10 Years of Impact, 10 Women Business Leaders to Watch: Meet the 2025/2026 Semi-Finalists of The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch
For the past decade, The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch has helped women entrepreneurs strengthen their stories, sharpen their strategies, and connect with the right people and pathways—helping them achieve and accelerate impactful business visions.
As Canada’s national charity dedicated to unlocking the economic power of women entrepreneurs, The Forum supports 2,000+ entrepreneurs annually and, through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch and related capital programming, is closing critical gaps between founders and the funding ecosystems that fuel their growth.
Over the last eight years alone, Finalists and Semi-Finalists have raised over $69 million, and Finalists and Semi-Finalists have created more than 1,000 jobs—directly benefiting the communities they serve and strengthening the Canadian economy.
This year’s Semi-Finalists reflect where Canadian innovation is headed: resilient food systems, access to justice, point-of-care health solutions, patient-centred recovery, circular materials, and climate progress built into the places we live.
Leading up to The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Semi-Final events coming to Toronto on February 11 and Vancouver on February 18, we asked each Semi-Finalist: “What do you hope the audience takes away from your pitch?”
Here’s what they shared, in their own words.
The Ideas and Ambitions Driving the Semi-Finalists
Brittany Charlton of Chocovate Labs Inc.
Chocovate Labs Inc. is a climate-tech food company creating scalable, cocoa-free chocolate ingredients to address environmental, ethical, and supply chain challenges in the traditional chocolate industry.
“What I want the audience to take away from what we are building at Chocovate Labs is a shift in how they think about chocolate and the systems behind it.
Most consumers don't realize that cocoa prices have risen more than 500% in just two years. Not because of a short-term disruption, but because climate volatility, disease, and supply concentration are fundamentally destabilizing the crop. For manufacturers, that instability shows up immediately in margins, forecasting, and long-term risk. When infrastructure breaks, it forces entire industries to change how they operate.
Chocovate Labs is building a cocoa-free chocolate designed for industrial use. It performs like traditional chocolate, integrates into existing manufacturing, and gives food companies a stable path forward in a system that's no longer stable.
I want the audience to leave recognizing that the future of chocolate is already being rewritten and understanding that the most valuable work now is helping build what comes next.”
Kimberley Hiebert of Door Gurus
Door Gurus operates a specialized door service franchise across Canada, focusing on repair, installation, and maintenance for residential and commercial clients through a mobile, service-oriented approach.
"What I want the audience to take away is that we are standing at the forefront of real change in the trades industry. This space is no longer reserved for men, it is opening up into one of the largest wealth building opportunities of our time, with billions of dollars flowing through skilled trades, home services, and infrastructure every year.
As a woman founder in the trades, I’m living proof of what’s possible. I’m not just running a company, I’m helping redefine what leadership looks like in an industry that’s been closed off for far too long. Women bring strength, precision, strategy, and heart into this work. Those qualities belong on job sites, in boardrooms, and in ownership. The trades are experiencing a massive shift. Demand is growing. Skilled labour is in short supply. Technology is making businesses easier to scale. For women willing to step into this space, the opportunity is enormous. This is how new legacies are built, through trade-based businesses that create income, impact, and independence.
I’m blazing a trail for the next generation of women tradespeople who want more than a job. We’re building companies, growing teams, and creating wealth that will support our families and communities for decades. The next wave of millionaires and billionaires will include women who chose to lead in the trades."
Sherry Zhao of Kalino Bio
Kalino Bio is an emerging biotechnology company developing a non-surgical alternative to traditional spay and neuter procedures for dogs and cats, with a focus on safer, more accessible fertility control.
“I want the audience to see that there's a better way forward for pet population control: one that's non-surgical, accessible, and still delivers the health benefits pet owners want. This isn't just about innovation; it's about expanding access to care for pets whose owners face financial, logistical, or emotional barriers to surgery.
As an immigrant who came to Canada as a student, I've built my career and my company here because of the incredible ecosystem and support for innovation. I want to see Canada at the forefront of biotech breakthroughs like this. I hope people leave excited about what we're building and ready to help us bring this solution to the world, starting right here.”
Adelyn Ho of LaBratory Bras
LaBratory Bras designs post-surgical bras that combine medical functionality with aesthetic appeal, including its “Surgical Couture Bra” line offered direct-to-consumer and through wholesale partnerships with medical clinics.
“LaBratory Bras began with a very human moment. Standing with patients after life-changing breast surgery, it became clear that even when the operation was successful, recovery often felt uncomfortable, impersonal, and overlooked. Patients had undergone a significant and often life-changing procedure, but they were sent home in something that did not reflect the quality of care they had just received. LaBratory Bras was created to change that experience. It is a patient-inspired, surgeon-led solution designed to support women not only physically, but emotionally, during recovery.
This is not just about a bra. It is about restoring comfort and confidence at a vulnerable moment, and doing so in a way that can reach far beyond a single clinic or operating room. Breast surgery is increasingly common across both reconstructive and aesthetic care, creating a large and consistent need for better recovery solutions. By addressing a universal yet underserved part of the surgical journey with thoughtful design, simplified sizing, and clinician insight, LaBratory Bras has the foundation to scale meaningfully while staying deeply patient-focused.”
Eugenia Dadzie of MetaCycler Bioinnovations Inc.
MetaCycler Bioinnovations Inc. engineers bacteria to convert dairy waste into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), creating 100% biodegradable plastic alternatives, and collaborates with Dairy Farmers of Ontario to scale the solution.
“I hope the audience takes away that rigorous research, when paired with thoughtful execution, can be a powerful driver of real-world solutions. Many of today's biggest challenges, including plastic pollution, are complex and cannot be solved by technology or business alone. They require interdisciplinary approaches that combine scientific depth with market awareness and operational discipline.
