- #EntrepreneurialWomen
- Health and Science Innovations
- Social Innovations
- Circular Economy Innovations
- FinTech Innovations
- Manufacturing Innovations
- Design and Lifestyle Innovations
- Software Innovations
Celebrating #EntrepreneurialWomen
The Dobson Center is proud to announce that since 2019, women entrepreneurs now represent 50% of its participants. To celebrate this significant milestone, we will be highlighting 19 inspiring and driven #EntrepreneurialWomen this month. This initiative aligns with the official Women's Entrepreneurship Day on November 19th, 2021.
It is a privilege to support these dynamic women entrepreneurs as they seek to better our world and build innovative companies with a purpose.
Audra Renyi, World Wide Hearing
“The private and public sectors can really support women entrepreneurs helping other women entrepreneurs through [the creation of] accelerators, mentorship programs and capital”
WWH provides access to affordable hearing aids and services to children and youth in underserved communities.
Alessandra Amato, Algi
“Taking that first step was a huge challenge, it is important to rely on the communities of different innovation centres”
Algi creates purpose driven food products centred around the world’s oldest and smallest superfood, spirulina algae.
Angela Wong, Remote Optical
“[Marina Pavlovic Rivas · Co-founder & CEO @ Eli] is so clear and passionate about why she wants to take her product to market. This inspired me to take our idea even further”
Remote Optical provides medical devices that allow ophthalmologists and optometrists to remotely examine, diagnose and track optical diseases.
Azadeh Dastmalchi, VitalTracer
“To all the females in the STEM field and entrepreneurship, I encourage them to believe in their idea [..] they definitely need to come out from the comfort zone every single day”
VitalTracer is a medical smartwatch that measures all vital signs continuously, including cuffless blood pressure.
Dana Ben David, Healthybud
“It is really important to have a sense of self-awareness in terms of your strengths and values as that will help you find your ideal complementary [business] partners”
Healthybud is a pet wellness company helping animals thrive through research-backed nutrition, education and community.
Isabelle Lam, Remix Snacks
“My favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur is to watch something that we created grow into a company hitting market shelves and retailers […]”
Remix Snacks is a snack company created by two dietitians, who have made the market's first vegan chocolate bark made with beans.
Jamie Lee, Remix Snacks
“I wanted my creativity to be unlimited and my work to have a direct impact on the results – and as an entrepreneur I can do that.”
Remix Snacks is a snack company created by two dietitians, who have made the market's first vegan chocolate bark made with beans.
Dr. Nancy Mayo, Physio Biometrics
“My first piece of advice is to put together a team of people that you trust and you enjoy working with.”
Physio Biometrics Inc. aims to develop accessible innovations for people with movement and posture vulnerabilities.
Ida Derish, GynAware
“To get exposure to women entrepreneurs that are much further in their journey is very inspiring and empowering […]. The public and private sectors should create these collision events.”
Gynaware cost-effective biopsy solution enables gynaecologists to streamline decisions based on a pre-surgical diagnosis and reducing patients’ anxiety.
Dr. Nardin Nakhla, Simmunome Inc.
“We need to be more forgiving with ourselves […] and we should not expect ourselves to do everything at the same time perfectly”
Simmunome Inc. builds AI-driven disease simulations to predict outcomes of clinical trials in the drug discovery process.
Nivatha Balendra, Dispersa
“The woman that inspired me to become an entrepreneur is my mom [..]. Since I was a kid, she always encouraged myself and my brother to help society in anyway that we can.”
Dispersa focuses on developing a 100% biodegradable technology that harnesses the power of oil-degrading bacteria.
Monica Mhina, NIA
“If I was starting my career as an entrepreneur again, I would have networked more!”
NIA AI is an AI-powered personal banking and financial management assistant, accessible through mobile banking and payment apps.
Laura Velasquez, Arkangel AI
“I see Montreal in the next following years building impactful, disruptive and valuable solutions for the whole world.”
Arkangel AI enables people to live free of preventable diseases through an artificial intelligence platform.
