Taran is CEO and co-founder of Blume. A self care and skin care start up that creates safe and effective products while bashing taboos and stigmas. Taran is a 500 Startups Alumni, Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient & G20 youth delegate for Canada. She co-founded Blume, a venture backed self care company that has raised $4m. Blume exists to bash taboos and stigmas through safe and effective products.

As Co-Founder at Reusables.com, Anastasia is on the front lines of the fight against single-use packaging. Reusables is shaping the vision for zero-waste food retail by providing packaging-as-a-service to restaurants and helping them to easily transition from single-use to reuse. After researching the environmental impacts of different industries, Anastasia has made her mission to minimize waste in the food sector. Originally from Russia, Anastasia has enjoyed the opportunity to connect and innovate with like-minded individuals after starting her bachelors in Vancouver. Since then, she has led Lighter Foodprint – a non-profit which communicates the impact of food-related emissions; learned from the sustainability leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark during her exchange; and evaluated economic development projects in Bogor, Indonesia. Anastasia’s experiences of stepping out of her comfort zone provoked the burning desire for entrepreneurship and prepared her to tackle complex problems. Anastasia’s background in professional alpine ski racing makes her disciplined and self-motivated yet a collaborative leader and a strong team player. In her spare time, you can find Anastasia in the mountains – skiing, hiking, or biking. Her favorite quote is ‘You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.’

Maninder Dhaliwal is the Managing Partner of Startup Studio – Accelerator & Venture Fund. She is the founding chair of TiE’s Incubation Lab, and serves on the global steering committee for TiE Global Angels – the largest angel investor network in the world. She is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, technologist, angel investor & global super connector. Her method is simple: helping early stage technology companies succeed through strategically leveraging worldwide networks. Through TiE Incubation Lab, she is helping high potential, high impact innovations from remote locations commercialize successfully and reach the global market.

Paige Sandher is the Co-Founder of CouchHaus. A modular furniture start-up designed to offer customizable furniture at an affordable price point, with a focus on sustainable practices. Paige has grown in eCommerce since 2017 where she has built, scaled and sold multiple brands with her Co-Founder Harrison. CouchHaus is entirely self-funded and grew to 7 figures in its first year, where Paige landed on the 2023 BC 30 Under 30 list.

Jonathan Javier started his career working at his dream companies in the tech industry: Snapchat, Google, and Cisco. Coming from a first-generation Filipino-American background, he thought making it into these companies was unattainable. However, he soon realized that his dream was to help other people land their dream jobs.

This was when Wonsulting was born: A career consulting company whose mission is “to turn underdogs into winners.” He now has a team of 30+ employees with 2 million + total followers on social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. He’s been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30, Fortune, New York Times, Business Insider, CNBC, The Times, TikTok News, LinkedIn News, Yahoo! News, Wall Street Journal and more.

Now, his team is working on revolutionizing the job search space through the power of AI. With the release of AI job search tools like ResumAI, NetworkAI, CoverLetterAI, and AutoApplyAI, all under WonsultingAI, it’s grown to have 560,000+ users in 8 months to impact thousands of job-seekers to land interviews and offers.

Kaylee is a start-up fanatic, company-builder, ex-management consultant, and tech entrepreneur. She started her career at Deloitte Consulting, where she advised some of the fastest-growing start-ups, governments, and large-scale public organizations. Following her time at Deloitte, Kaylee co-founded MobSquad, a disruptive tech-talent company. Currently, she is the Founder & CEO of Blanka, where she helps entrepreneurs launch their beauty businesses through an automated platform. Previously, Kaylee has been recognized as one of the Top 30 Under 30 and Top Female Founders to Watch in 2022.

Manny is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Managing Director of New Avenue Capital, a global investment firm providing capital to growing businesses through debt and equity investments. With more than 50 investments in 8 countries, New Avenue Capital supports a portfolio of investments spanning education, recruitment, real estate, technology, and mining. When he met Ryan Holmes in 2017, they realized they were doing similar things with their charities. Both were eager to scale youth entrepreneurship in Canada and focused on eliminating barriers to make that happen. So that fall, they merged their charities, and Manny joined the board of League of Innovators to help give strategic guidance for the road ahead. In December of 2021, Manny and Ryan teamed up to launch the LOI Venture Fund.

