Innovation Montreal

HelloStaff, building a pool of talents for Montreal events

Looking for a job can be time-consuming and overwhelming: you have to go on many different platforms and update your mailbox every two seconds for new emails, especially when working in the events industry. It is this wish for creating a more efficient tool that led Thomas and Michael to create HelloStaff.

Going on an entrepreneurial journey

Starting from scratch and jumping in the unknown… does that ring a bell? It is a prerequisite for becoming an entrepreneur. It is not for everyone and you definitely have to like taking risks and being interested in out-of-the box perspectives, just like Thomas and Michael.

They had different backgrounds, Thomas had a degree in Management and Michael had started his career as an actor. And yet, they were both working in the events industry, through temporary contracts as brand specialists. Discussing their mutual experience of seeking jobs led them to think of a way to innovate the job seeking experience. HelloStaff was on its way.

Looking for talents

A lot of entrepreneurs in the tech sector are developers themselves or have an experience in that field but it was not the case for Thomas or Michael. Finding the right person was their first priority.

We wasted 6 months not finding the right person to develop our platform. We understood that we needed to structure everything, working with contracts and officialising. Look for a talent that would also be interested in being a shareholder. This is how we found David.
Thomas Lussiez

With a team of three, fully invested in their project, and a developer with an already established technical expertise and entrepreneurial experience, HelloStaff worked hard on developing their MVP.

When your product is built around a technological solution, you do not have the right to make any mistake; the slightest tech glitch will not be forgiven.

Learning all the way

The startup ecosystem played a major role in our progress: we found mentoring opportunities, professional advice, and funds. Earning our first grant gave us more credibility.

From Montréal inc. to Réseau M, entreprism and Entreprendre ici, an initiative of the Government of Quebec (Ministère de l’Économie, et de l’Innovation), HelloStaff knocked at as many doors as possible to develop their legitimacy.

Every step of the journey, building a company, I discovered a new field of work and I wanted to get my hands dirty to better understand in order to recruit the right talent.

Check out HelloStaff.ca: If you are self-employed or studying and looking for a short-term mission in relation to events, you can create a profile to get customized offers. If you are a company in the events industry, you could get access to a great pool of talents.

Bonjour Startup Montréal, a unique platform for Montreal innovators

Who’s behind this cheerful and welcoming brand, created less than a year ago? How are they planning on changing the startup world in Montreal? Here is a glimpse of Bonjour Startup Montreal’s ambitious plan and some promising results.

Creating a platform for the city’s startup ecosystem

Not all startup ecosystems in the world have one single organization that gathers all the key stakeholders, because it is really hard. Gathering all initiatives is a real challenge.

Bonjour Startup Montréal is not a shadow organization created and funded by the government, it is not an incubator, an accelerator, or a coworking space. It is much more than that and it draws inspiration from other cities’ initiatives with very positive results. In Amsterdam, StartupAmsterdam was created by the city to strengthen and showcase Amsterdam’s ever-evolving startup ecosystem. In Paris, Frenchtech creates links between French startups and international markets, in London, TechNation presents itself as a national network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs.

In a startup community where key players are often very specialized, where financial resources are fragmented, it is inevitable and it is recommended that some resources join to improve their services to entrepreneurs. The concept of creating links and dots leads to stronger and more impactful organizations. By joining forces, we make our ecosystem more impactful.
Liette Lamonde, Bonjour Startup Montréal’s co-founder

Celebrating Montreal diversity

In Montreal, it is essential to define what makes us unique to efficiently promote our city and our international results. Incubators have developed complementary skills: La Piscine has specialised in culture while L’Esplanade is focused on social impact. This diversity is what makes our ecosystem stronger. These different incubators find strength and added-value in this “coopetition”. This unique identity built in cultural diversity is perhaps what Montreal can raise as a key asset to establish as a launching platform for European startups in North America.
Laurence Audette-Lagueux, Bonjour Startup Montréal

To give a better understanding of this diverse ecosystem, Bonjour Startup Montréal is working towards aggregating information. It has developed a mapping of the ecosystem organized by type of key player: financing, support organization, accelerators/incubators, media, corporate innovation, physical hubs, events, government programmes, clusters.

This precious map is part of an exclusive report developed through a series of interviews and surveys of +350 startup founders. It provides unique and verified data on the Montreal startup ecosystem (download it here).