Dr. Karina Gasbarrino, PLAKK
“Try not to be concerned only with the outcome of your journey but instead take the time to pause along the way and enjoy the process of being an entrepreneur.”
PLAKK aims to revolutionize the characterization of atherosclerotic plaques to improve the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.
Chloë Ryan, Acrylic Robotics
“As an entrepreneur I have the ultimate freedom to pick an issue I see on society and proactively go and make that change that I want to see.”
Acrylic is a pre-launch hardtech startup helping professional artists sell their artwork at scale by rethinking how paintings are produced.
Beatrice Ayinkamiye, Food Bundles
"One way to empower women and set them for success is to help them by capitalizing on their strengths and creating environments that are enabling for them.”
Food Bundles is a digital platform designed to optimize the distribution of fresh food to consumers living in cities.
Sonia Israel, Aifred Health
“Female investors are three times more likely to fund women founders. We can empower women by increasing representation in this domain”
Aifred Health is a clinical decision support tool in mental healthcare, powered by AI.
Ophelia Sarakinis, Vertité
“Number one entrepreneurship skill to have: communication and storytelling - because you need to be able to properly convey information within the company and to outsiders.”
Vertite’s tech-enabled urban farms cultivate local, pesticide-free strawberries all year long.
Mariia Zhuldybina, TRAQC
“I believe that in 10 years we will see more start-ups [in the deep tech space] being built up by female founders!”
TRAQC uses laser technology non-destructive and in-situ quality control of printed electronics fabrication.
Dr. Alejandra Huerta, AIM Colours
"The mentorship and the funding [received] created the right conditions for us to be able to follow our vision and to truly move forward."
AIM Colour is revolutionizing self-expression using wearable electronics and electrophoretic displays
Health and Science Innovations
"We are now better equipped to face the challenges before us and to create an impactful, purpose driven company that will transform wellbeing for generations to come."
Nurau is a startup that offers innovative services to prevent mental health issues in the workplace.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Neuro Lean Startup'20, McGill Dobson X-1 Accelerator'21 - Mancini Entrepreneurial Excellence Award recipient
Team
- Justin Lessard-Wajcer, McGill Faculty of Medicine
- Vivienne Tam, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Saba Saremi, Université de Montréal
"Having access to the coaches was an amazing experience because we got personalized feedback and got to really see what we needed to work on."
Remote Optical provides medical devices that allow ophthalmologists and optometrists to remotely examine, diagnose and track optical diseases, disorders, and damage.
Dobson programs: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Health and Science Track 3rd place winners, McGill Dobson X-1 Accelerator'21
Team
- Jeremy Zwaig, McGill Faculty of Science
- Angela Wong, McGill Faculty of Science
- Oliver Wu Martinez, McGill Faculty of Science
- Leonard Levin, McGill Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences – Neurology and Neurosurgery
"With every workshop and mentorship session, we clarified our mission and expanded our vision."
Precare is an innovative platform providing up-to-date evidence-based information through animated medical and surgical guides, accessible in 20 languages for free. Precare increases information-retention through audiovisuals, reducing dependency on printed-media.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Social Enterprise Track 1st place winner, McGill Dobson X-1 Accelerator'21
Team
- Raphael Gotlieb, McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
"The X-1 Accelerator program helped us remove ourselves form the daily responsibilities of running our company HealthyBud and allowed us to get back to basics, to really take a deeper dive into what sets us apart, what our unique selling proposition is, what our unique differentiators are and really focus on our core values as a team."
Healthybud is a pet wellness company helping animals thrive through research-backed nutrition, education and community. Working alongside universities, vets and nutritionists, Healthybud empowers pet-parents to best care for their pets.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Health and Science enterprise Track 1st place winners, McGill Dobson X-1 Accelerator'21
Team
- Dana Ben David, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Kyle Feigenbaum, Concordia University
- Adrien Malka, University of Ottawa
"It is an experience we recommend to anyone who has a creative idea or would like to start an entrepreneurship journey."
