The world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, the Founder Institute, in Montreal announces the newest alumni from the Quebec chapter’s first ever virtual 2020/2021 Winter program.
Over 400 people applied to the program, and after an intense four months of aggressive business-building sprints and constant evaluation and feedback from investors and mentors, just thirteen companies were able to make it through.
Each of these Founders have demonstrated a high level of perseverance and creativity, and their businesses have been thoroughly vetted and supported by a panel of Montreal's top startup experts and investors.
Introducing the New Alumni of the FI Montreal Winter 2020/2021 program:
eWarren has developed a cashless, digital payment solution that started out in the informal transport networks of Cote d'Ivoire through pre-paid NFC companion cards, POS terminals & mobile apps and has the capacity to scale into other small businesses.
- Launched in 2020 in Abidjan where there are daily transportation expenses of $3.2M and 10 million rides per day.
- 8,000 Customers and 1,000 taxi drivers onboarded, in addition to partnerships with UBA, Ecobank, Mansa Bank, Orange Money & MTN.
- The solution, whilst starting within informal transportation, has already become an applicable solution to all unbanked small merchants looking to digitize their payments.
Fields: Finance, Payments, Mobile Payments, Transportation
With 17 years experience in auditing large and complex companies with PwC, eWarren Founder & CEO, Camara Karamoko, has developed skills and leadership to run the entire business of eWarren Financial Services across primary markets in Africa where the CEO is a native.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Reinvent Care is a platform aimed at helping seniors easily contact and hire expert caregivers driven by heart and compassion. The algorithm matches seniors with compassionate and experienced caregivers based on needed skills, language, and location. Once the request has been received, the senior will be presented with the top three matches most suitable for him. The rigorous screening process includes background checks and personality tests to ensure the caregiver’s reliability. Reinvent Care’s goal is to provide high-quality care services to all seniors by creating transparency and a win-win relationship for all stakeholders.
- Minimum Viable Product to be launched in July 2021
- Some 40 Caregivers sign-up to the platform beta release.
- Successful alpha release testing with 2 paying customers
Fields: Healthcare, Sharing Economy
Nadeline Jean Simon is the Co-Founder and CEO of Reinvent Care. She has over 10 years of experience in Operations and Supply chain Management. After completing her Master's of Science in Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Liverpool, Nadeline developed a true passion for entrepreneurship and decided to integrate lean thinking in the home care industry. Combining her passion for business and senior care, she founded Reinvent Care to provide high-quality care services to all seniors, by simplifying the process to receive home care services.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Leapsaver Marketplace is reinventing the wholesale price-club to support local and emerging producers in food and household products. In the aftermath of the pandemic, a wave of new grocery brands emerged. Newer brands are impossible to find in supermarkets, on grocery apps, and especially in the leading wholesale price-clubs. Leapsaver is here to change that by making it easier for consumers to discover and shop exclusive value packs of best selling products made by local and emerging grocery brands; bringing a new kind of value to shoppers. Leapsaver removes middlemen fees so shoppers can save 15% to 30% off while supporting talented founders near them.
- Built Leapsaver Management Studio App for seller page creation, linked to geo-location map.
- Successfully tested the transactional platform through an alpha private release.
- Company has 50 registered sellers (emerging grocery brands) and a waitlist of 300 beta-shoppers.
Fields: Retail, Supply Chain, Ecommerce
Leslie Perez is the Founder and CEO of Leapsaver, the marketplace democratizing the wholesale price-club industry. Running her own creative consulting agency these past years, Leslie comes with 20+ years experience in digital marketing, spending a decade managing marketing in the hi-tech sector. Leslie earned her BA in Communications Studies and Digital Media from Concordia University '03. Her passion for innovation, giving back and helping people reach their potential is her guiding force in building a purpose-based company that fosters community.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Kinesix develops an AI powered smart heating jacket to help outdoor workers maximize their comfort and safety at all times no matter the weather outside.