This is only the beginning and Bonjour Startup Montréal has big ambitions. As the platform works towards gathering all initiatives, it also aims to position the city back in the top 20 most dynamic ecosystems worldwide (more specifically according to the annual ranking released by Startup Genome)

Join Bonjour Startup Montréal’s community on Slack and contribute to discussions around the future of the startup ecosystem in your city!

3 lessons from Movin’On Sustainable Mobility Summit

Spending an afternoon at Movin’On Summit, the international event on sustainable mobility organized in Montreal by Michelin was very enlightening, here are a few impressions, from this first day.

Applying circular economy to mobility

This year, talking about sustainable mobility is associated with circular economy, which is quite innovative. Indeed, we usually think of recycling when we hear about circular economy, but it can be so much more than that.

Putting circularity at the core of new mobility products and services, we realize that it has to do with shifting behaviours.

For example, being circular can translate into finding solutions to commuting and therefore, working from home can be a solution to decreasing traffic jam while increasing quality of life and well-being of workers in urban areas.

Embracing climate constrains to design urban spaces

Thai architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom designs parks, gardens, green roofs and bridges that address the city’s flooding problem while also reconnecting residents to their natural environment. She has designed a stunning park in the center of Bangkok where rainwater is collected, cleaned and reduces urban heat. Considering the recent Montreal flooding, this project was truly inspiring.

Making the automotive industry greener

Did you know that there were cars working with hydrogen instead of CO2? Did you know that in Quebec, there was a 100% electrical dumpster? That Michelin is developing an air-free tire, Uptis, that was connected and 3d printed? All these innovations are happening to make the future of mobility greener and more efficient.

The solution to making mobility more circular lies in technology.

Movin’On is happening in Montreal, from 4 to 6 June 2019. More information here.

Top 3 findings of a first day at C2 Montreal

From electrical vehicles to lab-grown meat, from humanizing design to promoting circular economy, C2 Montreal is once again enchanting.

Setting its 2019 theme as Tomorrow, the 2019 edition of C2 Montreal was expected to be all about futurism but the lesson that arises from this very first day, is that tomorrow will only be possible if we start changing ourselves, the way we behave, and if we give a voice to young innovators.

Lab-grown meat anyone?

What if, instead of turning vegan, you could actually taste meat while avoiding the killing of animals? Beyond Meat has been producing plant-based meat substitutes for a decade but a 15-years old scientist explains how she wants to develop genetically modified proteins and a new generation of lab-grown meat. Isabella is part of a The Knowledge Society, an innovation programme that develops young leaders skills. She wants to disrupt food production processes through her cellular agriculture research.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere

It is a known fact that artificial intelligence was everywhere, from healthcare to transportation, from Google search to agriculture… For the general public, AI is associated to Siri, robots and sometimes machine learning (when Gmail suggests the end of your sentence). Even better, AI can be used to predict if someone is likely to contract a disease. Samarth and Ayaan, 14 and 15 years old, are working on algorithms to make diseases predictions even more accurate and better understand human biomarkers. Today, accuracy for an AI-generated diagnosis is of 90% (vs. 70% for a human).

The future is circular

Did you know that IKEA had launched a programme dedicated to circular economy? Dominique Fularski‘s mission, through Circular IKEA, is to work towards becoming the biggest circular retailer, reusing only existing material, by 2030. The giant Swedish retailer wants to work towards a better world, at its own scale. If circularity is often associated to recycling, it also has to do with refurbishing and remanufacturing. IKEA has decided to reuse, repurpose, repair and recycle, not only because it makes the company grow sustainably, but also because it is more convenient for its customers.

Stay tuned for more highlights around C2 Montreal. The 2019 edition is happening from 22 to 24 May in Montreal.

Be innovative, add mushrooms to your next coffee!

Healthy products are currently booming and food innovation is becoming more and more growth-generating. People want to be able to eat tasty, quality and healthy products and at the same time, they want to generate as little waste as possible. This is just what Mushup is aiming to do: providing a healthy coffee alternative with a beautiful but sustainable packaging.

It all begins with friendship and travels

Rachèle brought her background in business development and her passion for sales and public relations. Maeva had a previous experience in sustainable development, events management, marketing. But most importantly, both of them shared one important asset: a true friendship.

We needed new challenges, we wanted to change the way we lived… so we went on a backpack trip to Colombia to find inspiration and see if we were ready to start working together.
Rachèle

In November 2017, on a hike in the beautiful zona cafetera, they decided to launch a business in the coffee industry that would be socially responsible. Back to Montreal, they met with a mycologist who introduced them to the complementarity between coffee and medicinal fungus.

