Innovation Factory

☀️ Last Friday was nothing but good vibes for our team as we cheered on the Hamilton Cardinals Professional Baseball Club!

We traded our laptops for stadium seats to kick off the weekend early with a fun night out at the diamond. It was the perfect summer evening to hang out under the lights, crush some ballpark hot dogs, and get completely into the game day spirit together.

Swipe through to catch a glimpse of the team fun! 📸

Last week, we hosted our Food & CPG Founder Hangout, and it was incredible to see so many of our region’s food entrepreneurs, consumer packaged goods founders, and ecosystem partners come together! 🍔

This informal meetup was the perfect opportunity for founders at every stage to swap stories, share strategies, and build meaningful local connections. A huge thank you to Tom Wolff, our Expert Advisor for CPG, for kicking things off and sharing deep industry expertise on navigating retail hurdles.

We also want to extend a massive shoutout to our event sponsor, radius, and to Chelsea Ladd for joining us! Not only did they support the event, but they also proudly provided the delicious nibbles and snacks that kept everyone fueled throughout the afternoon. 😋

Thank you to everyone who came out to mingle, talk shop, and strengthen our local food and CPG ecosystem!

We can't talk about the future of Canadian innovation without talking about our young entrepreneurs.

That's why yesterday, we were in Toronto for Futurpreneur's Made in Canada. Made by Youth event. Our afternoon focused on the real challenges young founders face and how we can better support them.

The day kicked off with some amazing news from Minister Nina Tangri that the Ontario government is investing $6 million in Futurpreneur over the next three years to help young founders launch and grow their businesses!

After this incredible announcement, we got to hear a panel discussion that brought together perspectives from both founders and ecosystem leaders. We gained so much insight from this incredible group of speakers:

👉 Nina Tangri (Associate Minister of Small Business, Government of Ontario)
👉 Chi Nguyen (Member of Parliament for Spadina—Harbourfront, House of Commons of Canada)
👉 Meghan Victoria (Founder of SOL KYST)
👉 Amanveer Bajwa (Founder of Kahanii)
👉 Chantel (Malcolm) Malcolm-Henry and Peter Henry (Co-founders of Mini Mavericks)
👉 Adeyinka Pampam (Leadership and Business Coach)
👉 Jannine Rane (Co-Founder and CEO of Zing Pantry Shortcuts)
👉 Stephany Sani-Edwards (Regional Manager of Inclusive Entrepreneurship at BDC)
👉 Brammer (Regional Manager Business Markets at RBC)
👉 Our very own Karen Linseman (VP of Operations)

Being in the same room as so many amazing young entrepreneurs who are excited to grow and build their businesses in Canada is proof that the future of Canadian innovation is in good hands.

Swipe to see highlights from the event! 📸

Last week, we had the pleasure of attending the NWS Open House & Customer Appreciation Event at their Milton warehouse!

The event brought together a phenomenal crowd with representatives from all across Canada and the US, including teams from Bell, TELUS, and Rogers. Plus, we got to connect with Rick Sine and Jeff Crounse from VoltServer.

A huge thank you to Mike Rusiniak for the warm invitation and the excellent tour of the NWS facilities!

👉 Swipe to see some moments from the event!

Are you looking for a clear path to market for your health-tech innovation?

Applications are officially open for the sixth cohort of the HEALTHI program! 🩺

If you're a Canadian life science or health-tech SME preparing for a clinical trial or commercialization project, this program is designed to remove the guesswork. Eligible companies can leverage up to $15,000 worth of support services to work directly with world-class research administration groups. 💼

What you gain:
🎯 Connection to clinical champions and top-tier hospital facilities.
📋 Deep understanding of institutional requirements, hospital protocols, and patient acquisition strategies.
💡 Expert support to refine your pre-trial protocols and documents essential for commercialization.

HEALTHI is delivered in collaboration with the Synapse Life Science Consortium and with funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so don't wait to apply. ⏳

👉 Learn more and apply today: https://loom.ly/Ul3Pd9U

HEALTHI - Health Ecosystem To Accelerate And Leverage Trials Of Healthcare Innovation Program HEALTHI helps startups leverage up to $15,000 of services working with research administration groups in Hamilton's life science ecosystem.

Our signature pitch competition was nominated for the "Outstanding Special" at the 2026 Cable 14 Hamilton Impact Awards!

