Meet
10
Meet the
10
Semi-Finalists
Since applications closed on October 26, we’ve reviewed hundreds of inspiring pitches
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to see how each of these entrepreneurs plan to bring their visions to life, and there are no words to describe how impressed we are by the innovation and ambition they’ve demonstrated.
We hope all applicants will remain a part of our community as they continue to work towards their goals, grow their networks, and seek out solutions to any challenges they face. As always, our mission is to help self-identifying women, non-binary and trans-femme entrepreneurs access the resources and community they need to thrive in business.
Meet the 10 Semi-Finalists who are one step closer to receiving up to $90,000 in capitals to fund their business visions!
Aileen Agada (she/her)
CEO, BeBlended
BeBlended is an online marketplace that connects Black men and women with freelance hairstylists across the globe.
Users are met with a variety of tailored software tools and resources to enhance their experience within the Black hair care industry.
Bronwyn Bridges (she/her)
CEO, PragmaClin
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurological disease, affecting more than 10 million people worldwide.
Clinicians face considerable challenges in tracking PD progression and rating severity, and 40 percent of individuals with Parkinson's are never treated because they live too far from an urban center or have difficulty travelling.
PragmaClin has developed PRIMS, a digital tool for accurately assessing and scoring PD progression using depth cameras for motor data capture and surveys for patient-reported data, enabling clinicians and patients to manage the disease more effectively and efficiently.
Chloe Beaudoin (she/her)
COO, Apricotton
Jessica Miao (she/her)
CEO, Apricotton
Apricotton designs the only bras globally that grow as teens grow, helping the 90% of teen girls embarrassed to wear a bra, ensuring they feel confident during puberty.
Dolma Tsundu (she/her)
Founder & CEO, Flutter Care
Flutter Care develops new technologies to promote safe and informed perinatal experiences.
Fiona Bobowski (she/her)
Co-CEO, Fromage Protein Pints
Nuala Bobowski (she/her)
Co-CEO, Fromage Protein Pints
Fromage Protein Pints cottage cheese ice cream is the treat designed for health-conscious consumers, but made for ice cream lovers.
Low in sugar and naturally high in protein, but as rich and decadent as traditional ice cream, Fromage checks all the boxes: healthy, satisfying, delicious.
Katie Gamble (she/her)
Founder, Nature Bee
Nature Bee is a sustainable brand that manufactures beeswax wraps and sells other eco-friendly items such as concentrated cleaning tablets, and Swedish dishcloths.
We are on a mission to make sustainable products accessible to everyone.
Linda Biggs (she/her)
CEO, joni
joni is a 21st-Century period care brand disrupting the stigmatized $26B menstrual industry through their ecosystem of accessibility.
joni provides full turn-key commercial solutions to businesses making period care accessible to everyone who needs it.
Sara Jonsdottir (she/her)
CEO, Revol Cares
Cares is changing the way people experience periods and disrupting the "back up" landscape of menstrual care solutions. We are driven by innovation and technology and are the leaders in "one product" period care solution.
No pads, no tampons, just Cares leak proof undies.
Tasha Nathanson (she/her)
Founder & CEO, 7 Leagues
7 Leagues is a startup leather innovation company located in Vancouver, BC, Canada making fish leather from sea and tree; upcycling fisheries and forestry waste, crafting it into beautiful, durable bio-material through an eco-friendly process.
To sustain people and the planet, our fish leather will provide wholesale luxury fish leather to apparel, soft goods, and interior design companies seeking high quality, sustainable and distinctive materials created using ethical, transparent, and clean production processes.
Tina Singh (she/her)
Founder & CEO, Bold Helmets
Bold Helmets has created the first safety certified multi sport helmet for Sikh kids with top knots. Now parents of Sikh kids don't have to struggle to find helmets like I did when my kids were young.
Join us in Vancouver or Toronto to support these entrepreneurs as they pitch their visions!
We’re excited to be gathering our community in two cities this year to celebrate and support the Semi-Finalists.
We gathered in Vancouver on February 15, 2024 and invite you to join us in Toronto on February 29, 2024.
What to expect
When you join us for the The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Semi-Final events, you’ll have the opportunity to:
Learn from incredible business leaders who are bringing their visions to life despite the personal and systemic challenges they’ve faced
Connect with The Forum’s community of driven entrepreneurs and supporters who want to help one another thrive
Leave feeling inspired, more equipped to tackle your own next steps
Mentors
The program Mentors are experts in growth, investing, and accessing capital. As experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders, they act as helpful mentors to the Semi-Finalists and Finalists as they prepare and revise their pitches throughout the program.