- Launching soon a Minimum Viable Product for commercial purposes
- Secured partnership with a global clothing company for manufacturing
- Secured paying POC’s with construction and retail companies
Fields: Construction, Sports, Internet of Things, Smart Clothes, Artificial Intelligence
After graduating from a Bachelor in Kinesiology and dropping out of his Master degree in Biomechanics, Founder & CEO Jonathan Albrecht decided to create Kinesix as a sportswear company first in 2013. In late 2015, seeing the potential from the wearable industry and always being interested in technology, John pivoted the company into a tech company and focused on developing its first product, the Smart Heating Jacket targeting the outdoor workers.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
AnviFX is a tech startup comprised of computer graphics professionals, real-time technology engineers and technical artists who are constructing immersive and user-friendly virtual environments for manufacturing, construction and hardware companies. These virtual showrooms are perfectly integrated into the company's platform, ameliorating the overall value of the business, and helping attract more customers in the long run.
- Launched Minimum Viable Product
- Secured paying customers for the Beta release
- Reseller partnership agreement with a Quoting & CRM Software provider
Fields: Virtual Reality, Enterprise Software, Supply Chain
Founder & CEO Anna Kalakutskaya has been working in the Computer Graphics industry for over 10 years. Her first business in the industry was a visual effects company, where she and her team successfully delivered projects for biggest advertisement and movie companies. She earned her Masters in Economics, but wanted to deepen her business education and after moving to Canada, and got her Diploma in Business Administration. In 2020 in the midst of pandemic she launched another startup combining her vast experience in computer graphics and rising trend of virtual showrooms.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Osmos is a Quoting and CRM software designed for sales teams that send quotes and estimates on a daily basis; and for businesses that need to manage prospects, create opportunities, and sales funnels. More effective than Excel. Connect Osmos to other CRM's, accounting software, ERP's, and productivity tools that you already use.
- More than 3,000 sign ups
- Presence in 15+ countries with paying customers
- Releasing in 2021 an enhanced new version (Osmos Evergreen)
Fields: SaaS, CRM, Quoting Software, Productivity Software, Supply Chain
Founder Rodrigo De Saro has 15+ years of experience in Product Management, Agile, SaaS, Startups, and Entrepreneurship; likes to solve problems, analyze data, and create solutions that customers like; and is enthusiastic about automation, new projects, startup life, and marketing. Rodrigo is a true believer that a great SaaS product is the result of a perfect integration between design, creativity, and satisfying customer needs, “Success is getting through defiance, adversity and difficulties, feeling hopeless and defeated but never giving up until you achieve your goal.”
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Thallo is a startup that uses predictive matching to help early career candidates land jobs or internships with companies that are tailored to their needs and expectations. The web platform will serve as a single point of information sharing between candidates, universities and SMB or startups to streamline the prefiltering phase of recruitment, which can take on average 1 to 2 month. With a focus on behavioural components of a candidate as well as transferable skills and core values, Thallo aims to provide insights to all parties involved in the recruitment process in order to elevate the applicants and help reduce underemployment.
