Our Community
Accelerators, Incubators, & Innovation Centres
Queen’s Innovation Centre
The mission of the Queen’s Innovation Centre is to encourage, enable and support the innovation and entrepreneurship activities of students, professors, entrepreneurs, regional and Canadian companies through incubators, accelerators, joint courses, workshops, internship opportunities, seminar series, conferences and business plan competitions.
Haltech
Haltech is at the nexus of Halton Region’s innovation ecosystem, working with technology companies to accelerate innovation for business growth. We help technology entrepreneurs and companies to connect, collaborate and transform good ideas and product innovations into well positioned, growing ventures. Haltech offers a wide range of FREE services for qualifying tech entrepreneurs and businesses including business accelerating advising, entrepreneur development, and corporate innovation support.
Treefrog Accelerator
The Treefrog Accelerator program began as a way to complete the southern Ontario technology triangle by adding an accelerator program to the north of the Greater Toronto Area, and leveraging the ecosystem and expertise of the personnel at Treefrog. The Treefrog Accelerator focuses on identifying technology startups, with products or services in the market that wish to expand. We aim to help Canadian ventures hit their goals of scaling up by leveraging world-class talent and organizations. This program is available to both international and local startups.
ventureLAB
ventureLAB is a leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada. Their organization is led by seasoned entrepreneurs and business leaders with decades of industry experience in building IP-rich start-ups, scale-ups, and global multinationals to help you scale your business. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in York Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in Canada. They enable technology startups to accelerate the commercialization of transformational products on a global scale.
Digital Media Zone (DMZ)
Ranked as the top university-based (Toronto Metropolitan University) tech incubator in the world, the DMZ provides a launchpad for founders to build and scale fast. The DMZ has been creating the next gen of game-changing, global businesses since 2010. To date, the DMZ has helped more than 400 startups raise $917+ million in capital and create 4,000+ jobs. With its headquarters in Toronto, Canada, the DMZ has a widely-recognized international presence including offices in New York City and 70 partnerships around the world.
Schulich School of Business at York University
In global rankings, Schulich is one of the world's leading business schools. With a diverse student base, award-winning faculty, innovative & relevant programs, state-of -the-art learning environment, successful alumni, and a strong external stakeholder networks.
Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is one of the world’s most proven networks, turning ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. To date, FI has helped launch over 6,800 companies across 200+ cities and six continents.
The Forge McMaster
The Forge is a business incubator funded by McMaster University, serving novel and scalable startups in the Hamilton, Greater Toronto and Niagara Regions. Launched in 2015, they work hands-on with entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas from ideation and validation to growth. The Forge is sector agnostic and offers cohort-based programming So far 253 companies have been through The Forge Business Incubator program; together they have raised over $40M and are selling products in 50 countries.
Innovation Factory
Innovation Factory is a Hamilton-based business accelerator, dedicated to helping Ontario-based businesses launch, scale, and succeed. We provide start-ups, and scaling companies with advisory services, training, mentorship, and strategic connections to help bring disruptive technologies to market, leverage intellectual property, increase revenues, attract investment and create jobs.
Altitude Accelerator
Altitude Accelerator is a government-funded not-for-profit accelerator based in Brampton, Ontario. They support technology entrepreneurs that want to smart-track their business ranging from ideation, to growth, to raising funds. For over 10 years, they have been providing business startup services and access to incubator space to entrepreneurs and mature tech companies that want to kick-start growth of their enterprise.
Startup & Small Business Support
PitchScore
AI Pitch Deck Review
Interested in having your pitch deck reviewed for FREE prior to raising capital? Equivesto has partnered with PitchScore™ to process startup applications and provide valuable feedback to applying companies.
All startup applicants will receive an AI-generated Startup Evaluation at no cost, including scoring, comments and ecosystem benchmarking to assist with their funding journey.
FREE
Ownr
Enabling Canadian entrepreneurs to start, manage, and grow their business. Ownr is an RBC Ventures company. They’re making it simpler and more affordable for businesses to start and succeed. They know that starting and running a business takes a huge amount of effort. By simplifying and automating business formation and everyday legal work, they help small businesses thrive.
15% off Partner Perk
NuBinary
NuBinary is a Fractional CTO company based in Toronto/Waterloo corridor. It specializes in building custom Cloud and IOT web-scale Applications, Mobile Applications, MicroServices, Cloud Infrastructure and Tech Consulting. They help Product Development, Market Discovery, Strategy and building customer driven Software Applications. They believe and breath in Agile Software Development and bring about decades of cumulative experience in large scale Cloud, Web and Mobile Application Development.
TalentFund
TalentFund is a fractional talent marketplace that connects early-stage startups and scale-ups with top product and engineering talent and teams, with the option of getting compensated in cash and equity. Fractional Engineers, Product Managers, Designers and Marketers working at the best companies.
Marketing Genius HQ
At MarketingGenius HQ, we help businesses solve common sales and marketing challenges with a personalized approach. We start by taking a deep dive into your business to understand where you are and where you want to go. Then, we work with you to create a step-by-step action plan that outlines your goals, ideal customers, and what sets you apart from the competition.
