Ottawa, Ontario – November 13, 2024: SheBoot, a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping women founders secure investments and scale their businesses, proudly announces the winners of its fifth pitch competition.
SheBoot’s annual program, which includes a six-week intensive bootcamp, accelerates the growth and investment-readiness of women-led technology startups through training, coaching, and hands-on advisory support. The bootcamp culminates each year in a high-stakes pitch competition where participants compete for $300,000 in equity-based investment from a collective of 30 women angel investors.
This year’s SheBoot Grand Finale event brought together more than 200 members of the investment and entrepreneurial community for the selection of SheBoot’s top 2024 award recipients:
- First Prize: Sonaro – $150,000 in investment, Sonaro combines AI-driven algorithms and 2D to 3D vessel reconstructions to enable more accurate and timely stroke risk diagnoses. (Montreal, QC)
- Second Prize: Flutter Care – $100,000 in investment, Flutter Care builds breakthrough health technologies to protect families from stillbirths and other life-altering pregnancy complications. (Vancouver, BC)
- Third Prize: PragmaClin – $50,000 in investment, PragmaClin has developed a digital assessment tool for supporting neurologists in their assessment of Parkinson’s. (St.John’s, NL)
In an exciting reveal, BDC’s Thrive Lab announced an additional matching investment of $100,000 in Flutter Care, bringing the total investment in the 2024 SheBoot graduates to $400,000.
Since its inception, SheBoot investors have invested over $1.3 million in Canadian women-led technology companies, supporting 65 startups that have collectively raised over $35 million in subsequent funding.
SheBoot remains committed to addressing systemic inequities in the investment landscape by increasing both access to capital for women-led, scalable tech companies and the number of women actively participating as investors. The organization has formed strategic sponsorships and partnerships with BDC’s Thrive Lab, Mistral Ventures, Welch LLP, Gowling WLG, and Numbercrunch, with funding support from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). These partnerships enable SheBoot to expand its impact, supporting Canadian women entrepreneurs as they grow and thrive in their industries.
Quotes from the Winners
“Winning the top prize of $150,000 from SheBoot is invaluable as we scale Sonaro. Our platform, Vaso3D, uses AI algorithms and 2D-to-3D vessel reconstructions to transform the accuracy of stroke risk diagnosis, reducing misclassification rates and enabling timely care. This funding, along with the training, insights, and network provided by SheBoot, will allow us to expand our impact, giving more patients access to critical, life-saving diagnostics. I’m incredibly grateful for this community.”
— Karina Gasbarrino, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Sonaro
“Receiving the investment from SheBoot, along with the matching investment from BDC’s Thrive Lab, is a pivotal moment for Flutter Care. Our wearable device and software application support expectant parents to monitor maternal-fetal health from home, helping to prevent stillbirths and improve outcomes. This $200,000 in funding and SheBoot’s continued mentorship help to set us on a strong path to scale our impact and elevate the standard of reproductive care for families. I highly recommend SheBoot to founders looking to take their investment-readiness to the next level.”
— Dolma Tsundu, Founder & CEO of Flutter Care
“SheBoot’s program has helped prepare PragmaClin to navigate our next growth phase. Our digital tool, PRIMS, supports neurologists in assessing Parkinson’s disease by enabling objective, frequent, and comprehensive evaluations through motor assessments and patient surveys. This tool improves access and efficiency in Parkinson’s care, helping patients and clinicians alike. We’re thrilled to win this investment prize and look forward to leveraging it for future success.”
— Bronwyn Bridges, Co-Founder & CEO of PragmaClin
Quotes from SheBoot and BDC’s Thrive Lab
“SheBoot entrepreneurs are charting a new path for women founders—to grow, scale, and compete globally. It’s been an honour to work alongside the 30 women angels who not only make these investments happen, but also share our passion for supporting founders in their journey to scale their business, enhance their impact, and secure investment in their game-changing companies.”
— Jane Baird, Executive Director, SheBoot
“At BDC’s Thrive Lab, we believe in catalyzing change by investing in companies with the
potential to scale and drive positive social impact. Our co-investment partnership with SheBoot allows us to support remarkable women entrepreneurs who are redefining Canada’s tech landscape. We’re excited to continue this work alongside SheBoot and look forward to seeing these talented founders succeed, including Dolma Tsundu, Founder & CEO of Flutter Care.”