- Launched a Beta v1 Minimum Viable Product allowing users to upload videos and CVs as well as search for entry level jobs. Mid-May, a new Beta v2 will be launched to on-board employers with first iteration to matching system
- More than 100+ active users
- Partnership with University of Concordia’s Research Center
Fields: SaaS, Enterprise Software, Human Resources, Talent Management, Future of Work
Thallo’s leadership team features 3 co-founders with very distinct backgrounds. As the CEO, Phoenix Hoang, CPA, brings on board his experience in risk management, and by having started two other business ventures. Dr Anh Tuan Ton, the COO, has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science and has a proven track record in analysing and providing market insights with multiple scientific articles in peer reviewed journals. Fred Jamati, the CMO, is an industrial engineer and leverages his PR and Social Media knowledge from previous ventures to connect Thallo with its users and partners. Together, they are driven by a common mission: to elevate the workforce of tomorrow and to end underemployment.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Aidia Legal is a legal document automation service platform for businesses. Bringing an ERP mindset to the legal arena, Aidia’s approach to legal document management focuses on productivity and compliance. Aidia can collect data through any portal and automatically generates legal documents with a click. The platform is expandable and customizable, with pre-built capabilities that streamline immigration and corporate legal processes. For immigration, the system generates government-required applications. As for business, it auto-drafts by-laws, resolutions, share certificates, and registers required by law. All client data is securely backed up and filed records are maintained with system-generated notifications to clients keeping them compliant with governmental standards. Whether you are professionals or individuals, Aidia’s goal is to improve your productivity and your bottom line. With access to a network of I.T. professionals, lawyers, and entrepreneurs, Aidia's strength arises from combining software automation with a professional human touch.
- Launched a Beta Minimum Viable Product enabling business lawyers & immigration professionals to improve their productivity
- Secured 5 on-going POC B2B partnerships to test product features
- Secured B2B clients currently paying for the Beta MVP
Fields: SaaS, Enterprise Software, Artificial Intelligence, Document Management, Legal Services
Founder & CEO Florence So graduated from Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She has been a senior technical analyst in ERP software automation through her own consulting company for 20 years. Her clients include global management firms, the aerospace industry, as well as academic institutions. Never one to stand still, she went back to university to study law. She has now earned a Juris Doctor (JD) and a master’s (LLM) in I.T. Law. Florence is currently fulfilling her articling obligation to become a lawyer and hopes to combine her two passions to build useful tools for this space.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Moduly helps residential and commercial users to optimize their energy efficiency by giving them full control of their energy consumption with our modular smart energy storage platform. Using artificial intelligence, Moduly predicts, recommends and personalizes the user experience according to their consumption habits. Moduly is not just a simple traditional energy storage, it offers the power to move the peak hours, to reduce electricity consumptions, greenhouse gases, while saving every month . Moduly is a plug and play, modular and scalable solution that reduces the complexity and cost of installation while being able to manage energy from the electricity grid or solar energy by acting as a Nano Grid. Moduly offers you not only a backup plan in the event of a power failure, but also security, more convenience and energy consumption on your own terms.
- Commercial Minimum Viable Product to be launched in July 2021
- Secured Client B2B LOI's, plus Pilot POC’s
- Releasing a Pre-Order B2C Marketing Campaign
Fields: Hardware, Software, Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Climate
With over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, Co-Founder & CEO Jonathan Lamer has initiated and participated in different types of technology business as an executor and action-oriented, strategic risk taker. Over the past 6 years, he has developed and commercialized over a dozen portable energy electronics in North America through major companies, mastering the manufacturing process, product-market fit, the retail and distribution market. Lamer’s strength in developing links has allowed him to develop an exclusive international network and acquire particular expertise in the Asian market where he has perfected knowledge in the manufacture of all his previous products. Lamer’s entrepreneurial journey and continuous academic training have allowed him to master skills such as lean startup methodology, negotiation, management, finance and marketing.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
Sinple helps small businesses across LATAM sell online, manage their inventory, customers, and offer instant delivery fast. They know these people are hardworking, and time isn’t something they have to spare, which is why the platform is easy to use and relies heavily on automation, elevating every business’s operations to the next level. On the Sinple platform, users get everything necessary to start selling within minutes of signing up. All this at a price that just makes sense. Over 80% of LatAm smb’s have no online presence, and Sinple wants them to succeed in the local and global landscape.
