International Women’s Day: AC:Incubate+ & DGBS Showcase

Celebrate the growth, resilience, and bold thinking of founders graduating from the AC: Incubate+ and Disrupting Gender Bias in Startups (DGBS) programs at our upcoming showcase.

Over the past six months, early-stage founders have transformed ambitious ideas into real ventures, building traction, sharpening their strategies, and stepping into leadership with clarity and confidence. This showcase marks the culmination of that work and the next chapter for each company.

The AC:Incubate+ program is grounded in the belief that strong companies are built through intentional, high-touch support. Through tailored mentorship, milestone-based guidance, and specialized training, founders receive what they need to validate ideas, build momentum, and prepare for long-term growth. The result is not only stronger ventures, but a more resilient and capable innovation ecosystem.

The Disrupting Gender Bias in Startups (DGBS) program addresses the systemic barriers that continue to shape who gets access, visibility, and opportunity in entrepreneurship. By centering the lived experiences of women and gender-diverse founders, the program creates space for norm deconstruction, collective visioning, and leadership development, equipping participants to build ventures that challenge the status quo and contribute to a more equitable economy.

This year’s showcase takes place alongside International Women’s Day, offering a timely moment to reflect on how equity, access, and shared responsibility show up in practice. The theme, Give to Gain, mirrors what we see across both programs: when time, knowledge, and opportunity are invested intentionally, founders—and the ecosystem around them—move further, faster.

What to Expect

• Founder stories that highlight growth, challenge, and key inflection points
• Insights into how targeted support shaped each venture’s journey
• A look at what’s next for graduating companies
• A celebration of inclusive innovation, leadership, and collective progress

Agenda

• 9:30 am  | Doors open
• 9:45 pm  | Opening Remarks
• 9:55 am – 10:15 am | Panel discussion of founders from the AC:Incubate+ program featuring Emily Tell, Shreyonshi Bharat, Yvonne Ip, and Elaine Liu
• 10:15 am – 10:35 am | DGBS Impact with Anna Jones, DGBS Program Manager
• 10:35 am – 10:50 AM |  To Give to Gain Workshop featuring Christianna Chow
• 10:50 am – 11:30 am | Networking & Showcase floor

Speakers

Christianna Chow

Christianna Chow is the Co-Founder of Octopodi Technologies and a passionate educator, mentor, and startup leader focused on making the future of tech learning more human, equitable, and meaningful. She is graduating from AC:Incubate+, Accelerator Centre’s flagship program supporting high-potential founders as they scale their ventures.

At Octopodi Technologies, Christianna is on a mission to transform how coding is taught and learned in academic institutions. Built by educators for educators, Octopodi combines automated code analysis with instructor expertise to help professors deliver more value-driven feedback, track student competency development, and significantly reduce the time spent grading. By shifting the focus from simply whether code “works” to how students think, problem-solve, and grow, Octopodi helps instructors teach more—and helps students learn with greater confidence.

Christianna’s leadership is grounded in human-centered technology, empowerment through ownership, and purpose-driven impact. Beyond building Octopodi, she has mentored students and founders through programs like BETS, teaching and venture coaching, and continues to champion learning environments where mistakes are welcomed, diverse voices are elevated, and emerging talent is trusted to take on real responsibility.

Emily Tell

Emily Tell is the Owner and CEO of IdeaTilt, a company that helps organizations thrive through clear, practical approaches to AI, cybersecurity, and modern ways of working. With more than 20 years of experience across digital strategy, project and program management, people change management, cybersecurity awareness, and security framework alignment, Emily specializes in helping businesses and teams adapt to disruptive technology change with simple, proven techniques.

Emily has led global technology and transformation initiatives across enterprise, SMB, and startup environments—supporting teams in more than 20 countries and multiple languages. Her work has driven major adoption and engagement outcomes, including an award-winning learning initiative recognized as the Winner of the LinkedIn Talent Award for Learning (Companies over 10K employees) in 2022, as well as large-scale increases in platform adoption, communications engagement, and operational efficiency.

At IdeaTilt, Emily and her team focus on moving organizations from complex to simple—building AI-powered procedures, human-in-the-loop workflows, and sustainable governance models that reduce risk while increasing capability. Her work is grounded in a belief that AI and security should feel achievable without hype, jargon, or risky shortcuts—and that the best transformation happens when people feel informed, empowered, and confident.

Shreyonshi Bharat

Shreyonshi Bharat is the Founder and CEO of Saaga Events, a B2B SaaS company reimagining how professional networking works at in-person and virtual events. Drawing on her background as an event planner, Shreyonshi is building the next generation of AI-powered software designed to fix the broken systems event teams rely on—addressing challenges like inefficient networking, poor data capture, and the lack of measurable ROI for organizers and attendees.

At Saaga Events, Shreyonshi leads the development of a smart, data-driven platform that streamlines networking and lead qualification through intentional matching, real-time insights, and inclusive design. The technology reduces bias and fragmentation while helping event organizers, conference hosts, and corporate teams maximize engagement, improve attendee experience, and clearly demonstrate value to stakeholders.

As a South Asian woman founder with lived experience navigating exclusion in professional spaces, Shreyonshi brings a deep commitment to equity and inclusion into both the product and the company’s mission. She is currently in active research mode, engaging directly with event planners across corporate, academic, and organizational settings to ensure Saaga is built on real workflows, real constraints, and real-world pressure—earning trust when it matters most.

Yvonne Ip

Yvonne Ip is the Founding Director of Arise Architects Co-operative, Canada’s first architectural practice operating as a worker-owned co-operative. With more than two decades of experience in architectural practice, Ivonne has worked across a wide range of project types and is well-versed in every phase of the design and delivery process. She brings deep expertise in leading government-funded and regulated projects, with a strong track record of guiding complex and innovative developments through planning approvals, including the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

Beyond her professional practice, Ivonne is also an accomplished artist whose work has been exhibited across Canada and the United States and is held in both public and private collections. She is deeply engaged in the cultural and societal impact of architecture through community initiatives such as the City of Kitchener Public Art Working Group, Queen’s Green Community Garden, and the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable. Ivonne has also held leadership roles within organizations, including the Trillium Waldorf School and the Grand Valley Society of Architects (GVSA), where she currently serves as Continuing Education Coordinator.

A graduate of the Disrupting Gender Bias in Startups (DGBS) Program, Ivonne is passionate about reimagining how firms can operate—building a collaborative, project-centric culture that prioritizes community, care, and meaningful design.

Elaine Liu

Elaine Liu is the Chief Executive Officer of Infinity9 Cycle Corp, a Toronto-based company transforming agricultural waste into fully biodegradable promotional products and packaging. Through innovative, PLA-based materials and ongoing R&D, Infinity9 Cycle helps businesses replace plastic with affordable, high-quality sustainable alternatives—ranging from biodegradable coffee mugs and tableware to reusable bags and food film that naturally decomposes in under six months.

Elaine is also a proud participant in the Disrupting Gender Bias in Startups (DGBS) Program, where she has championed inclusive leadership and gender equity in entrepreneurship. As she shares, “To me, feminism means supporting equality and fairness between all genders… It’s about ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities, rights, and respect, regardless of gender.” Her work reflects a commitment to building a healthier planet—and a more equitable startup ecosystem—through innovation, community partnerships, and purpose-driven leadership.