Our process is simple but effective: we analyze your current situation, plan a strategy that works for your business, and give you the tools and support you need to put it into action. We don’t just hand over a plan and walk away though, we support you every step of the way, making sure the strategies we develop together gets you real results.
If you're looking for a partner to help you grow your business and boost your sales, MarketingGenius HQ is here to help.
Zendesk
Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds software designed to improve customer relationships. Their software is powerful and flexible, and scales to meet the needs of any business.
6 months of free access to Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM + 15% off your first annual subscription
OutLoud Speakers School
OutLoud Speakers School is a group of actors teaching public speaking and communication skills. Their coaches are conservatory-trained and industry-seasoned professionals, dedicated to helping people become powerful public speakers. Their clients include business people, lawyers, teachers and entrepreneurs, as well as anyone who wants to improve their performance ability and comfort level.
Spark Innovation
Spark Innovations is an award-winning industrial design company specializing in the development of innovative products and inventions. Since their founding in 1989, Spark Innovation’s professional team of industrial designers and mechanical designers has taken thousands of products from the early stages of an idea to the mass market.
Oribi
Oribi brings the no-code revolution to the world of data collection and tagging, with its Magic Events technology. Oribi enables companies to replace manual, developers-based processes with a ‘plug and play’ customer data layer, using bleeding edge tech and complex models to convert millions of unstructured customer interactions into hundreds of meaningful events.
Alfred Law
Alfred Law provides accessible services, clear advice and predictable pricing to businesses, individuals and creatives in various industries. Their practice areas include corporate & commercial, technology, media & entertainment and intellectual property law. They work with individuals, creatives and business owners across a broad range of industries ranging from entertainment, media healthcare, consulting, telecommunications & satellite, artificial intelligence, advertising, retail, fintech, ride share, enterprise SAAS and many others. They are experts in Equity Crowdfunding legal work and have worked with multiple companies that have raised on Equivesto.
Workhaus
Inspiring coworking and flexible office spaces where people come together to deliver their best work. They provide the services, programming, and supportive professional community needed to help drive your business forward.
Imaginal Ventures
Imaginal Ventures is a women-led business advisory firm with extensive industry experience for small and medium businesses (SME’s) that transforms the way businesses grow and scale based on their innovative and unique platform. They are guided by their values of collaboration, adventure and love. They have built an ecosystem who share the belief of business serving a broad stakeholder community, enabling the shift to a sustainable, inclusive market economy
MAVUUS
Mavuus CMO is the ultimate collective of Fractional CMO professionals that were carefully vetted and pre-selected by marketing experts themselves. Created by two sisters who live and breathe a marketer’s life, we know the challenge of finding high-quality providers firsthand. We are on a mission to match organizations with top fractional marketing leadership. Our rich background of 30+ years in marketing has allowed us to build a large network of senior marketing executives from various backgrounds that can help elevate your business.
Capital Raising Marketing Services
Ext. Digital
Ext. Digital is a subsidiary of Ext. Marketing Inc., the world’s leader in financial services marketing, with offices in Toronto and New York. They are privately owned and have over 14 years of experience servicing asset managers and dealerships of all sizes. They currently have over 35 employees who provide end-to-end marketing services, from strategy, content creation media activation and constant optimization.
📈 Growth Stage
🌎 Industry Agnostic
The Crowdfunding Hub
The Crowdfunding Hub is an online resource to help businesses, charities and not for profits determine if raising money online is a good fit, and the best way to do so. They are experts in Equity Crowdfunding marketing and have worked with multiple companies that have raised successfully on Equivesto. The Hub also includes webinars, videos, step by step guides, templates and tools to help prepare and run your campaign.
🚀 Startup & Small Business
🌎 Industry Agnostic
VirtualAd
VirtualAd is a marketing agency specializing in digital marketing strategies for real estate capital raises. We offer comprehensive services including strategy development, ad creative, digital ads management, CRM optimization, and email marketing automation.
Through a consultative approach, VirtualAd creates a tailored digital marketing framework to support your real estate capital raise. Our focus ensures that you achieve your goals efficiently—on target, on time, and on budget.
📈 Growth Stage
🏙️ Real Estate
Growth Turbine
Growth Turbine is a data-driven, turn-key Crowdfunding campaign management agency with expertise in Crowdfunding Marketing, Product Launch, App launch & Growth Hacking. They specialize in end-to-end marketing for crowdfunding campaigns.
📈 Growth Stage
🌎 Industry Agnostic
CrowdfundSuite
Since 2008, we have been assisting clients from a wide range of markets and businesses. We are now regarded by many as the experts in this specialized capital raise technique. In 2023, we dedicated our focus towards the craft beverage industry.
That said, we do much more than just community raises and crowdfunding. We offer a complete suite of services to help you plan and execute successful capital raises. From market research, success modelling, campaign planning, scheduling, social media marketing, all the way to final execution and campaign management – we can help you every step of the way.
CrowdfundSuite, and its services Brewfundr, Winefundr, Spiritsfundr and Ciderfundr, is dedicated to helping you grow your craft beverage business.
