FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2017
Cornwall Innovation Centre Announces First Participants in Lead To Win
Program
CORNWALL, ON – The Cornwall Innovation Centre is proud to announce that three ventures
were given "Green" ratings and are top contenders for the Lead To Win program.
“We were very impressed by the level of pitches,” said John Rattray, a member of the fourmember review panel and co-chair of the CIC’s Board of Directors. “It’s a sure sign of the
strength of ideas and the power of our local entrepreneurs.”
A total of eight participants from six ventures pitched their business plans to a review panel
made up of local business professionals including Rattray, Lesley Lang of the Community
Future Development Corporation, Gerry Benson of The Benson Group, and Tom Kaneb of
Gus-Kan ULC. Each entrepreneur had 20 minutes with the panel—10 minutes to present and
10 minutes to answer questions.
The pitches came from entrepreneurs in varied fields, including agri-tech, digital media,
consulting and tech. The review panel tallied results and rated each venture Green, Yellow or
Red.
“Green” ventures are now subject to a further and final review of their growth plans, and
successful candidates will be welcomed into Lead To Win. “Yellow” ventures were directed to
continue to build their business case and invited to return to pitch at future events. “Red”
ventures were alerted to deficiencies in their plans and advised to rework their approach.
The inaugural Venture Demo Day’s recommended “Green”-rated ventures include:

EVO WEIGH, a manufacturing company based out of Chesterville, ON, headed by
Hayley and Matt Cooke. The company has designed and will produce lightweight,
robust, modular weigh scales.

Smart Greens, based in Cornwall, ON, and presented by Eric Bergeron and Eric
Lang. The company is building a network of local hydroponic farmers growing fresh
greens in their respective communities across Canada and the United States.

A third entrepreneur with a consultancy based in Cornwall, ON. (Details cannot be
announced at this time.)
The CIC’s Lead To Win program is a unique offering in the region. It is modeled after
Carleton University’s LTW program, named one of the Top 10 accelerator programs in North
America, The three successful ventures will be guided to grow their businesses into
generating $1 million in revenue in their third year of operation. They will benefit from access
to high-level mentorship, capacity development events, early buyer support, funding, IT
support, co-working spaces at the NAV Centre and on-site wellness amenities.
The next Venture Demo Day is set for May 31, 2017.
-30About the Cornwall Innovation Centre
The CIC is an innovation ecosystem designed to ignite new ventures and high-growth
potential businesses. A wide range of incubator and accelerator activities and services—
including business coaching, keynote speaker presentations, shared workspaces and private
offices, and a Makerspace—are available at the centre and accessible to Lead To Win
participants.
cornwallinnovation.ca
For more information:
Chantal Tranchemontagne
Big Catch Communications
(613) 662-3498
Email: [email protected]