Hey Founders,

Happy September: sweater weather is here, the kiddos are back in school, and we’re chopping it up with the President of Shopify (Harley Freaking Finkelstein) in 48 hours (sign up if you haven’t already). It’s not like he runs a $200B company with 8,000 staff or anything. Oh, and we dropped our finalists for our Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. There may or may not have been a few late nights the last couple of weeks for our team. But it’s for the founders.

So we buckle the heck up, order some Uber Eats sushi to the door and get the job done. Cuz that’s how we roll.

P.S. Use promo code: “SEPTEMBER” at checkout to get a little discount code

🥁 Today’s Menu:

• 🏆 Meet the YEY 2025 21 finalists

• 🛒 RSVP to our fireside chat with Harley Finkelstein

• 🙏 Thanks to our amazing 27 judges who helped with YEY

• 🎟️ Sign up for our YEY event on Oct 22nd in Winnipeg

🎉 Thanks to Our Partners

We would be nowhere if it weren’t for our incredible partners helping us pull off this Young Entrepreneur of the Year event. Those names are:

• Manitoba Innovates

• TD 

• Osler

• Futurpreneur

• Boast

• And so many more

📰 Now Let’s Meet the YEY Finalists

Our 2025 Finalists Are:

Aileen, BeBlended
Anim Ward, Ego Experiments
Ankur Boyed, Boardy.ai
Annika Ng, Blossom Social
Francesca Albo, PUPPY SPHERE
Imam Khalid, SellStatic
Jaiya Varshney, Tydra Labs
James Quinn, Larry's Catch
Jason B. Ramsay, Nodalli Technologies
Jennifer Côté, Opalia
Jessica Nguyen, BAK'D Cookies
Keenan Beavis, Longhouse Branding & Marketing
Lianna Genovese, ImaginAble Solutions
Georgiy Sekretaryuk, Overdrive
Nanette Sene, Juno Technologies
Rashmi Prakash, Aruna Revolution
Sydney Robinson, Vessl Prosthetics Inc
Timur M., Combat IQ
Vida Gabriel (Ph.D), Terrafixing

And a huge thanks to our amazing judges who helped to curate this list of finalists:

- Chris Neumann
- Tara Bosch
- Siri Agrell
- Kayla Isabelle
- Philippe von Borries
- Angela Robertson
- Ron Gorodetsky
- Jacqueline Jennings 
- Jeff Ward
- Ethan Clark
- Kirsten Koppang Telford
- Janet Bannister
- Mai Tuyet Trinh
- Tyler Nee
- Jackee Kasandy
- Tefari Bailey
- Jill Robinson
- Amanda Lo

Now it’s time to go get your tickets for Oct 22 in Winnipeg, where we’ll offically announce the winners live on stage.

Coming Up Next: Our Fireside Chat with Hootsuite Founder Ryan Holmes and Shopify President Harley Finkelstein

🇨🇦 Apply to #StandWithOwners Contest

Our pals at TELUS are doing something special this month.

Enter for a chance to win* $200,000 in prizing.

Time is running out to apply to TELUS’ small business contest for a chance to win* funding, technology and exposure.

TELUS Business is looking for business owners who have Made it in Canada. The innovators who built their dream and found their team here. The owners who made it with the support of their community, as a product of Canada.

Applications close September 3 - in just two weeks.

🎈Get Your Tickets to YEY Award Night

P.S. Use promo code: “SEPTEMBER” at checkout to get a little discount code

See ya soon

Much love,

The LOI Fam

P.S. hit reply and tell us your highlights of September (personal or startup) if you see this.