Startupville

Happy Global Biotech Week! Global Biotech Week (GBW) is an annual week-long celebration of all things biotechnology and is an excellence tool for increasing awareness of the industry's global and economic significance. GBW is particularly special for Saskatchewan because our province hosts over 30% of Canada's agricultural biotechnology activity and continues to develop in areas like genomics, plant-made pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.Saskatchewan has already made a huge impact in biotechnology and future big ideas are on the horizon! We spoke with one of biotech's rising stars Iain Wallace, Co-founder of Proxima Research and Development, a local Saskatchewan startup that provides scalable and customizable scientific services with an emphasis on affordability and accessibility, about exciting innovations in biotech and what's next! To learn about how you can get involved with local events during GBW which is September 25-29, visit globalbiotechweeksask.ca. Thanks for watching!

Prairie Clean Energy is one of Saskatchewan's most exciting new cleantech startups because of its game-changing approach to providing an environmentally sustainable solution to agricultural waste.Prairie Clean Energy recently received $180,000 from the Agtech Growth Fund to support the development of a technically viable pathway in Saskatchewan for producing and using flax straw pellets as industrial biomass fuel. This solution addresses the global biomass shortage and provides farmers with an economical and environmentally conscious way to use flax waste.President & CEO Mark Cooper joins Startupville to talk about the company's aim to provide secure, renewable, sustainable, and abundant biomass fuel to customers around the world and how they can achieve it from right here in Saskatchewan.This episode of Startupville is brought to you by Innovation Saskatchewan.  Thanks for listening!

We spoke with Erin Pisko, Vice President of Intellectual Property Strategy with Innovation Asset Collective (IAC), a not-for-profit organization that helps Canadian companies leverage IP strategy to compete and scale. IAC's educational programming, funding opportunities and access to a patent pool with up to $10M to acquire patents and market intelligence makes it easy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to secure ownership of their innovation and protect their edge and  control their data. With this access and Innovation Saskatchewan's recent partnership with IAC, Saskatchewan startups have another tool to compete and scale in a global market and become the next great SK tech success!

Prairie tech is going UP!

Happy Canadian Innovation Week! Yearlong Innovation Saskatchewan supports the incredible ingenuity of Saskatchewan's innovation ecosystem, and Canadian Innovation Week gives us a special opportunity to ensure the inspiring stories and phenomenal successes of the Saskatchewan tech sector and research community are shared beyond our provincial borders. Today we're celebrating #InnovateForHealth by exploring the groundbreaking contributions of Saskatchewan-based research institutes and their significant impact on the lives of Canadians and people around the world. Dr. Volker Gerdts, Director and CEO of Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), talks about VIDO's role as Canada's centre for pandemic research and as a world leader in infectious disease research. Patrick Odnokon, CEO of Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF), talks about SHRF's role in supporting health research and making it accessible to everyone in the province. Dr. John Root, Executive Director of Sylv

Siemens EDA, a segment of Siemens Digital Industries Software, is a technology leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software and hardware and their tools and industry-leading tech enable customers to embrace digital transformation to accelerate the pace of innovation. In 2017, Siemens acquired Solido Design Automation, a Saskatoon-based company that was the world leader in machine learning-based EDA software for variation-aware design and characterization. On this episode, we talk with Siemens EDA Senior Director of Engineering, former Solido Vice President and local legend Jeff Dyck about his professional journey and how Siemens EDA has grown by more than 10x since we last spoke. We also dive into exciting topics like the future of AI, how to maintain startup growth and how to create a company culture that makes employees want to come into the office. Buckle up folks, this is a good one! The Startupville podcast is brought to you by Innovation Saskatchewan and was recorded in our new recording studi

Dark Horse Ag Ventures believes that agriculture is a community built upon innovation and dedication to the craft of feeding the world. Their mission is to simplify precision agriculture and make advanced agronomy applicable, easy to learn, and accessible. Through their platform, they address the struggles that farmers and agronomy businesses have collecting and processing data with the backing of acclaimed experts in digital agriculture and crop science to keep things simple. On this episode of Startupville, we talk with Co-Founder and CEO, Tyler Lefley, about their experience going through (and winning!) the Co.Launch X cohort, how they are adopting existing and new technologies to make precision agriculture easier, what they’re looking forward to most in their next adventure in Cultivator’s Ag-tech Accelerator cohort, and so, so much more! The Startupville podcast is brought to you by Innovation Saskatchewan. “The real treat [of operating in Saskatchewan] is having your immediate market right outside your

Join us in the Startupville Thunderdome recording live at the 24 Hour Startup event at Cultivator HQ. 24 Hour Startup is hosted at Cultivator HQ in Regina, Saskatchewan, and brings together the best and brightest entrepreneurs, developers, lead designers, and makers, to pitch ideas, form teams, and build a minimum viable product (MVP) in 24 hours. Participants experience what its like in day-to-day startup life while building their company, but with access to some of the world’s top mentors, entrepreneurs and supporters who are ready to help them launch in their pitch to celebrity guest judges! On this episode, we've condensed 24 hours into just under 40 minutes and features exclusive interviews with some of the celebrity guest judges as well as past and current participants. Get the full scoop on what went down during this year’s 24 Hour Startup by tuning in now. We sit down with Danielle Gifford (Movement51), Dana Abdullah (Bell Ventures), Hannah Tait (past participant/winner), Zakiyyah Noorally (partici