Neil Mitra is an innovator and entrepreneur passionate about inventing biomedical devices. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mitra Biotechnologies – a startup company developing rapid point-of-care heart attack diagnostics. Neil is a Masason Foundation member and was named a Global Teen Leader in 2022. He has 6 US Patents filed for his biotechnology inventions and is a full-ride Presidential Scholar at the University of British Columbia for Biomedical Engineering.

Emily Davies is President of Linde Equity and co-manager of the Linde Equity Fund. Emily performs research and analysis of Canadian and US-listed securities and is responsible for monitoring the firm’s investments, supporting its risk management objectives, and overseeing business development activities. Emily also invests in early-stage B2B SaaS businesses and serves on the Cortico Health Technologies board as an Independent Director. Emily is also a board member of the Cause We Care Foundation and the Young Association for Corporate Growth BC and a member of the Vancouver Steering Committee for Women in Capital Markets. She is also an advisory board member of SFU’s Beedie Endowment Asset Management Fund and the advisory board to the dean of SFU’s Beedie School of Business. Emily previously worked in equity research and investment banking at RBC Capital Markets. Emily is a BC Business 30 Under 30 Award Winner and received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business.

Jill Earthy is a forward-thinking business leader driven to create an inclusive innovation ecosystem.

As CEO of InBC Investment Corp., Jill leads a provincial Crown corporation with a strategic investment fund of $500 million to invest in growing companies and funds, with a triple bottom line approach that values people, planet and profit to build a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive future for British Columbia.

Jill has held multiple leadership positions, including CEO of WeBC (formerly Women’s Enterprise Centre), where she led a provincial non-profit organization supporting women entrepreneurs with loans, education, mentorship and advisory services across B.C. Prior to that, Jill was the Head of Female Funders, working to empower women leaders to invest in early-stage companies, and Chief Growth Officer of FrontFundr, an online investment platform bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and investors. As an entrepreneur, Jill has built and sold two national companies.

Jill has committed her career to mentoring entrepreneurs and growing the innovation ecosystem in Canada. She is an active member and community contributor and serves on the Boards of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and The Forum. Jill has been well recognized for her contributions, including as an Influential Woman in Business by Business in Vancouver (BIV), one of the Top 100 most powerful women in Canada by WXN and one of the Power 50 most powerful people in Vancouver by Vancouver Magazine.

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Josh Tryhane has made a significant mark in the digital realm as a celebrated YouTube content creator with over 800K subscribers. Beyond his creative prowess, Josh is a devoted family man, happily married with a baby boy and another on the way.

Alongside his YouTube success, he founded Artistry Media Inc., where he leverages his marketing expertise to help businesses thrive in the digital age, earning a reputation for innovative strategies and entrepreneurial acumen. Josh’s journey is a source of inspiration for aspiring creators and entrepreneurs, showcasing his ability to balance family life, YouTube stardom, and thriving business ventures with unwavering dedication and vision for the future.

Prishita Agarwal, the recipient of the 2022 Women of The Year Award by BCBusiness, is a passionate champion of the circular economy. She’s the visionary founder behind Mosa, inspired to take action after noticing discarded alcohol bottles at a college house party. Mosa is her sustainability-focused endeavour dedicated to revolutionizing glass waste reduction through innovative solutions.

To date, with her team, she has saved more than 10,000 glass bottles from ending up in landfills. Prishita’s impactful work has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets such as Vancouver Is Awesome, Richmond News, and TedXUBC.

Julie is the founder of Benny and a food and wellness enthusiast. She started Benny in her kitchen a year and a half ago when I found a gap in the market for energy-boosting products that are accessible, delicious, and net-positive to your body and mind. Now in 50+ stores (soon to be nearly 200!), she loves sharing Benny with the world.

Co-founder & CEO at Artemis, a tool that automates data cleanup for operators. 1x exit in e-commerce. My background is in Finance, and my favourite podcast is Acquired.

