Announcing the 26 ventures to join the 43 cohort of Venture Founder
This Spring, we welcomed 26 new venture teams to Venture Founder. Designed for UBC entrepreneurs ready to take their idea to the next level, Venture Founder supports early-stage entrepreneurs solving problems across a range of industries leveraging entrepreneurship@UBC’s proven expertise of helping to build the leading ventures of tomorrow.
Through weekly sessions digging into the foundations of their business model, market discovery, product, sales and team acquisition, founders are guided by our team and network of Mentors who dedicate their time and expertise to furthering their venture opportunity.
Teams are supported through two streams: CORE, for founders building in technology and innovation and Lab2Launch, for UBC researchers looking to commercialize a scientific discovery. Ventures solving problems in Human Health, Climate and Social Impact are also able to participate in our Venture Studios for additional community and support.
Cohort 43
Our newest cohort represents the 43rd group of ventures to be welcomed into our community over our 9+ year history, with teams working to solve a range of challenges around drug development, renewable energy and mine waste as well as rental affordability, immigration and fisheries. These teams represent the early-stage innovation born from UBC entrepreneurs who will go on to become leaders of anchor companies influencing industries.
We can’t wait for you to meet them.
CORE
CORE supports UBC entrepreneurs who are building solutions founded in technology and innovation, helping to develop their startup through practical business training and deep mentorship to launch ideas into thriving companies capable of shifting industries. Learn more
Meet the 16 new teams joining CORE
Accessible Design Afrika
People with weak torsos who consistently use standard furniture are at risk of developing spinal complications from incorrect seating posture. At Accessible Design Afrika, we are solving this problem by providing adjustable furniture that provides comfortable support while reducing pressure on the spine and providing independence for users.
Borrow Me Baby
Today’s parents are overwhelmed by a market flooded with baby products that are overpriced, time-limited, and not guaranteed to meet each unique family’s needs. At Borrow Me Baby, we are solving this problem by providing parents with a secure and convenient platform for trying luxury products at a fraction of the cost and time through a secure, parent-to-parent social lending network. This platform provides access to the latest trends in baby goods without the hefty price tag, in addition to providing an opportunity for parents to monetize their own goods when not in personal use.
CanVisaBot.com
There is a huge mess in the immigration sector which is unorganized and divided among consultants, student advisors, content writers, travel agents with no transparency on services and deliverables. Having a technology driven one-stop solution for all immigration related issues for Admissions, Documentation, Study/Work/Visitor Visa, Travel, Insurance, Housing and Jobs, CanVisaBot wants to tap the opportunity to bring trust, transparency and unify the services which no one in the market is trying. CanVisaBot has started a pilot with content writing for Admission/Visa documentation to build a brand, trust and community with fixed deliverables, timelines and cost, and having a vision to augment related services in future on a single platform.
Cazeira
Low income renters face significantly greater challenges when securing housing - 43% of our survey respondents reported not knowing where to look. By aggregating housing listings and empowering landlords to rent to higher risk tenants, we will house more people faster.
CodeLine
CodeLine aims to avert the predicted shortage of 1.2 million developers through revolutionizing the integrated development environment and reducing programming to a fill in the blanks process. The resulting reduction in debugging and documentation times have the potential to yield a 5x increase in efficiency from a financial standpoint.
Connect with Care
The process of receiving information on the wellbeing of a loved one in senior care is filled with friction, leading to frustration and anxiety for the families of the individual in care, while simultaneously inundating care facilities with requests for information. At Connect with Care, we are bridging this information gap by providing senior care facilities with a software platform allowing them to automatically distribute a daily well being snapshot report for those in their care, which provides families the insights and transparency they crave, right at their fingertips.
Ethica Software Systems Inc.
For online grocery shoppers who are increasingly concerned with unethical labour practices, tax avoidance, and environmentally destructive production processes, Ethica empowers shoppers to easily review the ethical level of their food purchases. Unlike other sites that simply report sustainability issues and lack any personalization, Ethica summarizes each user's personal shopping experience and makes it quick and easy to support ethical brands.
Hikma Strategies
We help scholars and research professionals craft compelling narratives and build partnerships to drive better policies, practices, and public knowledge.
Isempower
There are 700,000 international students in Canada, growing 17 YoY but over 56% of international students are struggling with their job search. At Isempower we are solving this problem by creating a digital platform that reimagines the international student ecosystem by connecting diverse international students & graduates across various institutions with employers who want to hire them while offering personalized resources based on their profiles and a supportive community.
Monaa
1 in 10 women in Canada are estimated to have chronic reproductive health issues like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) where the diagnosis takes approximately 7-10 years and many health care providers are aware of how to best treat PCOS. Painful and frustrating symptoms can range from irregular periods, ovarian cysts to infertility. Our platform brings together specialized practitioners such as doctors, naturopaths, physiotherapists, nutritionists, coaches and more in one place to create a holistic treatment plan. Monaa helps women find the right health care team.
Nectarfy
In the 1950s, beekeepers would consider it a bad year if they lost 10% of their hives. Today, beekeepers consider it a good year if they lose only 30%. Every year, across Canada, tens of thousands of beekeepers fear opening their hives every spring because many end up dead and they are constantly looking for methods to help improve their hive. Nectarfy is a smart beehive that bolsters colony health and unlike current smart hives, unobtrusively detects varroa mites, manages the hive climate and feeding, and provides analytics through an app that also bolsters the beekeeping process through recommended actions, education and community building.
nLockTime Labs
Many people in other countries can offer services to you online for discounted rates but are unable to do so due to regulation and huge transaction processing fees. We are building a platform circumvent this using Bitcoin and give you the ability to communicate and trade with anyone around the world.
