The Rhyze of Women-Led Businesses

As Canadian women-owned businesses have increased by 30% in the last decade, it is imperative that these entrepreneurs are provided with the support and resources they need to succeed. Since 2012, Innovation Guelph (IG)’s award-winning Rhyze® programming has assisted over 453 women-led businesses by providing networking opportunities, mentorship, and hands-on project work.

Initially, the Rhyze® Project identi ed the unique needs of women-identifying entrepreneurs. Through various interviews, it was evident that most of these entrepreneurs faced challenges with funding, nance, networking, and work-life balance. Armed with this fulsome data, IG’s team created dedicated programming to teach, coach and mentor women in business. Programs designed for women by women, an asset for many entrepreneurs in our region.

Over the years, IG’s Rhyze® programming, and the need for like programming has grown. Today, Rhyze® consists of two highly acclaimed programs; both with the objective of assisting women-identifying entrepreneurs. Rhyze® Ventures is a cohort-based program for small businesses, social enterprises, and scalable businesses, and has supported over 240 women-identifying businesses since 2020. Rhyze® Ventures clients are matched with mentors, coaches, and specialists to help grow their business. Participants can pitch for cash awards at the culmination of their cohort. In 2019, Rhyze®Up! National Accelerator was launched and has since supported 110 companies in seven provinces. This acceleration program was IG’s rst national program and was designed to help businesses with over $200,000 in annual revenue scale up. The program focuses on mentoring, project work, leadership coaching, and education.

In a world where entrepreneurs receive the same vague cookie-cutter advice, Shelly Pavlic states that, “Rhyze® helped us ask the hard questions, o ered guidance via quality local experts, and welcomed us into a supportive context of fellow new and newer entrepreneurs.” Shelly was a recent Rhyze® Ventures participant in FY 2022-2023 who has signi cantly grown her business, Midtown Counselling.

Rhyze® provides a space for entrepreneurs to build community and grow. Jennifer Pratt from Seeding Square was a participant in the Rhyze Up! program in FY 2021-2022. She sums up the bene ts of the program, saying it “has been an absolute gamechanger for business leadership skills, business acumen, and growth overall”. By way of Innovation Guelph’s Rhyze® programs, female entrepreneurs are equipped with scaling support, valuable connections, and of course, the ability to “Rhyze” above any challenges that come their way.

March Celebrations

MARCH 8, 2023: The 2023 IWD Guelph-Wellington International Women's Day Celebration.

MARCH 16, 2023: Innovation Guelph’s Rhyze & Shine Event