Co-Founder of Hired.com, 99designs, SitePoint and Flippa. Angel investor in 50+ companies.

Named 2022 Woman of the Year in Canada by Bay Street Bull and Forty under 40 by BIV, Dr. Mehrsa Raeiszadeh is the Co-Founder and COO of MintList Technologies Inc. Mehrsa grew up overcoming challenges: growing up in Iran as a woman, mastering her ADHD, breaking national swimming records, or completing her Ph.D. at Georgia Tech in 3 years with over 20 publications and patents. Problem-solving, adaptability and diversity became her best friends. She co-founded MintList to change how cars are bought and sold by empowering people with data to make better decisions.

After graduating from Queens University with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Media and Performance Production, I came to Vancouver to begin my career in broadcast journalism. While working as an on-air reporter, I found a passion in my side hustle, creating street interviews on social media. I have since made a following of over 200K people and over 150 million views, left my full-time job to build my brand, and got to work with companies around the world, hosting honest and open interviews on the streets.

Daniel is a serial tech entrepreneur, community-led growth expert, and active investor on more than 100 cap tables while investing alongside the top decile of venture capitalists. He sold his first two venture-backed companies and joined Airbnb full-time, where he managed growth in their top-tier markets. In 2019, Daniel left Airbnb to start Key, a fintech company that replaces a mortgage and allows someone to own a home with only $15k. Daniel founded the EO and YPO angel investor communities collectively called Entrepreneurs’ Capital. EO is the world’s largest founder community, and if the members of YPO made up a country, it would be the third largest GDP in the world, only behind China and the USA. Entrepreneurs’ Capital hosts private fireside chats where Daniel interviews top investors such as Ried Hoffman and David Sacks and unicorn founders. Entrepreneurs’ Capital is also a Side Door Ventures seed fund partner. Daniel has been named Top 30 Under 30 and has participated as a Canadian G20 and B7 Delegate. Daniel spoke at the G20 in China, completed a 100km race along the Great Wall, and has been invited for one-on-one meetings with world leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Prince William, and Kofi Annan on fostering youth entrepreneurship. To further support youth entrepreneurship, Daniel is on the board of the League of Innovators and a Venture Advisor at LOI Venture. He’s on the Peter Thomas GSEA Foundation board, which gifts $100k annually to a student founder in Canada. He spoke to 20,000 youth at “We Day” in 2012 and directed a film series on the sharing economy.

Michelle is a performance-driven growth marketer, communications strategist, and entrepreneur with over two decades of comprehensive achievements in both B2B and B2C industries. She has a proven track record as an executive leader in digital marketing, PR, strategic partnerships, community management and company building. She has focused her career on scaling ideas to impact the Emerging Technology, Digital Media, Events, Retail and Nonprofit industries. Michelle also leads EDI strategies, change management and developing comprehensive leadership tracks that help empower the organizations she works with to flourish. She is a mentor with New Ventures BC, the Immigrant Employment Council of BC’s Tech Bootcamps and e@UBC’s early-stage Venture Founder program. She thrives in Startups and fast-paced environments where culture and vision match the desire to be transformative.

Enrique is the CEO and co-founder of Slate, a new way to type on your phone. He has stints at Microsoft, Google, and LinkedIn and has a biomedical and software engineering background. Under his leadership, Slate has grown to thousands of users and has secured funding from some of the best investors in Silicon Valley. Enrique is excited about democratizing the power of creation through AI for everyone.

Simran is the Community Engagement Manager for The League of Innovators and the CEO of her medtech startup. The League of Innovators (LOI) is a national charity/youth accelerator that supports youth founders nationwide with programming, resources, and mentorship. Simran works with hundreds of youth founders through this role, hoping to revolutionize their industries.

Simran was first introduced to LOI and its amazing community through her role as the CEO of FentaGone. FentaGone’s mission is to reduce street-level overdoses amid the opioid epidemic and spearhead innovation in the harm reduction field internationally. She developed a revolutionary syringe that can assess an individual’s risk of an overdose in their most isolated and vulnerable moments.