Selling seeds, chemicals and fertilizers to farms on the prairies was the primary goal of North Star Systems, and one of the biggest challenges was keeping clients’ product properly stocked. In 2018, North Star Systems set out to create a solution for the distribution of product from manufacturer to retailer to farmer in the field. Now, their Saskatoon-based team of engineers manufactures Tattle Systems devices, a complete and closed system that connects the device to the user through any smartphone, app or tablet, creating an innovative, real-time remote monitoring and data solution that increases efficiencies, profitability, sustainability and more for their clients. On this episode, we explore how finding the solution to a problem can lead to running a successful tech startup, how to keep employees engaged in today’s everchanging work environment, and how a non-tech agriculture expert can tap into the world of IoT with tech partners to work together on a fast scaling agri-tech enterprise. This podcast i

On this episode, we feature Jeff Shirley of Rivercity Innovations and Mike Stefaniuk with Sasktel's Collaboration and Innovation Team. It began with the Rural Crime Challenge at Innovation Saskatchewan where Jeff Shirley created a solution to prevent the theft of beehives at their family farm. Later, shifting from GPS trackers to LoRa technology, Rivercity Innovations expanded into designing, building, and delivering sensors and data monitoring solutions to support their world-wide clientele. Scaling this type of business in Saskatchewan could seem infinitely impossible without the help of experts, mentors, and access to stake holding resources. That’s where the Innovation Program at Sasktel can help. They are a dedicated team made up of experts that use a collaborative process in assisting founders identify and solve business problems, help connect silos, evolve culture and approach, and ignite innovation. On this episode, we explore how the Innovation Program at Sasktel works, how its helping local star

Check out live exclusive interviews with some of the keynotes, panelists, investors and founders from the 2022 Startup Summit conference in Regina, Saskatchewan. On this episode, we feature Albert Jame (Zu), Stephanie Boon (54e Dev Studios) and Jan Arp (The Holt Xchange). Startup Summit is a local conference that focuses on connecting founders, mentors and investors from across North America through curated 1:1 sessions, workshops, keynotes and panel discussions. This year, Startup Summit was bigger and better than ever. Returning to an in-person format at Cultivator's new headquarters in Regina, Saskatchewan, more than 350 attendees gathered to learn, network and help grow the Saskatchewan tech ecosystem. Startupville received a personal invitation to bring the Startupville Thunderdome to the conference to record live exclusive interviews with some of the speakers, investors and startup founders. We’re excited to share this content with you in a two-part mini series so that our listeners can get the sc

Startup Summit is a local conference that focuses on connecting founders, mentors and investors from across North America through curated 1:1 sessions, workshops, keynotes and panel discussions. This year, Startup Summit was bigger and better than ever. Returning to an in-person format at Cultivator's new headquarters in Regina, Saskatchewan, more than 350 attendees gathered to learn, network and help grow the Saskatchewan tech ecosystem. Startupville received a personal invitation to bring the Startupville Thunderdome to the conference to record live exclusive interviews with some of the speakers, investors and startup founders. We’re excited to share this content with you in a two-part mini series so that our listeners can get the scoop on what went down at Startup Summit and all of the insights on our prairie tech scene. This special episode is brought to you by Cultivator, Innovation Saskatchewan & Martin Charlton Communications On this episode, we feature Danielle Graham (P

Join us as we chat with the winner of the Startup TnT Spring Investment Summit in Saskatchewan! The Startup TnT Spring Investment Summit launched in March of 2022, bringing together more companies and more investors to the prairie tech investment scene. This time, we’re chatting with the winner of the Spring investment summit, Mike Wesolowski with Luxsonic Technologies Inc. Luxsonic is empowering the healthcare industry with immersive solutions that enhance medical education, professional training, and healthcare delivery. Mike wowed the investors and attendees at the Finale event when he brought along the virtual reality headset that they use in the medical field so that everyone could see exactly what their product and technology looked like from the outside-in! Join us as we talk with Mike about his experience with the Startup TnT Investment Summit, creating a healthy, positive and effective work environment, and hear his story on how his team is changing the future of medicine by bringing virtua

Global Biotech Week started 19 years ago right here in Canada, and has since gone global, raising awareness for the significant role biotech plays in the world today. To celebrate Global Biotech Week, we’ve interviewed three leaders in the biotech sector, to learn more about what they do and how we can celebrate between September 26-30. We talked with Mehmet Tulbek of the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, Heather Deobald with Quantum Genetix and Jackie Robin from Ag-West Bio. The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre is a non-profit organization and leader in providing expertise and resources to assist agri-businesses to create innovative products and value added opportunities in the food industry. Quantum Genetix is an agricultural technology company that harnesses the power of genomics to improve agriculture efficiency. Ag-West Bio is Saskatchewan’s bioscience industry association and bioeconomy catalyst. This podcast is brought to you by Innovation Place & 