OpAI Innovations assists medical practitioners in providing the best possible outcomes for patients undergoing breast surgeries through the use of an intraoperative imaging tool to assess breast symmetry.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Health Sciences Track 3rd place winners
Team
- Prabhakara Jois, Concordia University
- Anthony Deegan, McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Dan Huy Tran, McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
"During the Dobson Cup, we figured out that the startup lifestyle is not only fuelled by dreams but requires extensive planning."
GynAware’s mission is to improve the quality of life for women by reducing the number of unnecessary surgeries in gynaecology. GynAware offers an integrated and cost-effective pre-surgical biopsy solution that enables gynaecologists to visualize, access, and sample tumors. GynAware aims to redefine the appropriate treatment in gynaecology and empower women to make conscious decisions related to their health.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Health Sciences Track 2nd place winners, X-1 Accelerator'20, Dobson International Tour'21
Team
- Ida Derish, McGill Faculty of Medicine
- Meera Kanagalingham, McGill Faculty of Medicine
"We gained a lot of confidence to showcase our company to the business Faculty and actual investors."
MinutesFluidics is developing a technology that will enable doctors and nurses to screen hospital patients for the MRSA superbug — a multibillion dollar challenge for North American hospitals. MinutesFluidics aims to disrupt the traditional testing market by developing a faster, easier to use, and more affordable diagnostic test.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - McGill Engine Prize winners, McGill X-1 Accelerator'20, International Startup Tour'21
Team
- Alexander Bevacqua, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Domenico Lopez, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Ali Najmaldin, McGill Faculty of Engineering
Social Innovations
"The support from the Dobson Cup community has been wonderful and helped her [Sandra] gain confidence in herself and her ability to accomplish almost anything she puts her mind to."
The Universal Seating Apparatus conforms to the needs of people with various disabilities, alleviating their discomfort on an airplane. Gualtieri Inventions' aim is to include and promote the well-being of people with disabilities in air travel. They are continuously striving to improve and provide solutions and support for this community.
Dobson programs: Dobson Cup'21 - Social Impact Enterprise Track 1st place winners, X-1 Accelerator'21 - Chad Williams Entrepreneurial Grit Award recipient
Team
- Sandra Gualtieri, McGill Faculty of Arts
- Adam Tryhor
"The inspiration to participate in the Dobson Cup was that we could see the potential opportunity to connect with great mentors, who have done a lot in their life and career. We really wanted to learn from them."
Food Bundles is a digital platform designed to optimize the distribution of fresh food to consumers living in cities. Digitizing the supply chain, it creates a sustainable market for smallholder farmers.
Dobson Programs: Dobson Cup'21 - Environmental Enterprise Track 2nd place winner and Mastercard Foundation Startup Award 2nd place winner
Team
- Beatrice Ayinkamiye, Alumni, Faculty of Science
- Dioscore Shikama
"Most important lessons came in the Marketing 101 session. It really inspired the team to kickstart our mobile app development and invest in programs that helped us better track the performance of our website."
Keen to Help is a social network whereby users build their volunteer profiles to enable seamless volunteer onboarding with the goal of encouraging volunteerism amongst university students.
Dobson program: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Social Impact Enterprise Track 2nd place winners and Avmor Prize for Social Responsibility winners
Team
- Mateo Jeanneau, Desautels Faculty of Management
- Jack Turner, Faculty of Arts
Circular Economy Innovations
"One of the most important takeaways that I have gotten from this experience is the reminder of the importance of community."
Algi creates purpose driven food products centred around the world’s oldest and smallest superfood, spirulina algae.
Dobson programs: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Environmental Enterprise Track 1st place winners
Team
- Alessandra Amato, Faculty of Education
- Devon Hawkins, Queen's University
"The educational opportunities offered helped us drive our business forward in a number of ways."
Interius Farms offers clients price and business stability through locally grown produce. By growing in co-located, controlled environments, Interius can provide clients with the freshest produce while mitigating pricing and supply chain risks through long-term, price stabilized contracts.