After months of research and development, they came up with a coffee bean that integrates the positive mental and physical impacts of these fungus. Spark, Vigor and Vital each provide a different benefit.

It was important to select the best possible coffee. All grains are hand-picked and slow-roasted.
Maeva

Innovation by curiosity

Neither Rachel nor Maeva have a technical training in mycology or in science. They are not inventors but they can be innovators because they have an acute perception of the market. They understand consumers, their needs and desires for alternative products.

Some people might find it strange to add mushroom extracts to coffee beans but not our generation. Curiosity is part of our DNA.
Rachèle

They also know how to make the solution attractive: they have created three types of coffee, with three exclusive visuals from French designer Julien Brogard, picked through an international competition and their boxes are zero waste.

Collaboration and independence all the way

Collaboration is key to their growth. Mushup is working hand in hand with partners like graphic designers (from the Billy Club) to develop, one coffee at a time.

Starting a new business was a way for us to come back to our original life objectives. We needed to gain control over our lives so it was natural to also keep control over our business

You can buy Mushup products online or in a (growing) number of local shops. You can also taste it, among other places, at the lovely Bistro Tendresse in Montreal Village neighbourhood.

Making 3D innovations more sustainable

3D printing is at the core of innovation and opens the possibilities for the hardware industry. You can now print pretty much everything, from the little piece that would allow to stabilize your living room table, to a new shinbone for surgery. Two French engineers have developed a new material, made of recycled plastic, to make these more sustainable.

Today, Nefilatek’s Kickstarter campaign is almost over but the project started a year ago, as a school project. Bastien was studying at Polytechnic and was convinced that developing recycled 3D printing filaments could be realistic. He was able to win grants from Fondation Arbour and enter Universite de Montreal and Polytechnique JAB incubator.

A few months after, Angel joined the adventure with a background in Physical Engineering. After working in a biomedical lab, he wanted to find a meaningful project that allowed him to contribute to society.

Recycling makes the cost of raw material much cheaper

Thanks to research and development innovations, pretty much all plastics in the industry can be recycled: old electronics, home appliances are thrown in recycling factories and transformed into plastic pallets.

Nefilatek has been able to develop different filaments: HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) is good for the general public and for startups while PC (Polycarbonate) is more resistant and used in biomedical labs. In addition, the team builds spools that are also recycled, reusable and very light to avoid wasting empty stools.

Closing the loop of the circular economy

For now, the team at Nefilatek uses plastics from sorting centers which is not 100% clean and needs to be decontaminated but the aim is to find raw plastics and make their own mixture.

We want to be able to collect used filaments from 3D printed prototypes and objects and recycle it to develop Nefilatek filaments. Then, we would be truly closing the loop.
Angel Chauffray

3D printing could be the new DIY trend

Over the past years, it is mostly known by geeks and tinkers, but 3D printing is a fun and useful hobby … and it is not that expensive! Did you know that you could buy a 3D printer for $350? And you can use it for making a missing piece of furniture, instead of buying a new one, or to make a new flower vase, deco pieces or toys for your children, or anything you want! Most models are open source so you can find them on websites such as Thingiverse.

It would be great to build a community of individual clients and democratize circular economy, show people that they can make everything by themselves.
Angel Chauffray

If you’re interested in testing 3D printing and doing it in a sustainable manner with Nefilatek filaments, you can contribute to their Kickstartercampaign until 22 April 2019!

These solar watches offer a sustainable and refreshing fashion alternative

Millennials are all about making a difference in our world, consuming wisely, giving up on some habits. But it does not mean that they give up on quality. This is the mission statement of Solios Watches, a young Montreal company founded by Alex Desabrais and Sam Leroux. We met them in the confessional at Fondation Montreal’s Grand Messe on 27 March 2019.

Where it all started…

Alex and Sam met at HEC Montreal during their Bachelor of Finance. They shared a common interest in case competitions and entrepreneurship.

When graduating, they were looking for meaningful experiences. Alex joined District M, a tech startup, where he developed his sales leadership and learned how small companies were able to grow. Sam started working at Snowdon partners, an entrepreneurial investment fund, and realized that this smaller ecosystem was exactly what he was looking for.

Both of them spent 4 years in their respective companies, learning, growing and … maturing their entrepreneurship project. They then started designing their dream watch in-house and building their business plan which, two years later, launched through one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of 2018.

Choosing entrepreneurship to make a difference in the world

When you are not an engineer or a developer, when you are not a millionaire, it is more difficult to find an idea for your startup. But we knew we wanted to focus on an eco-friendly idea.