- Launched a Commercial Beta Minimum Viable Product
- Secured 25 delivery contractors
- Secured 8 Commercial Clients
Fields: Ecommerce, Software, Logistics, Supply Chain
The founders of Sinple are Miguel and Marino, two young entrepreneurs from the Caribbean. From a young age, they started selling stuff with the mindset of one day creating something that could ultimately positively impact the lives of millions. This shared drive translated into a friendship out of which flourished a business. As founders from a developing nation they faced multiple challenges that don’t always affect people in other economies, solving that problem became their passion and the most impactful thing they could do. They learned how to do everything themselves and took every task in-house, from designing to developing.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
KinoKlik is a film streaming platform helping independent filmmakers to market and sell their films directly to their target audience through automated marketing services, at no cost out of pocket. KinoKlik emphasizes on the marketing aspect of the film distribution, therefore enabling filmmakers to market their movie to a wider but targeted audience and thus enabling for more sales. As a small player in the film ecosystem, with automated marketing strategies and hybrid monetizations, it is our goal and moral duty to bring the independent films into the 42B$ streaming industry.
- Launched a Commercial Minimum Viable Product
- Secured 15 independent Filmmakers
- Secured partnership with 5 Film Festivals, plus the Canadian Film Institute
Fields: Digital Entertainment, Video on Demand, Video Streaming, Film Distribution
Founder & CEO Alberto Tihan has worked on film productions for over 10 years both in front and behind the camera. He studied film in college & Business Communications in university and decided to start a streaming platform to help Canadian indie filmmakers market & distribute their films more effectively through technology.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
iCollective is a collaborative web application where employees share their motivations and skills with other team members. Don't wait for the next assessment review - learn new things in the flow of work.
- Launched a Beta Minimum Viable Product
- Secured four corporate paying clients in Canada and France
- Platform beta tested with 7 teams of employees
Fields: SaaS, Enterprise Software, Human Resources, Talent Management, Future of Work
With over 15 years of experience in Team management and IT product development, the founders have the vision to make millions of people happy at work. They learned the best practices in team and product management in France, US and Canada. Now they want to bring the best of Technology for people.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
The Fashion Trade is an app that connects second-hand clothes with fashion lovers! TFT’s goal is to play a leading role in breaking the stigma that stands between many people and second-hand fashion, contributing in the meanwhile to a substantial increase in relevance of the circular economy in fashion. The Fashion Trade aims to revolutionize the way people shop for fashion, by connecting every closet in the world: allowing people to simply and stylishly renew their closets, while saving money; offering a more sustainable fashion alternative for our planet today and tomorrow; and ensuring every clothing item in the world to find a home where it can make someone happy.
- Launched Mobile App (iOS, Android)
- Secured 600+ beta subscribers
- Multicultural technical founding team based in Africa and Latin America
Fields: Mobile App, Marketplace, Ecommerce, Fashion, Sustainability, Retail
An entrepreneur since age 15, Co-Founder & CEO Lorena Arias is determined to revolutionize and bring sustainability to the fashion industry while empowering women. Currently doing a Masters on Environment and Sustainable Development in Université de Montréal and working on bringing The Fashion Trade to reality as a better option for fashion consumption for women and the environment.
To Book a Meeting with Founder: click here
The Montreal Virtual 2020 program would not have been possible without help, because it truly takes a city to raise a startup. We would first like to thank the Local Leaders of the Montreal Founder Institute: Sergio A. Escobar and François Poirier. Our Local Leaders play an incredibly important role in building the local Founder Institute program, and Sergio Escobar has created an exceptional environment and network in Montreal conducive to building great companies.
