We’re Building the Largest
Community of Young Entrepreneurs
9/10 startups fail
so we built a zero cost, zero equity startup accelerator
to help you become the 1/10 that win
We've Been Around The Block...
Don't Know Our Alumni? Let's Introduce You:
Tara Bosch
Smartsweets Founder
Tara Bosch joined LOI with a dream to build a candy brand that kicked sugar. In 2020, she sold a majority stake of her business for over $400M CAD
Taran and Bunny Ghatora
Blume Cofounders
These two sisters have made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and raised a $3.3M Seed round in just one month. Blume’s expanded to 1400 doors in just 2 years
Matt Smith
Truss Founder
After LOI, Matt got into Y Combinator and received multiple awards. Today, Truss operates processing millions of dollars/year for their customers
Michelle Kwok
Co-Founder of FLIK
Michelle spotted a gap in the mentorship world. So she came to LOI and cofounded a female mentorship network called FLIK before having it acquired
Paige Sandher
CouchHaus Cofounder
BC Business 30 under 30 winner and a Peak 2024 Emerging Leader, Paige’s full time focus is now scaling a DTC furniture brand called CouchHaus
Maxwell Nicholson
CEO of Blossom
His McKinsey job wasn’t cutting it, So Max cofounded Blossom Social, one of the fastest growing fintech apps for connecting millennials and their investments. They just raised $500K in 24 hours
Lily Harper
Lily Lou Aromas Founder
This 10 year old founder has scaled to 500,000+ followers on social media and was featured by the President of Shopify and has Taylor Swift as a customer.
Nadia Ladak
Marlow Cofounder and CEO
Nadia’s been featured in 100+ outlets including Globe and Mail, CNN and Forbes. On top of that, she and her team pitched Marlow on CBC Dragon’s Den
Valerie Song
FE Ventures
Val built a cool countertop herb growing device to disrupt the world of agriculture. She’s now building F3, a female focused investment fund for founders in blockchain
Anastasia Kiku
Reusables Cofounder
Forbes 30 under 30 recipient and cofounder at Reusables.com – a software making it easier for businesses to eliminate single use packaging. They work with Disney, Walmart, Sobeys and Sodexo
Brittany Charlton
OhFoods Founder
Building Ohh! Foods, an Allergen-Friendly, Vegan, and Gluten-Free range of snacks. She’s secured partnerships with Walmart, Whole Foods and has been named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list
Lily Bond
Spyce Girls Seasoning Founder
Visionary and operator behind Spyce Girlz, a taco seasoning line that’s taking Ontario by storm with press mentions by CTV, Breakfast Television, Ottawa Business Journal and many more
Sam Park
Joybox Founder (Acquired by Gamelancer)
Started a company called JoyBox, an entertainment network that provides a platform for celebrities, athletes, and creators which was acquired by Gamelancer.
“There’s NEVER been a BETTER time to
be an entrepreneur” - Ryan Holmes
Taylor Swift sang her first song at age 10,
Mr. Beast uploaded his first Youtube video at 13,
Mark Zuckerberg started building Facebook in his dorm room at 19.
Why are you waiting to start something until your older?
League of Innovators, or LOI as our alumni call it, is Canada’s largest Startup Accelerator for entrepreneurs under 30.
Through our unique charity structure, we’re able to provide a range of free programs, mentorship, pitch competitions and peer forums to any founder hungry to scale their startup.
We know young founders are busy and tight on cash.
So our accelerator is 100% virtual and has no cost (thanks to the help of our sponsors like RBC and SAP).
Our Founders have been featured in
Listen To What Some of Our LOI Alumni Are Saying
Sukh
engyne.ai
Being a founder is a long and difficult journey. The more you can surround yourself with other founders, you expand your learnings, skillsets, odds of success 10x. Lucky to have LOI making this happen in Canada.
Varun Sharma
Co-founder and CTO of Ad Auris
LOI was key in my entrepreneurial journey. I joined their summer bootcamp with just a spark of an idea and I gained the confidence that I could do this. Through their programs like foundations, and Labs, I gained the skills to validate my concept, build a revenue-generating startup, and eventually secure $1M in funding by the time we made it all the way to a LOI Boost residency. The mentorship, multi-year friendships I’ve built, and the community LOI fosters have been so supportive to say the least at every stage we have made it so far!
