Meet
10
Meet the
10
Semi-Finalists
Since applications closed on October 24, we’ve reviewed hundreds of inspiring pitches
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to see how each of these entrepreneurs plan to bring their visions to life, and there are no words to describe how impressed we are by the innovation and ambition they’ve demonstrated.
We hope all applicants will remain a part of our community as they continue to work towards their goals, grow their networks, and seek out solutions to any challenges they face. As always, our mission is to help self-identifying women, non-binary and trans-femme entrepreneurs access the resources and community they need to thrive in business.
Meet the 10 Semi-Finalists who are one step closer to receiving up to $90,000 in financial, community and wisdom capital to fund their business visions!
Benny
Julie Letizia (she/her)
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Paige Cey (she/her)
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Benny is innovating energy products that consumers can feel good about.
We're the first and only energy drink in Canada blending the powerful ingredients of adaptogens with the health benefits of yerba mate.
CATTLEytics Inc.
Shari van de Pol (she/her)
Founder & CEO
Founded in 2014 by Dr. Shari Van de Pol, CATTLEytics helps dairy farmers better understand how to optimise their operations with highly customizable, data-driven dairy management tools. Our cloud-based program ensures that farm management decisions are informed by comprehensive data collection, supported by a customizable library of industry-accepted treatment regimes and operating procedures. By empowering dairy farmers to produce more food on less land with fewer animals, we also help mitigate the climate and environmental impacts of dairy farming.
CATTLEytics' cloud-based dairy management platform champions sustainability by empowering farmers to use fewer resources and medications to achieve optimal animal health and productivity. Our tools help farmers manage operations more effectively and make smarter, faster business decisions, allowing for a more ethical, profitable, and abundant food output.
CELLECT Laboratories Inc.
Ibukun Elebute (she/her)
Co-Founder & COO
CT Murphy (she/they)
Co-Founder & CEO
CELLECT is on a mission to revolutionize women's healthcare by transforming menstrual blood into a powerful, non-invasive tool for early detection of reproductive health issues.
We've developed a unique, biocompatible collection device embedded in menstrual products that captures DNA from cervical and endometrial cells, enabling advanced diagnostics for conditions like HPV, pre-cervical cancer, and other reproductive diseases.
By offering a more accessible and comfortable alternative to traditional screening methods, CELLECT is dedicated to improving global healthcare access for women, ensuring timely and lifesaving diagnostics are within reach for all.
ImaginAble Solutions
Lianna Genovese (she/her)
CEO
ImaginAble Solutions is a women-led social impact company that develops assistive technology to improve the quality of life for people with hand disabilities.
Juno Technologies
Nanette Sene (she/her)
Co-Founder & CEO
Lynn Doughane (she/her)
Co-Founder & CEO
Juno Technologies is an award-winning medtech startup developing a compact, discreet, and patent-pending wearable device that provides quick and lasting relief from menstrual pain, offering 79% pain reduction.
Our mission is to empower women with innovative solutions for menstrual health, addressing often overlooked challenges through cutting-edge technology.
KidStar Nutrients
Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe (she/her)
Co-Founder & CEO
KidStar Nutrients is a Canadian natural health company that formulates sugar-free, delicious, and healthy supplements that parents can trust and that kids love to take.
Our mission is to help families raise happy and healthy kids by providing education and pure, research-backed nutrients wherever parents shop.
Maman Biomedical Inc.
Latchmi Raghunanan (she/her)
Founder & CEO
Lauren Franzoni (she/her)
Co-Founder
Maman Biomedical is addressing the invasive nature of fertility treatment as it exists today.
We are developing innovative gels and patches that eliminate the burden of multiple daily injections for women and couples undergoing fertility treatment, affording an improved fertility treatment experience with zero pain/trauma from repeat injections, assurance of consistent and accurate dosage, and minimal impact on lifestyle during the treatment cycle.
MycoFutures
Stephanie Lipp (she/her)
Co-Founder & CEO
MycoFutures is a biomaterials innovation startup that enables fashion and lifestyle brands to reduce the carbon footprint of the products they make with our leather alternative made from mycelium, the root system of mushrooms.
Our material is animal-free, plastic-free and non-toxic and can be grown in just weeks, protected by a suite of trade secrets.
SophieGrace Designs Inc.
Emma May (she/her)
Founder & CEO
We are a digitally native workwear brand. We launched in 2020 and have been dressing women all over corporate Canada and the US.
Imagine Theory and Lulu had a baby. Everything is work appropriate but feels heavenly on your body. We make women feel as beautiful and powerful as we make them look and we have hundreds of customer reviews to prove it.
The Yukon Soaps Company
Joella Hogan (she/her)
Founder & CEO
We strive to build community through natural product creation and collective wellness. By creating a network of community harvesters, we are supporting the (re)connection and healing of our community.
We also strive to empower, nurture and elevate Northern Indigenous cultures, community and people. We invest in our community by hiring local, passionate people and honouring deep ancestral knowledge passed down from our Elders. Our team is encouraged to uphold the four Northern Tutchone values of caring, sharing, teaching and respect. In doing so, we hope to create a positive transformation for the community, economy and environment in Mayo.
The Yukon Soaps Company creates natural soap and wellness products that support community, uphold our cultural teachings and use plants harvested from the land.
THE ODLUM BROWN FORUM PITCH SEMI-FINAL EVENTS
What to expect
When you join us for The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Semi-Final events, you’ll have the opportunity to:
Discover and connect with some of Canada’s most promising entrepreneurs.
Activate your support and explore potential investment opportunities, partnerships, and collaborations that align with your goals.
Gain insights and learnings from incredible business leaders who are bringing their visions to life despite the personal and systemic challenges they’ve faced.