In addition, the Montreal Virtual 2020 program was supported by some of Montreal's top technology organizations, including:
- BCF Ventures (https://bcfventures.vc/)
- Bonjour Startup Montreal (https://www.bonjourstartupmtl.ca/)
- OVH Digital Launch Pad (https://www.ovh.com/)
- Richter (https://www.richter.ca/)
- Fasken (https://www.fasken.com/en/offices/montreal)
- Futurepreneur Canada (https://www.futurpreneur.ca/)
- Fundica (https://www.fundica.com/)
- MedStack (https://medstack.co/)
- Scale AI (https://www.scaleai.ca/)
- Hubspot (https://www.hubspot.com/)
- Startup Canada (https://www.startupcan.ca/)
- MAIN (https://mainqc.com/)
Some of Montreal’s top startup mentors helped our founders in the program, including:
- Aaron Carr: CEO & Founder, Qarrot Performance
- Abdullah Snobar: Executive Director , DMZ
- Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
- Afsoon Soudi: Co Founder & VP R&D, IRYStec
- Alain Goubau: COO & CFO, FarmLead
- Alessia Talarico: Investment Analyst, BCF Ventures
- Alex Nemeroff: Co-Founder, Creative Director, Dynamo
- Alex Barrett: Investment Associate, iNovia Capital
- Alex Iskold: Managing Partner, 2048vc
- Alex Norman: Partner, N49P
- Alexandre Witkowicz: Analyst, WhiteStar Capital
- Alice Dinu: VP Student Success & Research, Ready Education
- Amélie Morency: CEO, The FoodRoom
- Amira Boutouchent: CEO & Co-Founder, Bridgr.co
- Amy Pollard: Startup Program Manager, OVHcloud
- Anand Safi: Director/ Head of Data Engineering, Zinnia
- Andrew D'Souza: Founder and CEO, Sfoundation
- Angelique Mannella: Strategic Global Alliances, Amazon
- Angelo Esposito: CEO and Co-Founder, Wisk.ai
- Ariel Garten: CEO, InteraXon
- Ashok Prabhu Masilamani: CTO & Founder, Stratuscent
- Balaji Gopalan: Co-Founder and CEO, MedStack
- Ben Yoskovitz: Founding Partner, HighlineBETA
- Ben Melchionno: Associate Partner, IBM
- Benjamin du Haÿs: Founder & CEO, Mobeewave
- Benjamin Tuff: Managing Partner, Benjamin David Group
- Benjamin Sekkat: Associate, AQC Capital
- Beth Thouin: CMO-for-Hire, Beth Thouin Consulting
- Bonnie Foley-Wong: Chief Investment Innovator, Pique Ventures
- Bonnie Chau: Portfolio Manager, BCF Ventures
- Brandon Waselnuk: Product Manager and Principle, CoVenture
- Brian Church: Country Manager, Canada
- Brian Zubert: Director, Thomson Reuters Labs
- Brice Scheschuk: CEO, Globalive Capital
- Buchi Okoro: CEO and Co-Founder, Quidax (Techstars 2020)
- Caitlin Mac Gregor: CEO & Cofounder, Plum.io Inc.
- Caroline Pelletier: Vice President Screening and Investment Support, Anges Quebec
- Carter Laren: Founder/CEO, Inara Ventures
- Cesar L. Patricio: CEO & co-Founder, WorkMesh.co
- Charles Tiné: Founder and ex-CEO, SafeBrands
- Chevonae Walcott: Associate, Relay Ventures
- Chris Arsenault: Managing Partner, iNovia Capital
- Chris Atkinson: CEO & co-Founder, FleetOps
- Chris Anderson: General Partner, A2Z Ventures
- Claude Théoret: Founder, Nexalogy
- Clement Cazalot: Managing Director, Self
- Code Cubitt: Managing Director, Mistral Venture Partners
- Craig Asano: CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
- Daleyne Guay: Founder & CEO, DGIT Management
- Danial Jameel: Founder/CEO, Forbes 30under30, Ready Education
- David Dufresne: Partner, Panache VC
- David Sciacca: COO, LIFT session
- David Nadezhdin: Co-founder/CEO, Master Your Rush
- Dax Da Silva: Founder/CEO, LightSpeed
- Deborah Hayek: Senior Product Owner (Manulife's Innovation Lab), Manulife
- Dennis Van Staalduinen: President & Executive Strategist, Brandvelope Consulting
- Diana Cheptene: Senior Product Manager, Shopify
- Diana Sciortino: Investment Analyst, BCF Ventures
- Dickson Nsofor: Founder and CEO, Korapay (Techstars 2019)
- Doyle Buehler: CEO, Department of Digital
- Dr. Alexandra T. Greenhill: CEO, Careteam Technologies Inc.
