Happy Holidays, innovators!

It has been a busy year for Innovation Factory and our clients. Hamilton companies have seen tremendous growth with new investments, product launches, and new employees.

The Innovation Factory team worked hard to grow our flagship events and introduce new initiatives that helped our clients on their entrepreneurial journeys. We are proud to highlight some events and news that made 2017 a great year for Innovation Factory and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hamilton!

March 29, 2017

Hamilton life science innovators awarded nearly $60,000 at fourth annual Synapse Life Science Competition: Designed to move ideas from labs and into the market, the Synapse competition continues to grow with increasing demand. This year, we awarded three emerging companies cash and resources to put them on the path to commercialization: InnovoGENE, HiNT, and 20/20 OptimEyes. InnovoGENE won first place for their revolutionary system used to detect E. coli and other pathogens in water supplies.

May 11, 2017

Andrew Holden is named the 2017 DiFizen of the Year: Each year, Innovation Factory thanks our clients, partners, and community with The Big DiF. Along with showcasing up-and-coming clients, we honour a member of our community that goes above and beyond. This year, we named Andrew Holden, Co-Founder and CTO of Weever Apps Inc., our DiFizen of the Year.

June 21, 2017

Female-led companies win June ELEV8 Pitch Competition: Introduced in late 2016, our ELEV8 Pitch Competition is designed to help early-stage companies perfect their pitch and make important contacts. We welcomed a new cohort of companies into the competition in June. Our winners were HomeShare Alliance and healthypets.io, both female-led companies positioned to make a big impact in their industries.

September 27, 2017

Largest prize pool yet awarded at LiON’S LAIR: Since beginning in 2011, Hamilton’s premiere business event has helped entrepreneurs and small business owners with valuable training, cash, and resources. This year, we were pleased to award more than $160,000 to our winners.

November 13, 2017

Hamilton celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week: From our Startup Crawl with McMaster University and Mohawk College to our ELEV8 Pitch Competition, the week served to strengthen the Hamilton ecosystem in a big way.

November 14, 2017

New women’s programming launches: As an exciting new addition to our business services and workshops, Innovation Factory launched a series for female entrepreneurs. The Accelerator for Women in Entrepreneurship will investigate important topics such as the entrepreneurial identity, money management, confidence, and more.

It has been an incredible year. These milestones would not have been possible without the generous support of our partners and the hard work of our staff. It is this support that allows us to help Hamilton’s innovators.

From all of us at Innovation Factory, we wish you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.

David Carter
Executive Director
Innovation Factory