Leave feeling inspired, with a fiercely supportive community supporting your growth.
Join us in Toronto or Vancouver to support these entrepreneurs as they pitch their visions!
THE ODLUM BROWN FORUM PITCH SEMI-FINAL EVENT
Toronto
February 13, 2025
THE ODLUM BROWN FORUM PITCH SEMI-FINAL EVENT
Vancouver
February 20, 2025
Mentors
The program Mentors are experts in growth, investing, and accessing capital. As experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders, they act as helpful mentors to the Semi-Finalists and Finalists as they prepare and revise their pitches throughout the program.
SEMI-FINALIST MENTORS
Amy Rae (she/her)
Partner, Vanedge Capital
Amy Rae is a Principal at Vanedge Capital, focused on investing in SaaS businesses. Prior to joining Vanedge, Amy was a Vice President with Ziplocal (USA) where she was responsible for the development of new product rollout.
Amy has experience in both the investment and startup side of the business having been on the Investment side for 11 years and the startup operational side for 7 years.
Crystal Lo (she/her)
Investment Associate, InBC Investment Corp
Crystal Lo is an Investment Associate at InBC and has a deep-rooted belief in the power of capital to create a positive social impact. She has multi-faceted experience in gender-lens investing, impact investing, commercial lending and real estate development, with her professional experience spanning three continents.
Crystal holds a bachelor’s degree in global business from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree in real estate from The University of Hong Kong.
Katheleen Eva (she/her)
Investor, StandUp Ventures
Katheleen Eva is an investor at StandUp Ventures, a $55M AUM venture fund that invests in early-stage, women-led, b2b saas, digital health, and marketplace startups across Canada and the US.
Katheleen has a background in neuroscience and psychology, and being particularly passionate about women's health, was building in the space prior to joining StandUp Ventures in 2020.
Kookai Chaimahawong (she/her)
Executive Director, Centre for Climate and Business Solutions
UBC Sauder School of Business
Kookai is the Executive Director of the Centre for Climate and Business Solutions at UBC Sauder School of Business. She’s widely recognized for her expertise in impact investing and ESG strategies. Additionally, she serves as a Sessional Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is a board chair at the Vancouver Entrepreneurs Forum.
She’s a regular speaker and mentor in startups in sustainability and responsible investment communities globally.
Lina Ismail (she/her)
Co-Founder & General Partner, The Catherine Wheel
Throughout her career, Lina has been focused on working with founders who lead startups at various stages of growth. As an entrepreneur herself, Lina understands the challenges of building and scaling a business. Working with Fortune 500 companies, large enterprises, and innovative startups, Lina has launched and led new business lines and defined the strategic direction of notable brands. Passionate about helping entrepreneurs build industry leading businesses, Lina works with founders to balance entrepreneurial vision and creativity, with strong business fundamentals and rigorous preparation to help their businesses be the leaders of tomorrow. With her leadership and focus on developing the right teams and culture, Lina has helped transform and expand businesses into new markets while achieving exponential growth.
Lina is the General Partner of The Catherine Wheel. As a seasoned innovation and growth practitioner, Lina understands the challenges that entrepreneurs face and is dedicated to working with founders and their teams to create innovative solutions that drive growth. Lina is currently a strategic advisor with MT>Ventures and Holt Accelerator, and is also an Angel Investor and advisor to startups in the B2B fintech space.
Prior to founding The Catherine Wheel, Lina was a Managing Partner of thinki3, a consulting and advisory services firm that focuses on transformation and innovation within large scale enterprises and in the process connecting them with startups to accelerate growth. Her executive leadership positions include serving as Head of Product, Innovation and Marketing at Fundserv Inc., and Vice President of Products and Marketing and later Vice President of Client Relationship Management at Citigroup Fund Services. Lina also served in leadership roles in Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd and International Financial Data Services (IFDS) (in Europe known as State Street Bank).
Melanie Ewan
Manager Partner & Director of Operations, Volition Advisors
Melanie Ewan is a startup coach and gender equity researcher known for her work in community-based research and advocacy for women in business and tech.
She is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Volition, an award-winning startup advisory firm, as well as Lead Researcher and Board Member at Women in Tech World (WiTWorld), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community-based research and programming for women in tech.
Raissa Espiritu (she/her)
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Audaxa Ventures
Raissa Espiritu is Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Audaxa Ventures, an early stage fund investing in climate and health innovations led by diverse women and non-binary founders. She serves as Executive-in-Residence at UCeed Investment Funds, leading the Cenovus EDI Accelerator to dismantle barriers for equity-deserving founders.
A serial entrepreneur and community builder, Raissa has co-founded multiple ventures and is dedicated to systems change, inclusive leadership, and scaling impact through innovation.
Sarah Willson (she/her)
Associate, Panache Ventures
Sarah is an investor at Panache Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage VC firm supporting inspiring Canadian founders at the earliest stages of building transformational companies.
Sarah is also an active member of the Tech4SickKids advisory council, Velocity investment committee, and Schulich ExEd Pitch Deck Advisory Group.
Thealzel Lee (she/her)
Founder, Director & President, e-Fund
Thealzel Lee is the co-founder and director of angel investment funds VANTEC Entrepreneurs (VCC) Fund Inc. dba eFund, Nelsa Investment (VCC) Inc. and the Montfort Capital Corporation (TSX.V:MONT) and a General Partner with Phoenix Fire Fund, an Archangel Fund.
She manages the monthly VANTEC Angel Network (VANTEC) and the Vancouver chapter of the Keiretsu Forum (Northwest Region) for the local startup community of entrepreneurs and angel investors.