This innovation has allowed her a platform to advocate for greater harm reduction and support for those living with addiction – this includes participating in the 67th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at City Hall, a TEDx event, and many more.

Her work has also been celebrated by the Mayor of Edmonton in the State of the Union speech and featured in the Globe and Mail and various other outlets. Simran was named one of Bay Street Bull’s Top 30 Under 30 this year.

Justin Tse is the 26-year-old CEO of Feature Media and an online technology content creator who has reached over 800,000 YouTube subscribers and 100,000,000 views while building a multi-million dollar revenue through brand partnerships. As a teenager, he began creating YouTube tech videos in 2010 and has grown up in online video content creation and digital marketing. He is one of the pioneers of influencer marketing in technology while branching out to other sectors such as cars, home, lifestyle, and more.

With a portfolio of hundreds of brands, some of Justin’s most notable partnerships include Apple, Samsung, Mercedes Benz, Four Seasons, Google, Microsoft, Singapore Airlines, Dyson, and more. He attended the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business before departing in the final year to formally creating a media company, Feature Media and creating content full time. The business has doubled in revenue every year since its incorporation in 2018, generating over $4 million bootstrapped, with recent annual brand partnership revenues surpassing $3 million.

Feature Media has been approached with term sheet acquisition offers with the intention of applying their strengths in industry connections and access to over media verticals, and an external creator tool agency. Their current investments include a profitable luxury real estate asset and rental division wth 3 properties owned, all of which have been documented on YouTube and integrated brands Justin Tse has worked with. Feature Media’s mission is to tell the story behind consumer tech products and experiences through cinematic video curated to modern-day social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram.

He has been granted exclusive access to film at the headquarters of Apple, Dyson, and Mercedes Benz, along with interviews with Apple Executive – Craig Federighi and Mercedes Benz CTO – Jochen Hermann, as part of his trusted storytelling in educating consumers about the innovations of these brands. By having the capabilities of commercial-grade production, and a significant social media presence, Feature Media embraces the hybrid model and content direction brands have been trending towards through high-quality user-generated video that is licensable for commercial use in conjunction with modern social media marketing platforms.

Justin’s early teen experience in the industry has inspired the next generation of creators who seek social media as a sustainable and lucrative creator path. He has launched the online course Creator Cashflow “How to make your first million on YouTube,” highlighting the industry’s business side and working with major brands at a young age through 8 hours of interactive video content and 150 pages of reading material. He was also the keynote speaker at YouTube Canada’s Studio & The Weeknd’s House creator incubator program in late August, and has spoken at the University of Victoria, and his alma mater St. Michaels University School. His insights have garnered the attention of The Business Insider, The Verge, and The New York Times.

He has also appeared on CBC Radio, Global News, CBC News, Vancouver Sun, and CTV News. Justin was also on the cover of the Douglas Magazine titled “The Power of Influence” and was named the Top 5% of YouTube Tech Channels by Google in 2014. Feature Media as a company was also named a finalist for Viatec’s “Top Growth Company of the Year” in 2022 for consistent growth in revenue and content innovation while operating a significantly smaller team than other finalists.

Michelle is an active start-up advisor, philanthropist and Angel investor. She focuses on empowering women and young founders to strengthen their businesses through good corporate governance. Born and raised in Toronto, she has been privileged to live and work in Boston, Australia, and now resides with her family in beautiful Vancouver, BC. In addition to a PhD and Executive MBA, Michelle completed her corporate director ICD.D designation in 2021. She proudly serves as a director on the board of our iconic arts organization, the National Ballet of Canada and is an Angel with The Firehood.

Money is a leading barrier to innovation and entrepreneurship, especially for women and equity-deserving groups. As an experienced founder, Brianna has lived through this pain. She co-founded Pocketed to level the playing field, helping Canadian businesses access over $5.9B annually in grants, tax credits, and incentives. Since 2021, more than 12,000 companies have used Pocketed to access over $100M. Together with her team, Brianna is on a mission to eliminate financial barriers for businesses.