NO-EMO
Start-up designer brands are ideal choices for the fashionista. However, the sales channels for those brands are immature on the overseas market, which costs double or triple from the customer’s pocket and after-sales service cannot be guaranteed. At NO-EMO, our platform satisfies customer’s fashion needs by helping young designers to commercialize their ideas with our factory resources and expand our brand list. Therefore, we can provide more unique designs affordably. Our stylist team and fashion community will further educate customers about our various products, which provide more than just Return and Refund.
OnDeck Fisheries AI
More than 70% of global fish stocks are in decline due to unsustainable fishing practices made possible by incomplete monitoring of fishing activity. OnDeck delivers monitoring software and purpose-built computer vision models for commercial fisheries. We make video review 20x faster and 15x cheaper; enabling affordable compliance and sustainable fishing around the world.
Sambhavna Wellness
Indian women are often faced with anxiety and fear at the thought of visiting a doctor for their sexual and reproductive health concerns. At Sambhavna Wellness, we are solving this problem through an end-to-end treatment platform that minimises doctor-patient interaction for a range of sexual health concerns, making their treatment available from home. We're all about wellness for women without worry.
Vio Sustainability
Waste collectors do not have the analytical tools to efficiently manage, analyze, and report their data. At Vio Sustainability, we are creating a platform that handles data management and analytics from waste generation at the source, until a materials end-of-life with a processor making the waste supply chain fully transparent.
Lab2Launch
Lab2Launch supports UBC researchers and scientists who plan to build, or are building, a deep tech venture based on a proprietary and novel scientific or technological innovation. Learn more
Meet the 10 new teams joining Lab2Launch
Alpha Lotos
We all like staying dry and warm in the outdoors, and living in the South Coast, we all know this can be a challenge. At Alpha Lotos we solve this problem with a water repellent spray that you can apply to your clothing and gear before heading out the door. Not only will our product keep you dry, but it is made from plant waste and is PFC-free, because we believe in working with nature!
Clarivent Medical
Non-invasive ventilation is effective in providing breathing support to patients, but up to 30% will experience intolerance or develop facial ulcers due to the sealed mask leading to early intubation. At Clarivent Medical we are solving this by developing the Bubble helmet, a pressurized clear plastic helmet that surrounds the patient's head and seals around the neck providing breathing support while allowing the patient to move freely.
Embedded Bioscience
Biologists use microscopes to observe cell behaviour, but they cannot isolate the cells that they see. Embedded Bio provides a solution for separating cells identified using microscopy, which provides access to complex cell phenotypes that are currently inaccessible.
GreenAge Materials
Mine Tailings are an environmental burden, they have generated some of the worst environmental disasters, and have important cost implications for mining companies & governments. The worst part is that this waste is growing by ~10 million tonnes per day. At GreenAge, we are challenging the status quo within the mining sector and addressing this problem by up-cycling the tailings to produce rare earth permanent magnets for a low-carbon world. This reduces their negative effects for miners & governments and, in the meantime, offers greener products with a lower carbon footprint and reducesn the supply chain risk for electric vehicles and wind turbines markets.
GreenGrid
Renewable energy is a fast growing industry, but is hard to adopt. Current solutions are use-case specific, expensive, and inflexible. We are mainstreaming renewable resources by overcoming the current adoption barriers with smart control devices, enabling flexible design and choice of hardware, behind an easy to use interface.
PantRidgeDTeLL Health Technologies
Over two million people around the world suffer from sudden cardiac arrest every year. Emergency health services cannot immediately present on patients' sites and start life-saving procedures, therefore, only 10% of patients survive with an exponential increase in years of life lost and years lived with disability. At PantRidgeDTeLL, we are developing a digital emergency software (tele-resuscitation) platform that connects patients and their families with professional emergency health personnel, allows risk assessment, and brings high quality life-saving tools on site using a cost-effective model.
Plant BioCoRe
Plants make many high-value chemicals including anticancer drugs but it is increasingly unsustainable to extract them from plants or to chemically synthesize them. At Plant BioCoRe, we develop plant enzyme-based, more eco-friendly production pipelines to make plant-derived anticancer drugs more accessible.
Poly V Technology
Poly V Tech is a clean-tech venture founded by material innovators. We are dedicated to mitigating climate change by introducing our green structural material starting with the transportation industry.
Raiven Medical
Artificial intelligence has shown a great promise in radiology, especially in cancer diagnosis. However, almost none of developed AI models get translated from research to clinical practice, where they can benefit patients. At Raiven, we are solving this problem by providing hospitals and physicians with an easy-to-use and adaptable software platform that contains a library of latest AI algorithms and imaging biomarkers.
SnapCyte
Researchers working in life science laboratories have a day-to-day need to evaluate cell growth. Current technologies for tracking cell growth in research laboratories are costly and time consuming. We solve this problem by enabling scientists to measure cell growth using the SnapCyte™ mobile application. SnapCyte™ provides an accurate and instant readout of cell growth without the need for costly consumables or instrumentation.
Welcome, and congratulations to the new cohort!
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