🚀 Startup & Small Business
🍺 Craft Beverages
LocAlley
LocAlley is partnering with small business owners to support resilience and growth in Toronto’s communities. They understand first-hand that the entrepreneurial journey is not for the faint of heart. The challenges feel endless and it seems like you always need to outwork your competition. And because of that, success feels so much more rewarding. They provide small business owners a common platform to share, ask, and give to their communities, as well as a financial support system for those that don’t qualify for funding.
🚀 Startup & Small Business
🌎 Industry Agnostic
Networks & Communities
The Firehood
Founded in 2021, The Firehood brings women together to network with technology professionals, gain access to mentorship, build leadership acumen through specialized training, and increase personal prosperity as technologists, angels, founders and ultimately, accredited investors.
StartupFuel
StartupFuel is your professional innovation network. Discover startup resources, services & connections all in one place. The Global Standard in Startup Due Diligence backed by 30+ years of research, data, science, AI, and experts in startup due diligence/valuations.
eQuo
eQuo is building the first matchmaking platform that connects small businesses with investors, capital, customers, and talent. With eQuo, entrepreneurs get access to the support they need to grow, while accredited and retail investors get access to great small businesses.
TorontoStarts
TorontoStarts is Toronto’s Entrepreneur & Startup Community. Founded by Toronto’s Entrepreneur mentor The Startup Coach, at the beginning of 2015 as Startup Toronto, TorontoStarts has grown to over 22,000 active entrepreneurs, visionaries, hustlers, disruptors, hackers and incurable risk-takers.
PCMA
The Private Capital Markets Association of Canada (PCMA)™ is a not-for-profit association originally founded in 2002 by a group of Canadian business professionals whose firms were active in the exempt securities market. The purpose of the PCMA is to: Be the effective national voice of Canada’s private capital markets and represent the interests of exempt market dealers, exempt market issuers and industry professionals to securities regulators, government, industry associations, the capital markets and the public. Assist their members with understanding their regulatory responsibilities through industry publications, educational opportunities and connections to compliance, regulatory, finance and legal resources. Provide regulatory updates to assist their members in staying ahead of regulatory change, and the tools to adapt and succeed in the regulatory environment when necessary. Increase public and industry awareness of the important role of Canada’s private capital markets.
FoundersBeta
FoundersBeta is an online global community of founders, innovators, and change-makers. Today, they have over 6000+ members with a mission to become number one online destination for startups and tech companies to find talent and resources to build the next generation of companies.
CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is the country’s champion of small business. With over 95,000 members, they’re Canada’s largest non-profit organization devoted to creating and supporting an environment where your business can succeed. Across Canada, they advocate for small business with politicians and decision-makers. As a non-partisan organization, they influence public policy based on their members’ views, ensuring that you have a chance to affect the laws and policies that affect your business. They provide specialized business resources, including on-call advisors, to help you navigate the daily challenges of running your business. They also offer partnerships with carefully selected service providers to deliver savings you won’t find elsewhere. And they keep you informed on key issues, so that you can focus on managing your business.
Startup & Small Business Funding
Swoop
The one-stop money shop for your business. Swoop simplifies and speeds up the process businesses go through to access grants, debt and equity. It's a quick and easy way to get the funding that best matches your needs. Swoop combines it's advanced matching algorithm with decades of funding experience to identify the best options for your business. They do the heavy lifting across the entire application process so you can focus on building your business.
think.COLLECTIVE
think.COLLECTIVE is a unique gathering of forward-thinking problem solvers who are actively involved in a distinct segment of the Canadian marketplace; companies dedicated to innovation. Their leadership team has confidently directed hundreds of companies of all sizes, from early stage Canadian start-ups to global-scale organizations. Comprised of experienced software architects, scientists, legal experts, accounting & tax professionals, marketing & creative originators, tactical business advisors, and manufacturing specialists, they offer strategic advisory services in 5 essential areas, broadening their value proposition and ensuring our relationships are built on the premise of longevity.
Clearco
Clearco is the world's largest e-commerce investor providing equity free capital solutions to e-commerce businesses. Clearco’s gives founders real-time access to a global network of partners in addition to insights and data tools to help support them to scale their business. Clearco has advanced more than $3.2 billion to more than 7000 brands, including Vanity Planet, Glamnetic, Public Goods, Soludos, and Monos. To date, Clearco has funded 25x more female Founders than the average traditional venture capital firm.
Sharechest
Sharechest is a Fintech firm specialized in automating and improving connections between investors and issuers. Our financial technology platform enables businesses to connect with investors and become more profitable, more quickly. We empower our customers to grow their ventures and manage investor relations with our simple, smart and powerful technology, which includes a fully customizable interface and powerful backend platform.
PERA
PERA was born to fill the gap between the flow of funding and business information to the entrepreneurs and founders that need it most. More often, it can feel that all of this information is locked away in a secret vault that only the people who have the key can access it. With their growth hub, they aim to give you the information when you need it and connect you with opportunities using their network of useful business resources.
We are on a mission to help deserving founders succeed.
Join our growing network of Community Members
We are building a community of trusted institutions, agencies, and platforms that are looking to help founders grow their businesses. Equivesto welcomes all companies who believe in our vision of a more equitable future.