According to the Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities Index, Toronto is the sixth best city in the world for female entrepreneurs, while other Canadian cities like Montreal, Waterloo, Ont. and Vancouver are also vibrant entrepreneurial hubs. These 10 women have launched cool, successful startups in the tech space—and have some solid advice if you’re interested in doing the same.
Sarah Prevette, Future Design School
Her brainchild: Future Design School offers camps, after-school programs and workshops that teach kids about design and entrepreneurship, and guides them through developing and testing an IRL business idea. Prevette, who has also founded several other ventures, was recently invited to speak about social entrepreneurship at the 2016 Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Summit in Cape Town.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “There are no shortcuts. Success is only the result of relentless hustle, perseverance through ongoing challenges and unwavering dedication. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes; to work harder, move faster and do more than you ever originally envisioned.”
Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake, Bridgit
Their brainchild: Bridgit solves a big problem for residential and commercial real estate builders: how to identify deficiencies and mistakes on job sites. The app helps contractors and site managers gather data and assign fixes to subcontractors—a process that was previously very time-consuming. The pair (Brodie is 25, Lake is 24) interviewed over 500 people in the construction industry while researching the app, and they now work with top developers across North America. Their idea has won several pitch competitions, including Google’s Demo Day Women’s Edition, and raised $1.7 million in funding last April
Their best advice for starting a biz: “Know your customer—put yourself out there and learn everything there is to know about your industry and end users. Talk to strangers!” —Brodie; “Make decisions quickly, even if you don’t have perfect information. Otherwise, you’ll likely miss the opportunity.” —Lake
Jessica Ching, Eve Medical
Her brainchild: Eve Medical helps women take control over their health. Its first product is Eve Kit, an at-home test for STIs including gonorrhea, HPV and chlamydia. It allows users to collect samples at home, mail them to the Eve Medical lab and receive results within a week. Ching, a 32-year-old industrial designer who attended Toronto’s OCAD University, came up with the idea after research showed many women avoid getting tested. The kit is approved by Health Canada and available for pre-order for $85.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “Remember that stress and excitement is the same feeling, with different mindsets.”
Jen Lee Koss and Kena Paranjape, Brika
Their brainchild: Brika is an e-commerce site focused on curating beautiful gifts (think decor, art, jewellery) from makers across North America. Both of Brika’s co-founders have impressive backgrounds: Lee Koss, 38, is a Harvard MBA and Oxford grad who spent over a decade in investing and private equity, and Paranjape, 40, has a Rotman MBA and worked in merchandising strategy for brands including Joe Fresh and Old Navy. They combined their backgrounds to create Brika, which launched online and now has several stores in Toronto.
Their best advice for starting a biz: “Don’t get caught up in the hype. Just build it.” —Lee Koss; “Building a business is a long term endeavour—make sure it is something you see yourself doing for at least five to 10 years.” —Paranjape
Diana Goodwin, AquaMobile
Her brainchild: The on-demand Uber model has been applied to everything from food delivery to home repairs, and Goodwin, 32, has found another niche: providing on-demand swim lessons. Parents can use AquaMobile to book a lesson in their own pool or at a community centre, and gather neighbourhood kids together to split the costs. All instructors are trained and rigorously vetted, and can be rated after each lesson. In 2015, Goodwin won the $100,000 Small Business Challenge contest hosted by Telus and The Globe and Mail, and in 2016 she was offered a deal on Dragons’ Den. She’s currently focused on expanding her business in key U.S. markets like California and Florida.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “From my focus I’ve found my freedom. This reminds me to avoid the temptation of trying to do too much, and too many different things. It’s easier to find success by focusing on one thing and doing it really well.”
Ami Shah, co-founder, Peekapak
Her brainchild: While most education technology apps are focused on improving the classroom experience and helping students learn curriculum, 35-year-old Ami Shah co-founded Peekapak with a different goal: to help kids develop social and emotional skills. Peekapak is designed for students in pre-kindergarten through to grade three, and uses stories with original characters to teach things like empathy, respect and teamwork. The freemium app can be used in the classroom or at home, and has over 35,000 users in 87 countries.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “Just start. For many years I kept thinking I needed more experience or qualifications. The reality was I moreso needed the determination to persevere through all the good and bad, the willingness to learn and adapt and the confidence to convince smart people to help me grow the company.”
Alyssa Furtado, RateHub
Her brainchild: Choosing the right credit card or the best mortgage rate can be difficult if you don’t know where to look, which is why Furtado, 31, launched RateHub as an easy comparison tool for financial products. The site also offers calculators that help with other financial decisions—like finding out how much of a mortgage you can afford, or how much life insurance you need.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “Test early and test often. Even with the best ideas, you can’t predict if your idea can support a profitable business. Break your idea down to its simplest component, and start to work at finding your first customer. Build a simple website, start an AdWords campaign, and see if you can find a market before a full product is developed, fleshed out and paid for.”
Abigail Hopkins, That Clean Life
Her brainchild: With That Clean Life, Hopkins, 29, is on a mission to make eating healthy exciting, easy and fun. The meal-planning platform allows users to browse hundreds of recipes, create weekly meal plans, populate a grocery list and stay organized with prep guides. It also helps members connect through ongoing challenges and a Facebook community. In addition to the consumer version, That Clean Life also offers a business version for nutritionists and others in the wellness space.
Her best advice for starting a biz: “Be patient and persistent. It’s all about showing up day-after-day, especially when you don’t feel like it. It takes years to become an overnight success.”
Originally posted November 16, 2016 on Flare.
