Following community feedback, the revamped awards use the new Innovation Hub to refocus on founders.
This year's updated edition of the Montréal Startup Community Awards recognized the founders, mentors and people working behind the scenes at the brand new innovation hub. built to reconnect the city's dispersed startup scene.
The awards ceremony, organized by the non-profit organization ElanTech with corporate and government sponsors, took place Thursday evening at Ax.c, which is now the de facto home of Montreal tech after closing of Notman House. The 10 nomination categories recognized outstanding founders, mentors and behind-the-scenes operators, in what organizers said was a deliberate attempt to listen to community feedback and make the event more founder-centric.
“As a community, we are ambitious by nature, so we tend to always look ahead to our next goal; 2025 really feels like a turning point year for Montreal.”
Last year, some ecosystem players condemned the supposed accent about provincial government-backed incubators and accelerators as the stars of the show. In the release, ElanTech chief executive Simran Kanda said she aimed to bring attention to people who go unnoticed.
“One of the things we wanted to do differently was [ask]: How can we make it more about people and less about organizations and programs?” Kanda stated this in an interview with BetaKit after the ceremony.
Kanda also said that they renamed the “winners” to “laureates” to make the event less of a competition and more of a celebration.
Several participants told BetaKit that they felt this year's event did a good job of showcasing the contributions of individuals. Claude Théoret, senior advisor for artificial intelligence (AI) at Deep Tech foundation Innovobot, expressed similar sentiments to BetaKit after the ceremony.
“I thought they did an amazing job tonight,” Theore said. “They really highlighted a lot of founders and people who never get noticed.”
Theore also received flowers from the Influential Legacy of the Year Award for his contributions spanning nearly two decades. A former astrophysicist, Théoré founded and left Nexology, one of the first artificial intelligence companies in Montreal that collected information from social media conversations and sold it to government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.
“I’ve been working in this ecosystem since it began back in 2008,” he said. “When I got out, I reinvested and, frankly, I’m very touched.”
Theore also co-led AI Salon, which was named Founder-Focused Initiative of the Year. The event series debuted in February and ran for 10 editions to bring founders, technologists and scientists working in the field of artificial intelligence together for evenings of pitching and networking. Innovobot marketing consultant Constance Jaluso, who Theoret said organized the event behind the scenes, was awarded Backbone Operator of the Year.
Three Montreal startups also received laurels: biomedical startup Nanofacile, wireless infrastructure startup Latys, and scalable travel content Stay22 (which also helped sponsor the event). Christian Levan, an analyst at Panache Ventures and co-founder of community initiative 555, received the Emerging Community Leader of the Year award.
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Gabriel Sundaram, resident founder and one of the supporters Notman's house needs to be saved was awarded the title of one of the “Mentors of the Year” before he was sold by court order.
“As a community, we are ambitious by nature, so we tend to always be looking ahead to our next goal,” Sundaram told BetaKit in a text message, “2025 really feels like a pivotal year for Montreal.”
Full list of Startup Community Awards winners
Mentor of the Year: Gabriel Sundaram and Doreen Bourke
Bridge Builder of the Year: Danica Virginia Meredith
Encore Founder of the Year: Paul Kruszewski and Virgil Olivier
Startup of the Year in a Growing Community: Latis and Nanofacile
New Public Leader of the Year: Christian Levan
Mainline Operator of the Year: Constance Jaluso and Patricio Gutierrez Mella
Woman Leader of the Year: Amina Sall
Impressive Legacy of the Year: Claude Théoret
Founder-focused Initiative of the Year: Salon AI
Community Champion of the Year Expansion: Stay22
All images courtesy of Eva Blue.
