Futurpreneur Canada 2019 Award Winners

Every year, with help from our community, Futurpreneur Canada recognizes entrepreneurs and mentors who have made a positive contribution to Canada's entrepreneurial ecosystem, whether by showing extraordinary grit, innovative thinking, exemplary leadership or a commitment to mentoring young founders.

Congratulations to the Futurpreneur Canada Award recipients for 2019!

The 2019 Futurpreneur Entrepreneur of the Year award goes to a young entrepreneur or young entrepreneurs who have made a mark on the entrepreneurial landscape through their exemplary activities and leadership of their company, as well as their engagement in the entrepreneurship community.


Jacqueline Wong, Maker Cube

"As entrepreneurs we know the start up struggle very well, there are many barriers in place that make it difficult for an entrepreneur to launch their business. Maker Cube has impacted the entrepreneur community by eliminating those barriers and creating a place for entrepreneurs to connect. Entrepreneurs at Maker Cube can rent studio spaces or offices to do their work that are almost half the price of renting a commercial office space. Our business also provides access to tools and equipment that would create a heavy dent in start up costs for any entrepreneur. The final barrier of gaining exposure has been eliminated as entrepreneurs can connect with other Maker Cube members, share their story and their business ventures."

The Growing Strong Award goes to a business that has successfully expanded its operations to new locations outside of their original market, either nationally or internationally.


Craig Vandermeer, Insight Global Education

"The biggest challenge has been figuring out how to accurately market within locations where we don't have physical presence, a recognized brand, or much capacity. In turn, we've developed a partnership based strategy allowing us access to large markets in collaboration with organizations, rather than in competition.
Our sales growth outside of our initial market has resulted in significant growth for the company, as our last fiscal year saw company total revenue grow from approximately $600k CAD to $1.2m. We have just signed extensive partnership agreements with the largest public education institution in the United States - the State University of New York (SUNY), giving us access to 64 higher education institutions. "

The 2019 Disruption Award goes to a business that has demonstrated innovation and industry disruption that benefits their community.


Mathieu Plante, B2B Quotes

Nowadays, it is challenging to get the correct information when a business wishes to find a partner to pursue a project. With Google, you can get thousands of results and, most of the time, the vendors approached will tell you that they are the best to respond to your business’ needs. We know that most of the time, these are not the best partners and, thanks to our platform and algorithm, we can make a real difference in the selection process of suppliers. Sometimes, businesses postpone large projects because of time constraints or the fact that they do not know where to start. Finding vendors, explaining the project to each of them and selecting one can be a complicated process. Choosing the wrong supplier might be extremely costly in terms of money and time but, mostly, in terms of opportunity costs. Our business model is innovative in the business sector. We revolutionize the way businesses seek out partners.

The Grit Award goes to a business that has overcome failure, exhibited dedication and perseverance, and found success in spite of those challenges.


Jennifer Dubois, Miyosiwin Salon Spa

"A fire devastated our business just 13 months after we opened our doors.  The fire originated in the business next door and travelled to our space through the attic and roof. During that time, we changed our business model to keep our staff busy. We travelled to First Nations Communities for health days and set up mini services for community citizens. Many of our employees were able to work from home during this time for other income. Our rebuilt Salon has now open for 6 months post fire. We face all challenges that a new business encounters once again. Our space is rebuilt and our doors are back open but gaining back our clients who went to other salons and once again reestablishing ourselves as a credible business in Regina is now our challenge. "

The Mentor Award goes to a mentor who has demonstrated a sincere and empowering commitment to mentoring young entrepreneurs and helping build the small business community. A $1,000 prize in professional development will be awarded to the 5 finalists.


Hugh van Praet

I have also learnt a lot from Andrew (Entrepreneur). The Canadian culture, his experience in online sales & marketing, to name a few. I have always appreciated him coming into our meetings with positive energy to do better. This mindset had, of course, a significant positive impact on me too.

The Futurpreneur Canada 2018 Award Winners

The 2018 Futurpreneur Entrepreneur of the Year award goes to a young entrepreneur or young entrepreneurs who have made a mark on the entrepreneurial landscape through their exemplary activities and leadership of their company, as well as their engagement in the entrepreneurship community.


“To be a founder made me realize my potential, the potential of my company and its expansion through international opportunities. Being a female entrepreneur is an opportunity to represent women in business and to be a role model for other young women entrepreneurs. As I am newcomer in Canada and new to the Entrepreneurship Complex in Montreal but I am proud and for a short time I gained the trust of the community”.

Escritoire Coworking Space Inc is unique shared workspace where modern professionals can work productively—right in their local communities. More than anything, we’re focused on the genuine passion our members feel for their neighbors and neighborhoods. So we’re working to foster community (instead of forcing it) by striving to be good neighbors ourselves—to embrace and be embraced by the neighborhoods we serve and to facilitate local connections between our members.

The Growing Strong Award goes to a business that has successfully expanded its operations to new locations outside of their original market, either nationally or internationally.


Armen Bakirtzian, Intellijoint Surgical

“Intellijoint’s flagship product, Intellijoint HIP®, provides surgeons with real-time, intraoperative measurements to ensure accurate size selection, positioning, and alignment of orthopaedic implants during total hip replacements. In just two years of commercialization, Intellijoint HIP has been used to more accurately reconstruct over 6,500 total hip replacements. With the adoption rate of Intellijoint HIP growing rapidly, Intellijoint Surgical knew though that it needed to grow beyond its established markets. In 2017, Intellijoint expanded into the Australian and New Zealand markets with its newly earned CE Mark, and in September 2018 entered the European Union market”.

The 2018 Disruption Award goes to a business that has demonstrated innovation and industry disruption that benefits their community.


Gabriel Laliberté, Objectif Motivation Gym

"My company opens in private fitness. I offer a customized training service to my clients in the achievement of XYZ objectives and in order to modify life habits considered harmful. I change lives! I want to broaden my horizons in the medium term; have two or three employees, offer home service, offer web programs and develop partnerships with complementary people. It will be able even more to help to change and to modify habits of life. I want to leave a healthy legacy through my community, but especially the south shore of Quebec City. I definitely want to make myself known and shout to everyone: " Lezzzzzgoo !! "

The Grit Award goes to a business that has overcome failure, exhibited dedication and perseverance, and found success in spite of those challenges.


Harmanpreet Kaur, Spa Botanica

Spa Botanica is a full service day spa, with an Ayurvedic influence. Spa Botanica specializes in custom made skincare using pure ingredients such as turmeric, multani clay, sandalwood, rose petals, coconut, cucumber and more. Harmanpreet went into business with $0 in her personal and business accounts, relying on food banks to feed herself and her children, and overcame plenty of struggles and sacrifices to launch and grow Spa Botanica to the business that it is today.

The Mentor Award goes to a mentor who has demonstrated a sincere and empowering commitment to mentoring young entrepreneurs and helping build the small business community. A $1,000 prize in professional development will be awarded to the 5 finalists.


Juliana MacEwen, Precision Digital

Starting a business can feel very lonely at times, unless you have people that you can talk to who understand what you are going through. Juliana MacEwen realizes this and tries to lend a hand whenever she can to people who are taking the leap of faith to start their own business. Juliana is a great mentor because she goes above and beyond her mentoring role, she helps her mentees with many things such as the hiring new employees, she is kind and patient and helps her mentees see where they need to be more specific with certain things or perhaps change direction with certain ideas and know that it's ok to do that. Most importantly, she helped her mentees to become more confident with themselves as women in business. Juliana is very welcoming and confident. She gives off a vibe that makes everyone around her feel empowered.

The Futurpreneur Canada 2017 Award Winners