Introducing Canada’s next innovative businesses

Spin Master Innovation Fund celebrates and champions innovative Canadian-made businesses

Toronto, ON- September 30, 2014 – The Spin Master Innovation Fund today announces the recipients of its 2014 program. In partnership with Spin Master Ltd. and co-financing partner the Business Development Bank of Canada, Futurpreneur Canada (formerly Canadian Youth Business Foundation) is pleased to introduce Canada’s next group of highly innovative young entrepreneurs who are ready to take their businesses to the next level.

These young entrepreneurs each receive a start-up package of up to $50,000 in financing from Futurpreneur Canada and BDC, and a hand-matched mentor from Futurpreneur Canada’s industry-leading mentoring program. They will also come together in Toronto on October 2-3 to attend a two-day Innovation Launch Pad Workshop, with networking opportunities and mentoring from Spin Master’s senior executives and an exclusive “Design Thinker” customer-centered creative brainstorming workshop delivered by Deloitte Canada.

“The success of the Spin Master Innovation Fund has allowed us to give back to young entrepreneurs all across Canada,” said Spin Master Ltd.’s President and Co-CEO Ronnen Harary. “With the impressive recipients who have already come through the Fund, we’ve been so excited to see the high quality of candidates and the creativity, passion and outstanding character they’ve demonstrated once again this year. We look forward to matching them with great mentors and supporting their continued success.”

Chosen from a short-list of finalists who pitched their innovative business plans to an elite selection panel, the recipients’ presentations, ideas and, above all, their strength of character helped their companies secure their places in this year’s program. (Complete bios and testimonials are available for each recipient.)

“All of these young entrepreneurs have shown an outstanding ability to think creatively and strategically,” said Julia Deans, CEO, Futurpreneur Canada. “They continue to shine as leaders and innovators who now have the opportunity to become Canada’s next great business success stories. We’re pleased to partner with Spin Master Ltd. to help kick start innovative businesses.”

The 2014 recipients of the Spin Master Innovation Fund are:

  • Beeye (Montreal, QC). Entrepreneurs: Adrien Sicard and Julie Delisle. Beeye is a web-based business intelligence (BI) software system designed for small to medium sized businesses, enabling managers to visualize, plan and balance human resources and financial activities. www.mybeeye.com.
  • BiogeniQ (Montreal, QC). Entrepreneur: Etienne Crevier. BiogeniQ provides personalized health assessments using genetic testing at the disease, ancestry, pharmacological and nutrition level. www.Biogeniq.ca.
  • Early Entrepreneurs Inc. (Vancouver, BC). Entrepreneur: Kimberly Cope. Early Entrepreneurs Inc. provides seed funding to classrooms of students in Grades 4-12 to create and start their own social venture. Students gain hands-on experience starting and running a real business, and at the end of the term their profits are donated to charity. www.earlyentrepreneurs.ca.
  • Exigence Technologies Inc. (Winnipeg, MB). Entrepreneurs: Zach Wolff, Sheri Governo, Natalio Javier Nudler. Exigence Technologies Inc. has licensed the most advanced antimicrobial compound that can be applied to textiles and used in laundering garments in the health-care and hospitality industries to reduce the spread of infection. www.exigencetechnologies.com.
  • First Systems Filing Inc. (Regina, SK). Entrepreneurs: Cecile Brass & Trevor Schleede. First Systems Filing Inc. is a full-service record and information management (RIM) company developing tailored solutions for First Nations communities. Some of the services First Systems Filing Inc. provides are training for employees on RIM, archival, audio/video services, proposal writing for funding for implementation and policy development. www.firstsystemsfiling.com.
  • Idénergie (Montreal, QC). Entrepreneurs: Denis Bastien and Pierre Blanchet. Idénergie has developed a portable river turbine that joins with existing renewable energy technologies to provide a reliable source of green energy. www.idenergie.ca.
  • Notetracks (Montreal, QC). Entrepreneur: Kamlesh Lal. Notetracks is an iOS application designed for audio and music students and professionals to take descriptive notes of audio content while simultaneously listening to the audio track. www.notetracks.com.
  • Permission Click Inc. (Winnipeg, MB). Entrepreneur: Chris Johnson. Permission Click is a company and an application that creates digital permission slips and facilitates payment collection for kindergarten to Grade 12 schools, allowing parents to approve attendance and pay for events in seconds on any device. www.permissionclick.com.
  • Ratomic Lab (CycleMap), (Quebec, QC). Entrepreneurs: David Bourdreault and Olivier Carbonneau. CycleMap is an iOS application designed by Ratomic Lab to help cyclists around the world find bike lanes and routes worldwide, providing users with relevant information such as the type of lane, surface and elevation, and also includes features such as bike share stations, stores and offline map use. www.cyclemapapp.com.

“BDC is pleased to once again be a partner of the Spin Master Innovation Fund team with Futurpreneur Canada and Spin Master Ltd.,” says Yvon Jeghers, Senior VP, Corporate Financing at BDC.  “Working together, we can offer a greater number of resources to these deserving young entrepreneurs and equip them with the tools to make a difference to their growth and success.”

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About Spin Master Ltd.
A multi-category children’s entertainment company, Spin Master has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer products for children around the world since 1994 and is recognized as a global growth leader within the toy industry. Spin Master is best known for such popular brands as boy’s action phenomena and 2009-2010 Boy’s Toy of the Year winner Bakugan Battle Brawlers™, and award-winning brands Air Hogs®, Aquadoodle™, Flutterbye™, Spin Master Games™ including 2014 Game of the Year, Boom Boom Balloon ™ and the popular Hedbanz™, SpyGear™, Tech Deck™, and the 2014 Innovative Toy of the Year Zoomer™. The company has also marked an entry into children’s media with the launch of Spin Master Entertainment, a subsidiary focusing on the design, development and production of television and other media properties, including the hit animated preschool series, PAW Patrol™. Spin Master employs over 900 people with offices in Toronto, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Munich, and Milan. For additional information please visit: www.spinmaster.com.   

About Futurpreneur Canada
Futurpreneur Canada (formerly the Canadian Youth Business Foundation or CYBF) has been fuelling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada’s young enterprise for nearly two decades. We are the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39. Our internationally recognized mentoring program hand matches young entrepreneurs with a business expert from a network of more than 2,800 volunteer mentors. Futurpreneur Canada is a founding member of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, the Canadian member of The Prince’s Youth Business International, and the Canadian host of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
www.futurpreneur.ca. Facebook: Futurpreneur Twitter: @Futurpreneur

About BDC

Canada’s business development bank, BDC, puts entrepreneurs first. With almost 2,000 employees and more than 100 business centres across the country, BDC offers loans,  consulting services, growth and business transition capital, securitization, as well as venture capital to more than 30,000 small and medium-sized companies. Their success is vital to Canada’s economic prosperity. www.bdc.ca