- Eleonore Jarry Ferron: Investment Associate, BrightSpark
- Elizabeth Wasserman: Co-Founder & CEO, Mate1.com Inc.
- Ella Hilal: Director of Data, Shopify
- Eric Brat: Director, co-Lead, Creative Destruction Lab (Montreal)
- Eryk Warren: Co Founder & CTO, Unito
- Ethan Song: Co-Founder & CEO, Frank & Oak
- Eva Lau: co-Founder, Two Small Fish Ventures
- Fab Dolan: Head of Marketing, Google, Canada
- Francis Wenzel: Founder & CEO, TickSmith
- Francois Poirier: COO, Parcours entrepreneurial Rémi Marcoux
- François Arbour: CEO / VP Music & Video, Premiumbeat / Shutterstock
- Frantz Saintellemy: President & COO, Leddartech
- Frederic Voyer: Senior Product Innovation Lead, Multiple (HR, BVI & SWAAAP)
- Frederic Scherer: CEO & co-Founder, Jitbase
- Frederick Townes: Co-Founder & CTO, Boundless Life
- Geoffrey Bernard: Senior Director, Growth, Analytics & Data Science, La Presse
- George Korkejian: Venture Manager, BCF Ventures
- Gian Carlo Di Tommaso: Chief Operating Officer
- Giselle Bisson: Managing Director, Chain Reaction PR
- Graeme Barlow: CEO, Quantum Liquid Cooling Inc.
- Graeme Millen: Director, Technology Banking, Silicon Valley Bank
- Greg Isenberg: Digital Marketer and Angel Investor
- Ha Nguyen: VP, McRock Capital
- Hakim Tamgalt: CTO & Co-Founder, Crema App
- Hakim Merah: Senior Manager, Acceleration & AI Ecosystem
- Hussam Ayyad: Chief Accelerator Officer , Highline Beta
- Ian Jeffrey: VP Product Marketing Marketing, PasswordBox
- Idowu Akinde: Founder, Boolean Labs
- Isaac Souweine: Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Real Ventures
- Isaac Adejuwon: CEO & Founder, Metricsflow
- James Slifierz: CEO, SkyWatch Space Applications
- Javier Gotschlich: Head of Partnerships - Hubspot for Startups, HubSpot
- Jay Ferst: Managing Partner, Ferst Capital Partners
- Jean Agenor: Founder and CEO, Waxdale Ecosystem Inc.
- Jean Benoit Richard: COO, Alexsei
- Jean David Begin: Co-founder & CEO, Guestful
- Jean-François Ouellet: Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, HEC Montréal
- Jeffrey Hoffman: Chairman
- Jeremy Geiger: CEO, Funding Lab LLC
- Jerome Soucy: People & Operations, Hykso FightCamp
- Jessica Korthuis: Founder & CEO, SOHUIS
- Joanne Wong: Partner, REDDS Capital
- Joel Yaffe: Founder, GuestDriven, iTechnique, Potcoin, Glace des Arts
- Joel Semeniuk: Vice President of Growth and Innovation, Communitech
- John Espinoza: Co-founder , Unito
- Jonathan Brun: Vice-President, White Star Capital
- Jonathan Druker: Director of commercialization and innovation, PME MTL
- Jonny Caron: Launch Specialist, Unbounce
- Jose Martins: Director , Founder Institute Boston
- Josette Renée Landry: CEO, Streamline Genomics
- Juan Cabrera: Designer & Marketing Consultant, jcabrera.studio
- Julien Denaes: Co-Founder , Alpin
- Justin Sherratt: Founder, Sortbox
- Justin Evans: Co-Founder, LANDR Audio
