El Gibbor Djiki of Twish Cart and her son after being awarded the Community Impact Award at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.
Ottawa’s top bootstrapped entrepreneurs were recognized May 5 at the 2026 Bootstrap Awards, held during Tech Tuesday at The Marshes Golf Club.
Presented by The Ottawa Network with support from Wesley Clover and media sponsor Ottawa Business Journal, the awards honoured founders building companies with limited external funding.
Winners included BioThera Solutions (Innovation), Vigilant AI (AI in Action), Rep Jump (Marketing), Loon Inc. (Bootstrap Capital), Scatterlink Corp. (Disruptor), and Twish Cart (Community Impact). Evan Zeglinski-Spinney of Sielo Robotics was named Founder of the Year.
The awards spotlight companies across the National Capital Region achieving growth with less than $750,000 in outside investment.
John Craig (Vigilant AI and winner of AI in Action Award) and Shaun Illingworth (DFFRNT) networking at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Wesley Clovers’ Paul Chiarelli and Veronica Farmer at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Tanya McLean (POI Business Interiors) and Nicole Darechuk (NDCON) at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Irshaad Hashim (Smart and Biggar) and Karan Mediratta of BioThera Solutions and winner of the Innovation Award at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Eric Dupuis (Ottawa Business Journal) presenting the Marketing Award to Matt Howe of Rep Jump,at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Hyatt Saikin, on behalf of Paterson and Company Accountants presenting the Bootstrap Capital Award to Mara Rada and Ghayath Janoudi of LOON, at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Erin Engelhardt (Ovodenovo Patents and Intellectual Property) presenting the Disruptor Award to Tarak Patel of Scatterlink Corp at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Founder of the Year Award was given to Evan Zeglinski Spinney of Sielo Robotics, seen here during the panel discussion portion at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Iliya Papoulias and Dwij Brahmbhatt (Algonquin College Robotics Club Founders) with Albatoul Abusneina (Aspiring and Motivated Sales Professional) and Maimuna Ali (Aspiring Entrepreneur in Women’s Health) at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Vivyen Du (iA Private Wealth), El Gibbor Djiki (Twish Cart) and Karen Secord (R.I.S.E Academy) at the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.Congratulations to all of the winners of the Bootstrap Awards, The Marshes Golf Club, May 5, 2026. Photo by Tia MacPherson for OBJ.