Why solar watches? The technology is already well established and recognized, and it is a way to improve a very traditional consumer item. Also, in the watch industry, the affordable luxury watches market is the only part currently growing because consumers are aware that quartz watches are not sustainable.

Rather than offering direct consumption goods, fast fashion items, we want to make a fashion and sustainable statement.

Responsible production

Sam in Hong Kong, checking on the production process

Eventually, Alex and Sam want to develop a portfolio of responsible products, with full transparency on the sourcing of materials. They work hard to create a relation of mutual trust with their suppliers and distributors and travel regularly to Hong Kong and Japan. Each component, each manufacturing process behind Solios Watches is carefully chosen to be as sustainable as possible while maintaining the quality, from the choice of packagingto the coloration of steel and the choice of bracelets.

People think that vegan leather is sustainable but in fact, it is made of plastic and petrochemicals, which is eventually polluting. Instead, we use silicon leather which is not vegan but more sustainable.

Responsible consumption

The team obviously aims at selling their products, but their goal goes beyond that sole purpose: they want to educate consumers and change behaviour patterns and common beliefs (yes, a solar watch can work in the UK where the sun does not always shine bright).

For now, the team has just received the first batch of orders from their Kickstarter campaign and started delivery in April 2019. You can order their products online.

5 startups disrupting eating and drinking habits at Montreal Grand’ Messe

We, humans, have never been so self-conscious about the way we eat, for better or for worse! We eat differently, we seek innovations in the products we choose, we want to be healthier, but while having fun! If you recognize yourself in the “we”, you should discover these 5 Montreal startups.

Innovation MTL discovered them during Fondation Montreal Inc. annual event, La Grand’ Messe. For this 3^rd edition, 100 startups were gathered to present their newly crafted products to investors, media, influencers, and the general public.

Mushup coffee

Do you also have that colleague who decided to cut off his coffee consumption because he was experiencing chest pains, insomnia, anxiety? Perhaps he or she would be interested in Mushup coffee… quality and fair trade coffee beans, roasted in Montreal, but without all the negative effects of coffee thank to a magic ingredient: mushrooms! Not magic mushrooms, but medicinal mushrooms extracts that add healthier virtues while enhancing the taste of coffee beans. Who knew that the coffee industry still had room for innovation? Try it out, it is delicious (and the branding is gorgeous too)!

Cultur’ dough

Eating is about so much more than feeding yourself or even indulging, it is about living new experiences. If you cannot afford a trip to an exotic destination perhaps you can at least experience that change of scene during a handful of seconds by biting in one of Cultur’ dough cookies. You can jump from Japan to the Mediterranean, from Mexico to the Middle East, without any visa, directly from your taste buds to your imagination. For those who seek something different from regular cookies, it is definitely worth it.

Choco de Lea

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💓 💓 💓 #chocolate #vegan #heart

A post shared by Choco de Léa (@chocodelea) on Jan 31, 2019 at 9:50am PST

Chocolate is a guilty pleasure in so many ways: it is rarely fair trade, it is a calorie bomb, it uses animal products, and often comes in non-recyclable packaging. Léa wants to solve (almost) all these problems with her craft chocolate bars. Using soya milk and gourmet ingredients, she advocates a more responsible consumption of chocolate. We had the opportunity to taste the camomile and cherry flavoured white chocolate. It was surprisingly delicious. It is brand new, so follow her adventures on Instagram!

Haumana

Haumana produces baobab natural energy bars. If you wonder what a baobab is, it is a tree that grows in Africa. People there consumes the citrusy fruit that comes from the tree after drying it and making a powder out of it. It is said to have true health benefits. Haumana is working with a cooperative of women in Senegal to produce their vegan, raw and gluten-free energy bars. The light sour taste gives it a funky twist. And don’t worry, there is an option with chocolate too, it is available here.

Blue Pearl Distillery

Last but not least, if you want to make that old gin & tonic look rejuvenated and more exciting, while supporting a Montreal based company, Blue Pearl Distillery has created a surprising, delicious and funny product to try. With 100% Quebecois ingredients, their Bleu Royal gin has a flowery flavour (it is distilled with juniper berries and coriander) and a natural blue color (apparently it comes from the butterfly pea flower) and… when you mix it with (1642) Tonic, it becomes pink. More than an ordinary liquor, Blue Pearl wants to offer experiences, and magical ones, preferably. You can find Bleu Royal gin at the SAQ.