- Karina Costa: Director, Anywhere Accelerator
- Kevin Swersky: Research Scientist @ Google Brain, Google Austria
- Khalil Zahar: Founder & CEO, FightCamp
- Kookai Chaimahawong: VC Associate, Pangaea Ventures
- Kyell Vyncke: VP Sales & Marketing, TrackTik
- Laviva Mazhar: Investment Analyst, Luge Capital
- Leah Mazur: CEO & Founder, Loop Digital Marketing
- Lee Silverstone: Co founder/ EVP strategic partnerships, Mystral Venture Partners
- Leo Lax: Managing Director, L-Spark/Wesley Clover
- Lisa Cashmore: Vice President, Start and Scale, Communitech
- Lorne Lieberman: Managing Partner, Jant Ventures
- Louis François Hogue: Strategic, Advisor
- Louis Philippe Maurice: Louis Philippe Maurice - Founder/CEO, Busbud (Montreal FI), Busbud
- Luc Filiatreault: Luc Filiatreault - VP Venture Development, OpenText (Barcelona FI), OpenText
- Luc Bégnoche: Founder & CEO, DiversifAI
- Lucas Francioli: Founder & CEO, MoveMate
- Madusha Cooray: Manager, Developer Relations, Google Canada
- Magaly Charbonneau: Principal, iNovia Capital
- Mano Kulasingam: Venture Partner, Good News Ventures
- Mara Rada: CEO & Chief of Strategy, Feral (thinkferal.com)
- Marat Mukhamedyarov: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
- Marc Alloul: Managing Partner W2/W3, W Investments
- Marc Boscher: Founder & CEO, Unito
- Marc Chriqui: Angel Investor & Former CEO, Raymark (acquired by Mi9 Retail)
- Marc Antoine Ross: Angel Investor & Chief Innovation Officer, Diagram Ventures
- Marcos Carvalho: Co-Founder & Head of Demand Generation, Boundless Life
- Marcus Daniels: Co-Founder & CEO, Highline VC
- Mariah Lichtenstern: Founder-CEO, DiverseCity Ventures
- Marina Cortes: Venture Partner, Hike Ventures
- Martin Sendyk: President & CEO, Lytica
- Matt Smith: C-Level Tech Startup Expert, Consulting
- Matthias Bedard: Co-Founder & CTO
- Matthieu Houle: VP Digital Media, Yellow Pages Canada
- Mauro Repacci: Co-Founder & CEO, Boundless Life
- Mazen Elbawab: Project Lead Programmer - Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft
- Mehdi Mehni: Co-Founder & Head of AI Engineering, INTO AI
- Mehdi Merai Merai: CEO, Dataperformers
- Melissa Belbeck: Senior Associate, Whitecap Venture Partners
- Meryeme Lahmami: Associate, Strategic Investments & Women in Tech, BDC Capital
- Michael Katchen: Founder & CEO, WealthSimple
- Michael Smith: Failed tech entrepreneur, lawyer, angel investor, Various
- Michel Jamati: CTO, Lexop
- Mike Silagadze: CEO, Top Hat
- Mike Kirkup: CTO, enCircle
- Mike Blicker: Co-founder & CEO, WealthTab
- Mike Cegelski: Managing Partner & Angel Investor, Panache Ventures
- Mike Apted: Principal Solutions Architect - Startups, AWS
- Mohan Markandaier: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
- Mohannad El Barachi: Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, SweetIQ Analytics Corp.
