Hey Founders,

We’re back. And we’re v sorry for being on vacay for way too long. Summer flew by insanely quick and before we knew it, it was PSL season at Starbs ☕️

But we’re back at our desk, Sabrina Carpenter is playin’ on our Spotify and we’ve got one heck of a newsletter ready for ya.

📰 It's October: Blundstones are in. 91% of you are youtubing “how to cook a thanksgiving turkey”. OpenAI just raised $6.6B. LOI Labs Batch 13 is on week 2. Everyone’s scheming their Halloween plans. You’re debating whether to binge the latest dragon’s den episodes or watch Emily in Paris. Jack from Clio raised $900m (Canadian Record). And Freaky Friday 2 is coming out next year.

Think we’re bluffing, click below amigo.

Now top up your PSL and let’s get to the goods. 👇

📰 Latest News in the Startup World

• 💸 LOI Alumni, Sam Altman, raised a sh*t ton of money for OpenAI

• 🔥 We kicked off Labs batch 13

• 😳 Founder wins of the month

• 🍾 NEW partnership with Osler

• ☎️ Boost 2025 applications are coming soon

Got some good news we need to hear about? We’re all ears. Just click below.

🔥 We kicked off Labs batch 13

The LOI Slack group is growing and the Zoom calls are firing on all cylinders. Labs Batch 13 has officially launched 🍾

Here’s some of the faces from the Labs 13 Batfch

• 🗺 Kushank Aggarwal and Natik Aggarwal are building MapThis: an AI-powered mind-mapping tool for visual learners.

• 🕯 Sam Chai is building Humankind: Dual layered candles. It’s like getting two scoops of different-flavoured ice cream in one cup! 

• 💪 Jake Guy and Arry Pandher are scaling Arrow Supplements - A modern wellness brand focused on providing high-quality, certified clean supplements at affordable prices.

• 🇨🇦 Ella Farlinger and  Serina Ahmad are building Trusti Diagnostics Inc -  The first widely-circulated at-home testing kit for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Canada. Trusti kits enable Canadians to test at home while being connected to nurse practitioners for efficient test-to-treatment care. 

• 💡 Rochelle Mueller and Derek Douglas are building TrueTraining - which is improving government agencies' training processes by delivering adaptive learning solutions that are personalized to each department and employee's needs, ensuring the training is both relevant and future-focused.

We’re hosting meetups in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto shortly to welcome them into the LOI mafia. So if yo’ure in the area and wanna join, drop us a line by clicking below.

😳 LOI Founder Wins of the Month

• Diana hung out with Jason Bourne (pics to prove it)

• Marissa from Spontivly pitched at the INBOUND conference

• We saw CBC Dragons, Arlene and Brian, in Vancouver at a VIP event

• Spare raised $42M Series B

• Benny kicked off on their Amazon announcement

• Blume launched a new sunscreen product

• Daniel Dubois is looking to hire a chief of staff [reply if you want an intro]

• New meetup in Toronto and Vancouver are happening later this month [rsvp here]

🍾 NEW partnership with Osler

Say hello to our latest national legal partner: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP!

• Why? To offer the best legal care to our community across the country.

• Who? Osler has earned a reputation of being a trusted go-to partner for startups.

• Think we’re bluffing? They’re the only law firm ranked Band 1 in Startups & Emerging Companies by Chambers Canada and act for more than 1,500 early, growth and late-stage ventures and venture investors across Canada, the United States and around the world.

• And do you wanna know the best part? Osler has generously offered to participate in sessions and provide special rates to our 1,600 founders and alumni for all things related to starting and sailing a startup.

Want to meet with someone from Osler about a startup question? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll introduce you right away.

🎉 YEY Update

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we've decided to push back the YEY 2024 event date, which was originally planned for November 8th.

• We are in the process of selecting a new date and will be in touch once it has been finalized.

• Your fantastic nominations are what make the YEY Awards so special. Rest assured, all existing nominations will remain valid (as long as they were valid at the time of nomination) and will continue to be a vital part of our upcoming event.

• If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thanks for your understanding and continued support.

We're thrilled to have you with us on this journey and look forward to celebrating together in 2025!

👀 Swipes of the Month:

Your startup bestie-boos,

💙 The LOI Fam

P.S. drop us a follow on IG. You bet your bottom dollar we follow back.

P.S.S. If this newsletter made you laugh, cry or think differently about your startup, share it w/ a friend.