SEMI-FINALIST MENTORS
Danielle Graham (she/her)
Co-Founder, The Firehood
Danielle Graham is General Partner of Phoenix Fire and Co-Founder of The Firehood, an angel stage fund and network focused on women in technology. She created Fierce Founders Programs — the first women-focused accelerator and bootcamp series in Canada. Previously, she managed Ontario Centres of Innovation’s Market Readiness Fund, Principal at Sandpiper Ventures and Dream Maker Ventures and Consulting at Deloitte.
Danielle supports underrepresented founders looking to scale their tech businesses as a member of the angel community network, investment officer and advisor to tech incubators. Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Masters of Arts (M.A.) from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Trinity College, University of Toronto.
Roxanne Leduc (she/her)
CEO, Cap Inclusive
Roxanne has spent the last decade pushing boundaries for products and services that had no launch strategy blueprint. She helped launch the first North American free-floating carsharing service, the first mobile TV app for Bell and has spent her entire career promoting the empowerment of women in leadership roles.
After raising a $100M Fund as the Operations Director of the leading pre-seed and seed fund in Canada, she launched her company Cap Inclusive, a consulting firm that audits a firm's practices to help them align Purpose, Processes and People and drive stronger engagement from all groups.
Thealzel Lee (she/her)
Founder, Director & President, e-Fund
Thealzel Lee is the co-founder and director of angel investment funds VANTEC Entrepreneurs (VCC) Fund Inc. dba eFund, Nelsa Investment (VCC) Inc. and the Montfort Capital Corporation (TSX.V:MONT) and a General Partner with Phoenix Fire Fund, an Archangel Fund.
She manages the monthly VANTEC Angel Network (VANTEC) and the Vancouver chapter of the Keiretsu Forum (Northwest Region) for the local startup community of entrepreneurs and angel investors.
Crystal Lo (she/her)
Investment Associate, InBC Investment Corp
Crystal Lo is an Investment Associate at InBC and has a deep-rooted belief in the power of capital to create a positive social impact. She has multi-faceted experience in gender-lens investing, impact investing, commercial lending and real estate development, with her professional experience spanning three continents.
Crystal holds a bachelor’s degree in global business from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree in real estate from The University of Hong Kong.
Amy Rae (she/her)
Partner, Vanedge Capital
Amy Rae is a Principal at Vanedge Capital, focused on investing in SaaS businesses. Prior to joining Vanedge, Amy was a Vice President with Ziplocal (USA) where she was responsible for the development of new product rollout.
Amy has experience in both the investment and startup side of the business having been on the Investment side for 11 years and the startup operational side for 7 years.
Jennifer Rhee
President, 2hemispheres Consulting Inc.
Jennifer is a CPA, CA by background and has practiced as a partner with Richter LLP, specializing as an advisor in corporate and international tax. Since 2017 Jennifer has been providing a broader range of consulting services to entrepreneurs, often as an outsourced CFO to give the opportunity to small and medium sized firms to access "C-level" skills.
Jennifer is excited to provide opportunities and resources to female entrepreneurs and has been involved with the Women Presidents Organization (WPO) since 2018 and more recently with the Forum. She loves studying businesses and wants to contribute her passion and learning to female entrepreneurs to help them excel and grow their businesses.
Nagar Rahmani
Nagar is a former Partner at Maverix Private Equity. Nagar leads fundraising, co-investment opportunities, and partnerships. She guides activities as it relates to fundraising, strategic partnerships and M&A opportunities for portfolio companies.
Nagar focuses on strengthening relationships with ecosystem participants including VC/PE, debt capital providers, corporations, academia and government. She has over a decade of experience in technology, investing, board governance and ecosystem building.
Chelsea Stanimir (she/her)
Principal, Lyra Growth Partners
Chelsea is a Principal at Lyra Growth Partners where she's involved in all aspects of the investment process including sourcing, evaluating, executing and monitoring investments.
Previously, Chelsea was with CIBC's investment banking team advising on a variety of transactions including mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity financing. Prior to investment banking, Chelsea worked in sales & trading with CIBC’s equity derivatives group where she supported institutional clients with their listed and OTC derivative needs.
Chelsea is a CFA Charterholder and holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.
Sarah Willson (she/her)
Associate, Panache Ventures
Sarah is an investor at Panache Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage VC firm supporting inspiring Canadian founders at the earliest stages of building transformational companies.
Sarah is also an active member of the Tech4SickKids advisory council, Velocity investment committee, and Schulich ExEd Pitch Deck Advisory Group.