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R TNEC NO I TAV OITAVO ON N I E NNI’D E HT R TNEC EL EASTERN XXXXXX 2021 ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL SPRING 2022
THE INNOVATION CENTRE LE CENTRE D’INNOVATION
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Launch Lab’s investor synergies
The regional innovation centre is now working closely with the Southeastern Ontario Angel Network to continue to spark economic growth in the region.
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obin Vincent is the brains behind Canobi, an agri-tech company that builds indoor farm management systems and Bob Huggins is a Launch Lab entrepreneur-in-residence who has been providing business mentorship to Vincent. Today, with Launch Lab’s help, Canobi has an angel investment and contracts across Canada and the U.S. as well as Portugal, Uzbekistan, the Middle East and Africa.
Canobi is a perfect example of how Launch Lab’s Amplify program and its partnership with the Southeastern Ontario Angel Network (SOAN) are working together to help companies with high growth potential scale their operations. Launch Lab is a regional innovation centre that supports growth companies with whatever business advice they may need. CEO Scott Runte describes the Amplify program as
Launch Lab’s “deeper-dive mentorship program” and it’s where the centre commits a significant amount of its resources, by supporting clients in their growth strategies. “In many cases, these are companies that have more than $1 million in revenue and they’re trying to accelerate their growth,” Runte says. “or they are earlystage technology companies that are approaching equity investors or angels to
raise capital to really begin to fuel their growth.” Launch Lab has been making its relationship with SOAN a strategic focus as it works to catalyze innovation in Eastern Ontario. After all, Launch Lab brings the mentorship strength to the table while SOAN offers access to investors who are open to making investments in early-stage growth companies.