Four startups led by underrepresented founders presented at an event at Tribe on Friday, telling their stories of resilience and rising sales to a group of community members.
Tribe, which supports BIPOC entrepreneurs and members of other underrepresented groups, hosted an afternoon event that featured panel discussions with both entrepreneurs and investors.
In the first panel session, Tribe Chair Savior Joseph led a discussion with representatives of four investment firms: Rhiannon Davies of Sandpiper Ventures; Lise Birikundavyi of BKR Capital; Nicholas Brathwaite of Celesta Capital; and Amoye Henry of FoundHers Lab. These investors delved into what they look for in entrepreneurs that they invest in, such as domain knowledge, coachability and a level of self-confidence that does not reveal arrogance.
Brathwaite, a graduate of Ontario universities who has spent his career in Silicon Valley, said it can be hard striking the balance between confidence and cockiness. “It’s especially hard for underrepresented entrepreneurs,” he said. “Sometimes you feel that, ‘If I display my vulnerability it might be interpreted as if I’m not very confident.'"
The investor session was followed by a panel discussion led by Tribe CEO Alfred Burgesson with the CEOs of four enterprises, which featured:
CEO Rashmi Prakash
Halifax
Aruna is a women-led fibre-tech company that makes compostable products from plants, and is best known for its compostable hygiene products for women. It is tackling the environmental impacts of traditional hygiene products, which contribute to global waste, water pollution, and soil degradation, the company said in a recent press release.
Earlier this year, Prakash appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, and agreed to sell one quarter of the company to Dragons Michele Romanow and Manjit Minhas for $300,000.
Nifemi Oguntuase
Halifax
Formed by mining engineers, Lab 4 hopes to offer sustainable access to key minerals through lithium-ion battery recycling.
ScanSolve AI
Collins Chukwuma
St. John’s
ScanSolve is an educational cellphone platform powered by AI and machine learning, dedicated to making education accessible, engaging, and personalized for all. It allows students to scan problems and understand how to find the answer. Chukwuma told the audience that it now has 2 million users and hopes to have a web-based product launched this year.
Founder Nicholas LaValle
Dartmouth
Founded in 2018, Clean Valley has developed technology for growing algae in wastewater from land-based aquaculture pens. The algae can then be fed to oysters, after which the now-filtered water is circulated back into the pen. The algae- and oyster-growing systems are each housed in 20-foot shipping containers.
