An entrepreneur asked me last night, at StartupDrinks Toronto, if I knew any women entrepreneurs in Canada. Here is a list of entrepreneurs and advisors that I can think of off the top of my head. It also prompted me to reread Tereza Nemessanyi’s OpEd about women founders and the notion of an XX Combinator. I look at our events and many of my interactions with entrepreneurs and it is distinctly male, probably more specific it’s young males between 18-30 (the good news is that it’s no longer distinctly white university educated males it’s a mix of cultures and nations of origin though it’s still very male).
“Much of what we think of as innovation is the creative tension between differing viewpoints” – Xerox PARC
There’s a strong need to celebrate our differences. The diversity (and acceptance of differences) is one of the things that makes this a great spot for startups. The large number of cultures, ages, and other factors make for great teams and for opportunities for something special to emerge.
And I was thinking about my daughters, and reflecting about the great women entrepreneurs and change makers that I’m met recently (and some I’ve only read about). This list is by no means comprehensive, but it meant to help others find inspiration in the great companies being started in Canada. The list includes::
- Leila Boujnane (@leilaboujnane), Idee Inc.
- Suzie Dingwall Williams (@suziedingwall), Venture Law Associates
- Maggie Fox (@maggiefox), Social Media Group
- Tara Hunt (@missrogue) & Cassandra Girard, Shwowp!
- Kristine Matulis (@kristinematulis), Firstround Marketing
- April Dunford (@AprilDunford), RocketWatcher
- Debbie Landa (@deblanda), Deal Maker Media
- Jacqui Murphy (@jacquimurphy), TechCapital
- Amber MacArthur (@ambermac), MGImedia
- Elizabeth Caley (@ECaley), Common Enterprise
- Gosia Green, LearnHub
- Rochelle Grayson (@RochelleGrayson), BookRiff
- Lauren Friese (@LaurenFriese), TalentEgg
- Sarah Prevette (@SarahPrevette), Sprouter
- Cindy Gordon (@Helixcommerce), Helix Commerce
- Jen Evans (@nejsnave), Sequentia Environics
- Krista LaRiviere (@KristaLaRiviere), gShiftLabs
- Tonya Surman (@tonyasurman), Centre for Social Innovation
- Sacha Chua (@sachac), IBM
- Ali de Bold (@alidebold), ChickAdvisor.com
- Caterina Fake (@Caterina), Hunch
- Maria Ly (@marialy), Skimble (whose post was a huge help)
- Nancy L. Knowlton, Smart Technologies
- Monica Goyal (@mylegalbriefcas), My Legal Briefcase
- Rayanne Langdon (@rlangdon), HighRoad Communications
- Amrita Chandra (@tinkugallery), Director or Marketing, Asigra
- Evelyn So (@evelynso), Noesium
- Katherine Barr (@kbmdv), Mohr Davidow Ventures
- Layla Jazrawy (@layla), JazLife
- Joanna Track, sweetspot.ca
- Carol Leaman (@carolleaman), CEO, Postrank
- Andrea Baptiste, CEO, Benbria
- Sally J. Daub, ViXS Systems
- Dulcie Clark, Pip Animation
- Sue Miller, Hatsize
- Alice Reimer, Evoco Inc
- Lakshmi Raj, Replicon
- Sharlyn Ayotte, T-Base Communications
- Julia Elvidge, Chipworks
- Sue Abu Hakima, Amika Mobile
- Lydia Sani, Invisions
- Catherine Devlin, Devlin Applied Design
- Karen Spaulding, Metaworks
- Tanya Shaw Weeks, Unique Solutions
- Pj Lowe (@pj_MamaHippo), tinyHippos
- Lucia Mancuso (@lulula), The Blog Studio
- Erica Ehm (@yummymummyclub), Yummy Mummy Club
- Julia Rivard, SheepDog
- Maura Rodgers (@maurar), Bootup Entrepreneurial Society. Strutta.
- Angel Pui (@angelpui), Weddingful
- Amielle Lake, Tagga
- Amy Yee (@amy_yee), EventBots
- Caroline Kealey (@carolinekealey),Results Map
I know that I’m missing a lot of founders. Let me know directly or help add folks in the comments.