2023: Our Year in Review

2023 has been another banner year and we want to give a big shout out to your community for their continued support!

Since entrepreneurship@UBC inception 10 years ago, we have worked with over 742 venture teams who’ve gone on to raise $1.74 billion in capital, $740 million in revenue and created over 1800 jobs. 

Venture creation takes a village, and our village has been in full force at throughout this milestone anniversary

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Here’s a recap of some of the things we accomplished in 2023:

• We welcomed 44 venture teams, with 20 ventures in Lab2Launch and 24 ventures in CORE, to our community, with a total of 12 ventures based on UBC Intellectual Property.
• 1600 members of our ecosystem attended our marquee and community events
• We held 5 venture studio meetups and events with our Climate, Human Health and Social Venture communities, bringing in over 40 participants
• We hosted 12 Women Founder Meetups at UBC Robson Square, and launched our successful event at UBC Point Grey. 
• Our 4th annual Entrepreneurship Immersion Week (EIW) took place in September, bringing together nearly 400 entrepreneurs, students, innovators, industry professionals and investors, under the theme of Climate and the Public Health Crisis: Systems Changes and Actions Needed.
• Our Spring Investor Showcase and Fall Venture Showcase brought together 500+ attendees to see 36 of our ventures take the stage. 

UBC entrepreneurs saw major wins in 2023
 

• Aspect Biosystems’ CEO, Tamer Mohamed, was recognized as Company of the Year – Scale at the 2023 BC Technology Impact Awards. Later in 2023, he was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 Pacific Finalist as well as BC Business’ Entrepreneur of the Year.
• Mosa was selected by the City of Vancouver for their Project Greenlight Zero Waste Demonstration Site pilot - a subsidized factory space for a two-year term.
• OnDeck Fisheries AI received $1.5M from Canada’s Oceans Supercluster
• ARCA ($2M) and Takachar ($350K) each received funding from the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE)
• Our own Climate Venture Studio lead, ​​Shannon Bard, was recognized as the Community Advocate of the Year for Foresight’s Cleantech Awards
• Seleste, Orca, Leafi, Halitra, Immfinity were recognized as Top 25 startup ventures for New Ventures BC Competition
• Susgrainable hit a major milestone and is now sold in Whole Foods locations across the province

Holiday Gift Ideas

With only a few days before Christmas, be sure to check out our gift guide from some of our entrepreneurship@UBC ventures below:

• Mosa - For the homebody who wants more cozy home ware
  Mosa is an upcycled gifting brand with cool candles, glassware, platters. They are offering a 20% holiday discount til the end of December. Check out https://wearemosa.com

• Leafi - For the smart home aficionado
  Nova by Leafi is a quick and simple way to convert your existing horizontal blinds into smart blinds. Optimize energy efficiency by controlling the sun; open blinds to allow passive heating or close to keep the room cool. Nova by Leafi uses your home's WiFi and has an easy to use app allowing control from anywhere convenience. Check out https://www.leafihome.com

• Pocketed - For the entrepreneur in your life who’s looking for get more money (who isn’t?)
  Pocketed helps you unlock the power of government funding. Gift the entrepreneur in your life a subscription to Pocketed’s services to help maximize their funding potential. Check out https://www.hellopocketed.io/

• Wicked Rose - For the powerful women in your life.
  Wicked Rose is a Canadian-made apparel brand for women in martial arts. Feel confident in activewear that enhances your performance and confidence. Powerful apparel for powerful women. Check out https://www.wickedrose.com/

• Chop Value - For home decor enthusiasts
  Stunning, natural wood homewares sustainably made from recycled chopsticks. From charcuterie boards, to decor and wooden toys, find unique items to elevate your home. Check out https://chopvalue.com/en-ca

• Susgrainable - For the bakers in your life
  Susgrainable uses Upcycled Barley flour to make their high-fibre, low sugar treats. Their vision is to create a way for people to benefit from the “whole” grain- in a healthy and delicious way. Learn more: https://susgrainable.com/

• Stoko - For active individuals getting back to activity in order to help others do the same
  These are not your average tights and this is not your grandpa's knee brace. Stoko is Supportive Apparel, and it was built to help you overcome injuries, eliminate pain and regain the confidence to get back to activity. Our Supportive Tights provide the same support as many medical-grade knee braces and also supports the hips and lower back. Check out https://stoko.com/

This has been a year to remember. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season and we can’t wait to start our next together chapter in 2024!