Huge congratulations to the Hamilton Cardinals Professional Baseball Club on their win for the IBL All-Star Game! Sharing a category with them, the YWCA Hamilton Women of Distinction Awards, and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Business Achievements was an honor in itself.

We'd also like to thank the entire Cable 14 team. As our long-time storytelling partner, you help us shine a spotlight on the innovators making a difference in Hamilton, Halton, and beyond.

So what's next?
🦁 Stay tuned for tickets, plus updates on who will be pitching at our 16th annual gala.
🦁 Learn more about LiONS LAIR: https://loom.ly/jgx8uf0

This week, we were in Barrie for Dual-Use Day at the Sandbox Centre! 🚀

This full-day event was a masterclass in navigating the defence and dual-use ecosystem. It brought together growth-stage SMEs, tech startups, and economic leaders to figure out exactly how civilian technologies can successfully fit into the defence market.

The room was packed with incredible insights from an absolute powerhouse lineup of expert speakers, panels, and practitioners, including Adam Varey, Andre Filion, Darcy Byrtus, Darian Harris, Dina Tzirakos-Hawker, Frank Taylor, Michael Petric, and Troy Crosby.

Beyond the main panels, it was an invaluable day for structured networking, especially for the selected companies who scored private, deep-dive 1-on-1 sessions with the practitioners to map out their specific path forward.

We left this event feeling inspired by the sheer amount of innovation happening right here in Ontario and the massive potential for dual-use tech.

Swipe to check out some moments from the day! 📸👇

Yesterday, we gathered to celebrate the upcoming retirement of the incredible Norm Schleehahn. 🥂

As a former member of our board of directors and a long-time Invest in Hamilton partner, Norm has been a huge supporter of regional innovation and our local ecosystem over the years. His dedication, guidance, and passion have left a lasting mark on everything we do.

Thank you, Norm, for your leadership and your friendship. Our entire Innovation Factory team wishes you the happiest, most well-deserved retirement. Your legacy here will continue to inspire us!

🙌We just wrapped up our latest Founders Fast Track demo day yesterday, where our high-potential startups took the virtual stage to pitch their ventures to a panel of seasoned angel and seed-stage investors.

These founders spent the last eight weeks diving deep into customer development, pitch training, and funding strategies to prepare for their final demo.

We are proud to celebrate this cohort 👏 Axon Health, Blue Ocean Technologies Inc., CARIBB POP, Cocoon, CorLibra, crewd., DigiBiomics, Gasner HealthTech, Hiro, HumanisRx, LIVESENS, Maple Green Digital Technologies Ltd, NewGen Health, Open House Real Estate, Quotograph.io, Reefers Technologies , Remmen Brakes, Sensible Vascular, Seva Intelligence Inc., VascuBio Innovation, Zephaer

🙏We are also grateful for our incredible panel of investors and sponsors for providing the feedback and connections these entrepreneurs need to succeed.

Maple Leaf Angels, First Line Capital, Graphite Ventures, MaRS IAF, AngelOne, FrontFundr', North Spring Capital, Capital Angel Network, Amplitude Ventures, Deloitte, GreenSky Ventures, Launchit Ventures, York Angels, and Global Angel Investor Network

💡Stay tuned to find out our LiONS LAIR finalists!

Day three of e-Health 2026 brought some of the most exciting insights yet. 👇

We kicked off the morning at the opening plenary panel, sponsored by Amplify Care, diving into How AI can Amplify the Primary Care Experience. Emcees Rachel Gillespie (Mariner Innovations) and Jordan Warford (Nova Scotia Government) set the stage for an incredible discussion on AI-powered scribes and clinical decision support. Moderated by Mohamed Alarakhia (Amplify Care), the panel featured fantastic insights from leaders Kate Ebrill (CSIRO), Dafna Carr (Ontario Ministry of Health), and Ashley Miller (Nova Scotia Health / IWK Health).

We also heard from some amazing presenters tackling AI-driven personalized care and patient empowerment, including Jonathan Ranisau & Francesca D'Angelo (Hamilton Health Sciences) and Francis Robichaud (Lime Health).

Between sessions, it was wonderful connecting with the teams at Cloud DX and Mutuo, and hanging out with Goran Marjanovic and Hailey Ben-Izhak from EmergConnect Inc.

The energy here in Halifax has been incredible! Check out some of today's highlights below. 📸👇