— Sévrine Labelle, Managing Director, BDC’s Thrive Lab
SheBoot
SheBoot, a national non-profit corporation headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, prepares women-identifying founders across Canada to pitch their business and secure investment. Founded by Julia Elvidge, Jennifer Francis, and Sonya Shorey and built together with the Capital Angel Network and Invest Ottawa in early 2020, this organization aims to help address the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs by increasing the number of women making and receiving investment.
Designed and delivered by women investors and entrepreneurs, SheBoot’s annual training program arms technology and technology-enabled startups with investment-readiness skills paired with support services that prepare entrepreneurs to secure investment. The bootcamp portion of the program starts in the fall and culminates in a pitch competition for a minimum of $300,000 in equity-based capital. This investment is made by women investors committed to fueling the next generation of women-owned and led firms.
Visit www.sheboot.ca for more information.
Media Contact
Katie LeClair
Program & Marketing Manager
SheBoot
[email protected]
613 316 – 2333
Sponsors and Partnerships
BDC
As Canada’s bank for entrepreneurs, BDC is a partner of choice for all entrepreneurs looking to access the financing and advice they need to build their businesses and tackle the big challenges of our time. Our investment arm, BDC Capital, offers a wide range of risk capital solutions to help grow the country’s most innovative firms. We are one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers. For more information on BDC’s products and services and to consult free tools, templates and articles, visit bdc.ca or join BDC on social media.
Mistral Venture Partners
Mistral is a seed-stage venture capital firm with offices in Toronto, Ottawa, and California. Mistral is currently investing from their third fund, focusing on SMB and enterprise software. Since they were founded in 2012, Mistral has invested in more than 40 startups – including companies like Ritual, Symend and Rewind. www.mistralvp.com.
National Angel Capital Organization
National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) members have invested $1.54 billion into more than 2,400 Canadian companies. Incorporated in 2002, NACO is Canada’s professional association for 4000+ angel investors and the national umbrella for over 100 organizations, including angel groups, venture funds, family offices, incubators and accelerators. In partnership with the Government of Canada, NACO engages in research to inform evidence-based policy development, administers the incubator and angel streams of Canada’s Start-up Visa program, and advances initiatives that promote inclusive economic prosperity in Canada. For more information, visit https://nacocanada.com/
Welch LLP
Welch LLP is a Chartered Public Accounting firm that has deep roots in the communities it serves. Since 1918, Welch has provided a wide range of accounting, tax and advisory services to private enterprises, government, and not-for-profit businesses. Welch experts are industry specialists who have an in-depth understanding of marketplace influences, issues, and trends unique to each sector. A true partner, Welch takes a collaborative, relationship-driven approach to client service. Big firm expertise, with small firm service and value. Welch LLP is a firm like no other. For more information, please visit https://welchllp.com/
Founding Organizations
Capital Angel Network
Capital Angel Network (CAN) is the largest early-stage investor group in the National Capital Region and one of Canada’s most active angel groups. The membership is made up of more than 50 Angel Investors, VCs, Family Offices and funds. Thirty-five percent of CAN members are women.
Over the past two years, CAN members invested $15M into Pre-seed, SEED and Series A startup rounds across Canada, primarily along the Montreal – Waterloo investment corridor. In 2022, 56% of direct investments were placed with women-founded and co-founded startups. CAN members deliver $1M value annually in volunteer mentorship via portfolio relations, investor readiness and partner programs. Since its inception in 2009, CAN Members have invested $65M into more than 160 companies; 85% of direct investments have been into Gatineau, Ottawa and Kanata area startups. This funding has led to half a billion dollars in additional investment through grants, syndication with other angel groups and venture capital funds.
Invest Ottawa
Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization, and marketing Ottawa’s diversified economy and high quality of life.
Invest Ottawa is also the manager of Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop, and founder and operator of Area X.O, the R&D complex for next-gen smart mobility, autonomy and connectivity technologies. Since 2013, Invest Ottawa has supported almost 14,000; contributed to the creation of more than 14,700 jobs; helped domestic companies raise $1.86 billion in capital; and attracted $1.47 billion in domestic and foreign direct investment to Ottawa. Explore Invest Ottawa’s 2022 Economic Impact Report for additional details, or visit www.investottawa.ca.