Donald Lee
Co-founder of Provent
As a full-time student passionate about entrepreneurship, the workshops, resources, and network LOI has provided over the past 3 months has helped me progress through school and my entrepreneurship journey. Not only has LOI equipped me with the skills and knowledge I need to validate and start a successful startup, it has also equipped me with a long-lasting community I can easily reach out to anytime I need help! I would highly recommend LOI to any aspiring entrepreneurs out there interested in starting their own startup and meeting like-minded individuals!
Salena Dhillon
Creative Cravings
Labs 11 will always hold a special place in my heart. I had the privilege of meeting numerous fellow entrepreneurs on a similar path, and being part of such a supportive community was truly heartwarming. Throughout the program, I gained invaluable insights into the intricacies of running a business, which complemented my university education in ways I hadn’t expected. I genuinely wish I could have the opportunity to participate again! What made Labs even more special was the fantastic team that organized it – their passion and expertise really stood out.
Spencer Lamirand
Saucy Bean
Connecting with the League of Innovators was transformational for us as entrepreneurs. Their focus on founders, rather than ventures, has helped us grow our network and learn about business outside our bubble. Nothing but good things to say about this small-but-mighty team!
Matt Parkin
Mornings With Matt Consulting
Joining the LOI community was one of the best decisions I’ve made. You get to surround yourself with like minded founders and learn tangible strategies you can implement immediately to take your personal growth and your business to the next level.
LOI’s Made Possible By These Partners
SAP
Government of Canada
SAP
Microsoft
Osler
New Avenue Capital
Hootsuite
BEBC
Baker Tilly
Ebay Foundation
Volition
TELUS Foundation
Frequently asked questions
it’s free! Thanks to our corporate partners and the generous financial donations of others, we’re able to fund our team and programming efforts to offer free “no barrier” access to any young founders across Canada under the age of 30 and been doing that since 2017.
none. We’re not like YC or the others. We don’t take any equity for you joining.The only thing we ask our founders to sign is a code of conduct form that includes the first right of refusal for LOI Venture, the VC fund partner of LOI Accelerator, to invest into your startup if you choose to raise.
Ryan Holmes, the founder of Hootsuite, started LOI in 2017 of hte side of his desk since there was no entrepreneurial mentorship program for young people in Canada?
League of Innovators. Why League of Innovators? Because we’re trying to create a “league” or group of super founders under the age of 30.
all of our programming is virtual. Each of our staff work remote across Canada from BC to Nova Scotia and beyond. However, we do host lots of events in major cities across the country for you to meet in person.
LOI has three different levels of programming:
Launch it – A year-round program with 6 learning modules you can complete at your own pace. This program is specifically designed for entrepreneurs who have an idea and want to focus on completing their problem and customer discovery research.
Labs – A 12-week programs that take place twice per year, once in the fall and once in the Spring.’ Labs’ consists of AMA’s with industry-leading entrepreneurs, masterclasses from the LOI team and community partners and community engagement activities. It is specifically designed to benefit founders who have an MVP and are actively working on their product market fit.
Boost – A one-year residency for full-time entrepreneurs who are focused on the transition within their venture from the “Head of Product” to the “Head of Team.” The program will help you grow as a leader and teach you valuable skills to help you continue to manage a scaling company.
Via our slack network or by emailing your cohort lead
One is a startup accelerator (LOI Accelerator) and one is a venture fund (LOI Venture). One operates as a charity to accelerator young founders via programming and mentorship. The other operates as a private entity to invest in alumni out of the startup accelerator.
By joining the venture stream of LOI Accelerator and learning more about the process by which LOI Venture reviews their investment opportunities
LOI is funded via corporate partnerships and generous donations through our national partners and local partners. These brands include RBC, SAP, Fasken, Osler, Baker Tilly and many others. To inquire about sponsoring LOI, email melissa@theleagueofinnovators.com melissa@theleagueofinnovators.com
All of them! As long as they are in Canada and the founder is 30(ish) or under
Email rob@theleagueofinnovators.com to ask our Rob Ironside our Head of Programming any further questions. He answers every email that enters his inbox.