Uniting the Prairies, or UP Conference, is a local conference that brings top startups from across the prairies together to connect with global investors and tech leaders to collectively elevate the prairie tech community. This year, UP returned to in-person at the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Startupville was granted exclusive access to record on-site interviews during day two of the conference, and with over 12 interviews and 118 minutes of edited content, we’re releasing a four episode mini-series to share everything we learned at UP this year. In our final episode of the Uniting the Prairies miniseries, we're bringing it home with three final interviews featuring Saskatoon's finest! Join us as we chat with Keli Propp, Co-Founder of Immigrate, Krystian Olszanski, Co-Founder of Cadence, and local mentor and investor of the tech startup community, Jeff Dyck. This podcast is brought to you by Innovation Place & Martin Charlton Communications When asked what highlights and takeaways the

Uniting the Prairies, or UP Conference, is a local conference that brings top startups from across the prairies together to connect with global investors and tech leaders to collectively elevate the prairie tech community. This year, UP returned to in-person at the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Startupville was granted exclusive access to record on-site interviews during day two of the conference, and with over 12 interviews and 118 minutes of edited content, we’re releasing a four episode mini-series to share everything we learned at UP this year. Featured today are another three new guests to the show, Blaine Korte (Fidu Legal, SK), Cressida Raffin (Birdie Break, AB) and Hassan Naqvi (Startup TnT, SK). We chat with our guests about the fantastic support in the prairie tech ecosystem, raising funds and scaling up! This podcast is brought to you by Innovation Place & Martin Charlton Communications “There’s such a glaring hole in the market place right now. We had friends that would po

Prairie tech's going UP! A special mini-series featuring live interviews from the 2022 Uniting the Prairies Conference in downtown Saskatoon, SK. Uniting the Prairies, or UP Conference, is a local conference that brings top startups from across the prairies together to connect with global investors and tech leaders to collectively elevate the prairie tech community. This year, UP returned to in-person at the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Startupville was granted exclusive access to record on-site interviews during day two of the conference, and with over 12 interviews and 118 minutes of edited content, we’re releasing a four episode mini-series to share everything we learned at UP this year. Featured today are another three guests representing our beautiful prairie provinces, Noah Palansky (Taiv, MB), Melanie Morrison (BetterCart Analytics, SK) and Jade Alberts (Peer Guidance, AB). We chat with our guests about the fantastic support in the prairie tech ecosystem, raising funds and scaling u

Prairie tech's going UP! A special mini-series featuring live interviews from the 2022 Uniting the Prairies Conference in downtown Saskatoon, SK. Uniting the Prairies, or UP Conference, is a local conference that brings top startups from across the prairies together to connect with global investors and tech leaders to collectively elevate the prairie tech community. This year, UP returned to in-person at the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Startupville was granted exclusive access to record on-site interviews during day two of the conference, and with over 12 interviews and 118 minutes of edited content, we’re releasing a four episode mini-series to share everything we learned at UP this year. Join us on this first episode as we chat with three brand new guests to Startupville, Amy Bronson (AlchemistX, AB), Jordan Smith (Renterii, MB) and Dawson Norrish (Cubbi, SK). We learn about what's going on with these exciting organizations, get insights into all things UP, and of course, find out

A special episode in celebration of Canadian Innovation Week & Women Entrepreneurs' Week May 16-20 is Canadian Innovation Week and Women Entrepreneurs' Week and, for the first time ever, the Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed this week as Saskatchewan Innovation Week. To celebrate, we collaborated with Innovation Saskatchewan and Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) to highlight and celebrate the hard work of our local entrepreneurs. While the technology sector in Saskatchewan is experiencing significant growth, women and Indigenous people continue to be underrepresented in the tech labour market. To address this gap, Innovation Saskatchewan collaborates with various partners to deliver programs centred around skills training and capacity building in underrepresented groups, including partnering with WESK on the Founders Table program, which increase access to funding resources, networks, mentorship, and business advising to women-led tech and tech-enabled companies. We spoke with Josi

Have you ever kicked yourself for missing one of your child’s hockey games? Well, you’ll never have to do that again with HomeTeam Live’s streaming software that provides broadcast quality video streaming for amateur sports leagues. This service allows for parents, family, coaches, athletes and even scouts to log in and stream games from anywhere in the world. Co-Founders, Logan Fraser and Tanner Goetz, had worked in the sports marketing industry for ten years prior and knew that there was a major gap in this area, faced by many. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, they realized this problem would grow with limited travel ability for sports lovers across the globe. Join us as we talk with Tanner about his serial-entrepreneurship, how he transitioned into the tech startup biz, and how their technology allows for anyone in the world to connect and grow local sports in their community with HomeTeam Live. This podcast is brought to you by Innovation Place & Martin Charlton Communications