Atlantic Canada's innovation community is home to a host of impressive women, some founders and some working in support organizations.
In honour of International Women's Day, we're showcasing five dynamic women who are helping to advance innovation-driven companies in the region.
Gabrielle Masone: Devising Optical Solutions
Halifax-based ColourSmith Labs is developing filters for contact lenses and eye glasses that can improve a viewer's experience with their eyewear. Chemist and entrepreneur Gabrielle Masone has a natural interest in the subject, since she was born with a condition called Amblyopia, which caused her to completely lose sight in her right eye.
Last year, the company closed a $2 million equity round, led by the female-focused investment fund, Sandpiper Ventures.
“This raise was completely oversubscribed,” Masone told Entrevestor. “We had a record – for us – level of interest and we wanted to prioritize our existing investors.”
The company set out in 2018 to make contact lenses that could reduce the effects of colour blindness. It is now also targeting “hazardous light protection.”
Stephanie Lipp: Creating Faux Leather from Mushroom Roots
In November last year, Stephanie Lipp and Leonedest Gillis entered the Genesis Evolution accelerator in St. John's with plans to sell a mushroom-based nutraceutical product. Instead, they switched gears and resolved to focus on what they had wanted to do all along—make mycelium leather.
Lipp and Gillis already owned a mushroom-cultivation business, Gillis Naturals. Their new company is MycoFutures North Atlantic. Their revised plan helped them win $55,000 of cash and in-kind services from the BioInnovation Challenge accelerator and startup competition.
“We thought that before we could do our big dreams, we had to establish ourselves on a smaller level first, which I'm learning is a common thread with entrepreneurs—especially women entrepreneurs,” Lipp said. “You know, there's a lot of imposter syndrome there.
“But once we realized that life's too short to not do what you're passionate about… we switched gears and got right into it.”
Alicia Roisman Ismach: Cultivating Fintech
Alicia Roisman Ismach, a native of Argentina, worked for decades in the technology industry in Israel before becoming Entrepreneur-in-Residence at N.B. hub Venn Innovation in 2018.
She saw her role as boosting an ecosystem that had already nurtured notable companies such as financial crime prevention software company Verafin, which was acquired by Nasdaq for US$2.75 billion.
“One of the key advantages of Atlantic Canada is the significant number of technology companies that support backend or financial operations of large corporations,” Roisman Ismach told Entrevestor. “We have both innovation capabilities and the experience and understanding to solve backend challenges as no other region.”
She was behind the attendance of the Atlantic Fintech Mission to Las Vegas for Money 20/20, the world’s largest fintech and payments trade show. In 2021, she was instrumental in getting Atlantic FinTech, an association supporting financial technology, to partner with Fintech Cadence, a Montreal-based national non-profit.
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Lily Lynch: Developing Culturally Aware Communities
Lily Lynch is a Co-Founder of Saint John-based Sankara, an online marketplace that allows immigrant and refugee chefs, grocers, and artisans to sell their products free of charge. Customers pay a commission fee which is included in the cost of the goods.
“Essentially, we're driven by the mission of building more culturally empathetic communities,” Lynch told Entrevestor.
The venture was started five years ago by Lynch and her technical co-founder Chinweotito Atansi (shown with her in the above photo). The majority of their partner vendors are BIPOC women and they are a big source of motivation, the founders said.
Lynch was recently recognized by the BMO Celebrating Women Grant. The company was also among the winners of the Blueprint: Backing BIPOC Businesses awards, run by the DMZ, an award-winning startup incubator at Toronto’s Ryerson University, and funded by American Express.
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Sheryl MacAulay: Bringing New Supports to Entrepreneurs
Charlottetown-based innovation hub Startup Zone named Sheryl MacAulay its new CEO in March last year.
Started in 2016, the Startup Zone connects entrepreneurs with the space, resources, and supports they need to grow.
“The Startup Zone is the perfect space to build on the innovative spirit that emerged throughout the pandemic. It’s an important time for the organization and I look forward to being part of its future success,” said MacAulay, who is herself an Islander.
MacAulay later readied new partnerships and program offerings. With her arrival, Startup Zone codified a trio of operational goals: increasing the number of entrepreneurs it services, community-building; and helping its member companies grow faster.
“It's a fresh start for the organization,” she said, referencing other new members of the team.