Dobson Programs: Dobson Cup'20 - Small and Medium Enterprise Track 1st place winners, McGill X-1 Accelerator'20, International Startup Tour'21
Team
- Tristan Zeman, Desautels Faculty of Management
- Jonathan Lawson, Desautels Faculty of Management
FinTech Innovations
"The team at the Dobson Centre has been very supportive from day 1 and nurtured us into the entrepreneurs we are today. We are forever grateful to be part of the Dobson family."
NIA, a bilingual (Swahili & English) AI-powered personal financial management assistant chatbot, in Tanzania, accessible through mobile banking and payment apps. It provides plug-and-play value added services such as analytics, financial literacy, and customer support experience to financial service providers.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Social Enterprise Track 3rd place winners
Team
- Monica Charles Mhina, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Abdulswamad Mussa Makuya, State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania
- Khadija Mohammed Abdullah, Yale University
Manufacturing Innovations
"There was a sense of urgency that was put through the program which I found really refreshing. Really to think ahead, and think ahead of thinking ahead. If you think you will have a problem, address it now."
TRAQC is a unique quality control platform for the next generation of customized electronic devices. Our solution is fast, cheap and in-line for printed electronics companies to reduce production costs by up to 80%.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Innovation Driven Enterprise Track 2nd place winners, McGill X-1 Accelerator'21
Team
- Benjamin Dringoli, McGill Faculty of Science
- Mariia Zhuldybina, ÉTS
Design and Lifestyle Innovations
"A fantastic learning experience. Going tru the preliminary rounds, semi-finals and finals really challenged us to continually absorb new information and use that to improve and refine our narrative."
Acrylic is a pre-launch hardtech startup helping professional artists sell their artwork at scale by rethinking how paintings are produced.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Innovation & Technology Driven Enterprise Track 3rd place winners
Team
- Chloë Ryan, McGill Student, Faculty of Engineering
- Celeste Nantel, McGill Student, Faculty of Engineering
"The X-1 gave us a lot of inspiration as we strategize for our next iteration of branding and product development. This inspiration not only came from the sessions we had and the amazing mentors we've met so far through the program, but also just from generous sharing of fellow founders from X-1."
The go-to makeup brand for everyday men.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson X-1 Accelerator'21
Team
- Ryan Lee, McGill Faculty of Engineering
- Emerson Quin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Xiaoxin Yu, Georgia Institute of Technology
"Then Covid happened and it was very stressful for everyone. Thankfully, there were a lot of resources and online activities that made us feel supported and empowered."
AIM Colours is revolutionizing self-expression through the creation of eCosmetics. A single eCosmetic application can be continuously colour-manipulated from any mobile device, creating a world where anyone can be empowered by make-up instantaneously.
Dobson Programs: McGill Dobson Cup'20 - Innovation Driven Enterprise Track 3rd place
Team
- Allie Huerta, McGill Faculty of Science
- Isabela Dominguez, Queen's University
Software Innovations
"The most important thing I learned from the Dobson Cup is don't be scared to dream big, no matter how crazy it sounds. Just make sure you have an actionable plan to achieve it and most important, that you are doing it for the right reasons."
The Rydesafely platform validates that autonomous systems can perceive unforeseen dangers - or edge cases - around them. This unblocks automotives to mandated assisted driving in 2021 and the $2.5 trillion self-driving future.
Dobson Program: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Innovation and Technology Driven Enterprise 1st place winners
Team
- Thomas Stuart, Cass Business School
- Sanjay Thakur, McGill Faculty of Engineering
"The impact the Dobson Cup had on our company, but also on myself personally. The mentorship we received was really moving and there was a piece of advice that someone gave may that will stay with me throughout my career."
SquareFeet.ai optimizes the revenue of a new residential development project by offering automated market research, automated initial price list generation and a demand driven dynamic price optimization.
Dobson Program: McGill Dobson Cup'21 - Innovation and Technology Driven Enterprise 2nd place winners
Team
- Jordan Owen, Desautels Faculty of Management
- Mark Owen, Faculty of Arts
- Sean Tasse, UQAM
- Benoit Thibault, HEC