My pitch reflects how MetaCycler was built at the intersection of microbiology, engineering, and entrepreneurship. What began as academic research has been intentionally shaped into a commercial venture, not by simplifying the problem, but by engaging directly with its constraints, including cost, scalability, and adoption. This journey demonstrates that research-led companies can move beyond the lab and into the market while remaining grounded in responsibility and impact.
I also hope the audience sees that innovation does not always mean reinventing entire systems. By designing materials that work within existing manufacturing infrastructure and by turning waste into value, MetaCycler shows how thoughtful innovation can align environmental goals with economic realities. Ultimately, I want the audience to leave with a renewed appreciation for how interdisciplinary research can translate into scalable, practical solutions that address global challenges.”
Vanessa Tynes of MySelfRep.com™
MySelfRep.com™ is a Canadian legal-tech SaaS platform that helps self-represented individuals navigate family law using a plain-language intake system and clause libraries to assemble agreements and provincial court forms.
“I want the audience to leave with three things: clarity on the problem, confidence in the solution, and a sense of how far this can go. Family court paperwork is a bottleneck. When people can't navigate forms and rules, cases stall, costs explode, and families stay stuck during an already brutal chapter of life. MySelfRep.com is a practical fix. We turn a confusing, high-stakes process into a guided, jurisdiction-specific pathway that helps people generate the agreements and court forms they need with confidence without thousands of dollars upfront.
I also want them to understand the scale. This isn't just legal tech; it's access-to-justice infrastructure that can reach millions, especially when delivered through the trusted organizations people already turn to in crisis.”
Randa Mudathir of NovaSonix Healthcare Inc.
NovaSonix Healthcare Inc. developed MSKNovaVue™, a 3D ultrasound attachment that turns standard ultrasound machines into real-time 3D scanners for musculoskeletal imaging, bringing MRI-level diagnostic insight to the point of care.
“More than anything, I hope the audience walks away with an understanding of the real clinical pain point we're solving. Today, patients wait weeks or months for MRI scans that could be replaced with faster, accessible imaging at the point of care. With NovaSonix Healthcare, clinicians can obtain MRI-level insight in seconds using the ultrasound equipment they already own. We've validated our technology against MRI, launched in-hospital pilots, and built a platform designed specifically for MSK but expandable to additional use cases.
My hope is that the audience sees how transformational this is for patients, clinicians, and health systems—and recognizes NovaSonix as the team driving that change.”
Yoobin Lee of Quip Medical
Quip Medical is an AI-powered platform focused on physician billing and workflow, automatically recording, transcribing, and summarizing patient consultations while extracting optimized billing codes.
“I want the audience to walk away with a clear understanding of just how broken and costly billing is for physicians, especially in Ontario. OHIP billing is complex, time-consuming, and constantly changing. Doctors who are perceived to earn six figures often take home barely half once overhead, staff, and clinic costs are accounted for. On top of that, unoptimized billing and poor roster reconciliation quietly cost physicians tens of thousands of dollars every year—money they have already earned but never captured. This hits newer family medicine graduates the hardest, many of whom enter practice with little to no OHIP experience and thin financial margins.
Doctors see 30+ patients a day. They are interrupted, rushed, and forced to choose between staying on schedule and billing accurately. As a result, work goes unbilled, care gets delayed, and burnout accelerates. With an influx of new physicians unfamiliar with OHIP (particularly from the U.S. and Quebec) and a major FHO+ overhaul coming in April 2026, the pressure is only increasing.
My hope is that people see it is time to remove billing from the exam room so doctors can focus on patients, not paperwork, and actually get paid for the care they provide.”
Amy Yang and Chloe Doesburg of SeaFoam Materials
SeaFoam Materials is developing carbon-negative building insulation made from seaweed, with a mission to replace high-emission insulation materials with a regenerative alternative that stores carbon and reduces the construction industry’s climate impact.
“We hope the audience leaves with a clear understanding that buildings are one of the biggest contributors to climate change, and that this also makes them one of the biggest opportunities for impact. Our goal at SeaFoam Materials is to turn construction into a climate solution by rethinking the materials we use to build new homes.
We're starting with insulation, the second highest emitting construction material after concrete hidden in the walls of our homes. By redesigning it to store carbon rather than emit it, we're working to decarbonize the built environment in a way that is highly scalable.
We also want people to see business as a powerful tool for good. When impact is designed directly into the product, growth becomes regenerative supporting healthier homes, stronger local supply chains, and a healthier planet. This is what ‘doing good for everyone’ looks like in practice: climate solutions that are tangible, investable, and built into everyday life.
Ultimately, we want people to leave understanding that climate progress doesn't have to be abstract or distant. It can be built directly into the places we live; when we choose materials that work for people, communities, and the planet at the same time.”
Ten Years Proved What's Possible, Now, We're Leading What's Next
These businesses and the incredible women entrepreneurs behind them aren’t just building products and platforms—they’re creating practical solutions for real constraints. Some are working inside existing infrastructure, including manufacturing lines, clinics, and court systems. While others are creating what’s been missing, such as research, recovery design, and materials innovation. But they all share a common thread: translating insight into action that benefits us all.
That’s why The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch matters. For ten years, it’s helped entrepreneurs bring clarity to high-stakes ideas, connect with funders and experts, and take the next step toward growth.
If you’re following from anywhere in Canada, keep watching these Semi-Finalists! Share their work, follow them on social media, and help them champion the solutions you want to see in the world. Together, we can create a future where all entrepreneurs have access to the knowledge, capital, and connections they need to enact meaningful change.
You can support The Forum in providing and expanding critical programming like The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch to women across Canada by making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or volunteering.