Lisa van de Geyn

Sarah Sedgman, CEO of Ottawa-based LearnExperts, bootstrapped for the first few years. But when early adopters showed interest, she knew she’d need outside investment.

When Nadine Martel received a LinkedIn message from Kayli Dale and Jacquie Hutchings, the co-founders of Friendlier, a startup that aims to eliminate single-use packaging thereby reducing waste and emissions, she was intrigued. 

Lauren Foster has made it her mission to shed light on endometriosis, a consistently misunderstood and often ignored women’s health issue. Now, with the help of angel investors such as Marisa Fosco, she’s making progress.

Victoria Xu is a born problem solver. It’s a mindset that’s served her well in her career, and it’s also an approach that’s led her to play a key role in Ontario’s innovation ecosystem.