Early Stage Journal | Uncovering Innovators to Watch

Synthetic raises $10M USD in seed funding to build “the Shopify for software companies,” starting with fully autonomous accounting

The round was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Basis Set Ventures, Tobi Lütke, Kaz Nejatian, Zach Abrams, Cosmin Nicolaescu, and Michael…

May 14 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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March 2026

How Vancouver’s Collabstr became the world's largest influencer marketplace

Inside the journey of how BCIT classmates-turned-co-founders, Clayton Rannard and Kyle Dulay, bootstrapped the business to eight figures in revenue and…

Mar 12 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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February 2026

How Vancouver’s Cache Depot is reinventing the self-storage industry

The startup’s model and app ditch the decades-old system that sets the highest prices in Canada with hidden fees and builds on land that could otherwise…

Feb 10 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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January 2026

BuildnChill launches its first women-only edition

Inside the event creating community for Gen Z female builders in Canada, and how organizer Sarah Simionescu built and exited her first startup Salesbop.

Jan 5 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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December 2025

Inside Triple X.O.G.’s origin story: From zero experience to 35 iterations and a Dragons’ Den deal

Founders Felix Chen and Rudy Pham open up about their journey of reviving a Hong Kong staple and how it became one of B.C.’s top-selling ready-to-drink…

Dec 9, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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October 2025

"We never thought we’d get into retail": How OHME! built one of North America’s fastest-growing freeze-dried snacks

Founders Jenny and Han Yue reflect on the trial and erorr and lessons that grew the brand from a single stall to 450 stores—and gave them the courage to…

Oct 31, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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Indigenous Venture Challenge is driving more capital into Indigenous-led ventures

Led by Indigenous investors, the initiative is backing founders with an alternative to traditional VC—rooted in “reciprocity, shared success, and what’s…

Oct 22, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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Canada’s "Grant Angel" is building the ‘Spotify’ of grant funding

Founder Stephanie Sang shares her journey of becoming the go-to expert, creating a platform to match businesses with grants, and advice for early stage…

Oct 17, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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Vancouver’s Pawsible Ventures Launches $10M Fund and Venture Studio

Canada’s first firm of its kind is creating “the next generation of animal-wellness companies.”

Oct 9, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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How Vancouver’s AllScale is pioneering stablecoin solutions for SMBs

Founder Shawn Pang shares the startup’s journey from an MVP running on spreadsheets to raising $1.5 million in pre-seed funding from Draper Dragon…

Oct 3, 2025 • Early Stage Journal and Lisa Tanh

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