- Nadeem Ghafoor: VP, Canadensys Aerospace Corporation
- Nadine Zerrini: Corporate Innovation Leader, Harvard University
- Nancy Eperjesy: CEO & co-Founder, Mettle (acquired by Adobe Systems)
- Naomi Goldapple: Head of AlayaLabs, AlayaCare
- Narjes Boufaden: CEO & co-Founder, Keatext
- Neha Khera: Venture Partner, 500 Startups
- Nicolas Jacques Bouchard: Principal, Panache Ventures
- Oshri Cohen: Fractional CTO, Oshri Cohen Technology Consulting
- Pablo Srugo: Principal, Mistral Venture Partners
- Pam Alfred: CEO, AskPAM
- Parm Gill: Managing Partner, Gill Group
- Paul D'souza: President and CEO, The D'Souza Group
- Paul Ortchanian: Vice-President, Product Development, WatchMojo.com
- Peggy Van De Plassche: Managing Partner & Board Member, Roar Growth & Invest Canada
- Phil Rivard: Director of Ventures, NEXT Canada
- Philip Cutler: President & CEO, GradeSlam
- Pierre Sabbagh: Founder & CEO, Roof AI
- Pierre Luc Laparé: Co-Founder, Golf Avenue
- Prathna Ramesh: Managing Director & Chief Compliance Officer, Maple Leaf Angels
- Przemyslaw (Marco) Janeczek: Managing Partner, Infinite Venture Partners
- Rachel Sheppard: Digital Strategist & Startup Mentor - Helping Female Founders Launch & Grow Their Businesses Around the Globe, Founder Institute HQ
- Raff Paquin: Director, Data, LightSpeed
- Raffi Tchakmakjian: CEO, LIFT session
- Raymond Luk: CEO, Hockeystick
- Rob Attwell: Founder, COO/CFO, Careteam Technologies Inc.
- Russ Armstrong: Head of Business Development, Boast.AI (Boast Capital)
- Sanjay Singhal: Co-Founder and CEO, 500 Startups
- Sanjay Zimmermann: Investment Associate, White Star Capital
- Sebastien Roy: Director, Data Science, Wheels Up
- Shahab Samimi: Senior Associate, 7 Gate Ventures
- Shahzad Khan: CTO, Gnowit Inc
- Shiva Bhardwaj: Founder, CEO, Pitstop
- Siddharth Srivastava: Vice-President, McRock Capital
- Sophie Boulanger: CEO, BonLook
- Steven Abrams: Partner, IT Venture Fund, BDC Capital
- Suzanne Grant: cofounder and ceo, iBIONICS
- Taylor Sicard: Co-Founder, BVGrowth
- Thomas Punch: VP Business Development, WatchMojo.com
- Tim Jodoin: Founder - President, Edispin Inc.
- Tom Lowden: Head of Labs, US East and Canada, WeWork Labs
- Trevor Coleman: Founder - SVP, New Product Development , InteraXon
- Trevor Longino: Chief Marketing Officer, Unito
- Udit Bhatnagar: Investment Associate, McRock Capital
- Ulrich Soeffing: Data Science Manager, MarketMuse
- Vanessa Cherenfant: Managing Director, Sadax Technologies
- Vaughn DiMarco: Director, INVEST-AI
- Vicken Kanadjian: Co-Founder & Managing Director, Cesium Inc.
- Yishel Khan: CEO & Founder, DOT Mind Unlocked
- Yona Shtern: Founder/CEO, Beyond The Rack
- Yuri Navarro: Executive Director, National Angel Capital Organization
In the Founder Institute's pre-seed accelerator program, early-stage entrepreneurs and teams build their business alongside a critical support network of local startup experts that share equity in their success, and through a structured and challenging business-building process that has helped alumni raise over USD $950M.
After Graduation, the new Montreal Founder Institute Portfolio Companies now have a fast-growing company that has been fully validated by experienced startup founders, with access to the Founder Institute's global network and post-graduate support programs to continue building their business.
Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used the Founder Institute to raise funding, build a co-founding team, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200+ cities and 100+ countries, the Founder Institute’s mission is to Globalize Silicon Valley and empower talented and motivated entrepreneurs to build companies that will create one million new jobs.
The next Montreal Founder Institute program is being planned now. If you are interested in being notified when applications open, visit FI.co/apply/Montreal.
Alumni of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $1.75BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
