mexico, Tesia discovered a deeper connection to the plant

world while living off-grid in the boreal forest of the Yukon, gathering plants for food and medicine.

In recent years Tesia has been making and offering her wild-crafted herbal products. Humbled by the beauty and teachings of the plants throughout her personal journey of healing, she believes in honouring our connections to nature by creating living relationships to the land. This is the philosophy at the heart of Cueilli, which offers respectfully foraged products with the vision of becoming better stewards of the environment for future generations. A new mom, Tesia is running her business from Gaspesie where she envisions growing bountiful gardens, food forests and one day starting an outdoor school.

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M Y R IA M DI M A NC H E F O U N D E R & C EO, T HE FAT S HION IS TA

After initially grooming herself for a career in medicine as an undergrad at Concordia University, Myriam Dimanche changed gears and transferred to the John Molson School of Business in 2003 as a Finance major with a minor in Electronic Business Systems.

The Fatshionista is for the fashionista on a budget, who knows that just because she’s thrifty doesn’t mean she’s cheap. It’s for the full-figured woman who deserves a closet filled with articles that don’t just fit but also flatter. More than just plus-sized, Myriam will tell you, “I am size sexy”.

After building her entrepreneurial experience in the private sector, as well as coordinating Dawson College’s AI Initiative, Myriam has turned her attention to launching a second business, The Fatshionista, an innovative online platform boosted by artificial intelligence. The platform will provide a space where shoppers can not only find flattering and affordable fashions, but also a supportive community that can influence the currently short-sighted and non-size-inclusive fashion industry.

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B R ITTAN Y W I T H A M F O U N D E R , G E OP OLIT IC A T EC HN OLOGIES

Brittany Witham is the founder of Geopolitica Technologies, a consulting firm s pecializing in data science and machine learning solutions for geopolitical risk.

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Brittany received her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and started her career in economic development, equipping her with comprehensive knowledge of foreign direct investment and international business early in her career.

She went on to obtain an M.A. in European and Russian Affairs from the University of Toronto in 2018, where she first discovered the potential of programming for political science and became fascinated with artificial intelligence (AI).

Over the past three years, Brittany has worked in many facets of the AI industry, from leading research and development of new AI products for video game developers to building automated data pipelines for business intelligence and managing software engineering and client engagement teams. In that time, she has honed technical skills in full-stack development, machine learning, and data engineering.

She recently struck out on her own to launch an online global event monitoring tool and deliver novel solutions to clients in the political risk and social enterprise sectors. Brittany is a firm believer in the potential for data-driven technologies for geopolitics and is excited to contribute to the many discoveries to be made in this space.

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NAOMIE CA R O N F O U N D E R , S E LF IS H S WIMWEAR

Founded in the spring of 2017, Selfish Swimwear was created by fashion design graduate Naomie Caron.

Naomie always knew she wanted to start her own brand, and after exploring different categories of the fashion industry and collecting feedback from customers, she rose to the challenge of designing swimwear. Her research highlighted how much of a gap there is in the swimwear offering for comfortable, stylish, ethical, and sustainable swimsuits.

Designers of Canada’s Award of Excellence, but what she is most proud of is making women feel good, confident and beautiful throughout their shopping experience.

Naomie named the brand Selfish because she wanted to influence women to stop caring about what others may say or think of them and just start enjoying themselves for the amazing human beings they are. Being Selfish is to be you no matter what!

Selfish Swimwear’s high quality and designer styles have been recognized across media platforms including Elle Canada, Clin d’oeil, the Globe and Mail and Refinery 29, among others.

Naomie is also proud to have received the Black

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A N N E MO O R H O US E OW N E R, TOU J OU RS EN S AIS ON

After 20 years working as an airline pilot for major Canadian carriers, the pandemic gave Anne Moorhouse the opportunity to pivot and realize her dream of owning a business. Anne has always had a passion for environmental issues and believes that we must re-evaluate how we utilize our resources and reduce our waste as a society.

to maximize their harvests, and customers to taste the incredible offering of Quebec agriculture all year long. By saving produce from the landfill, Toujours en Saison will contribute to Quebec’s circular economy, and help show that businesses can be built with climate change mitigation as a priority.

Toujours en Saison aims to reduce supply-chain food waste by providing a freeze-drying option within the existing perishable food supply-chain.

Freeze-drying is an efficient dehydration process which freezes the product, creates a vacuum and then dries food via sublimation. This method allows fresh taste and colour - along with 97% of nutrients - to be retained with no preservatives.

Toujours en Saison will provide a way for farmers

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G UA N BIN GXUE ( S H I R L E Y) H UAN G F O U N D E R , P È T IEN C E

Guanbingxue (Shirley) Huang is the founder of Pètience, a tech start-up that aims to provide a comprehensive, interactive, and user-friendly digital platform that eases the pet parenting process and connects pet parents to local pet service providers to bring benefits to both sides.

A designer who is specialized in graphic and website design and has experience in UI/UX design, Shirley’s engineering background has contributed to her problem-solving and analytical skills, and her ability to stay vigilant and critical in her entrepreneurship journey. As a pet-parent of a 2 year-old Shiba Inu, Shirley’s understanding of the difficulty and struggle in the pet parenting journey and her love and passion for pets motivate her to help shape a pet-friendly future.

Pètience was founded in December 2020 in response to increased pet ownership during the pandemic. Pètience’s vision is to build a post-COVID Canadian community that is filled with responsible pet parents and sustainable pet businesses, helped by mobile applications and web-based management software.

After completing the ideation and concepting stage, Pètience has received grants a nd sponsorship from McGill Engine to move on to the validating phase and build a minimum viable product (MVP). Shirley believes that the greatest gift comes from continuous learning and with their ability to learn, young entrepreneurs will persevere through most of the obstacles in their entrepreneurship journey.

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TAY LOR PO GUE F O U N D E R & OWN ER, BUT T ERY F OOD S

Taylor Pogue’s passion for cooking started at a young age, and after several years in the corporate world, she left her job to pursue her lifelong dream of attending the top culinary school in the world, Le Cordon Bleu in London. After returning from culinary school, Taylor wanted to return to what she loved as a child - providing meals for her family and friends so they could focus on their careers, families and goals.

diverse cuisines. Her goal is to give families the time that they would have spent planning their meals, grocery shopping and cooking back.

Buttery Foods takes away all the stress of meal planning, allowing families to spend time doing what’s most important, spending time together.

In January of 2020, Taylor started offering Buttery Foods; a ready-made meal service that offers dinners, lunches and lunchboxes that are easy to reheat and provide busy families with delicious, well-balanced meals.

Taylor is passionate about local and seasonal produce, a well-balanced plate and culturally

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