YSpace Blog

YSpace, York’s pan-university entrepreneurship hub, held one of its flagship events, the YSpace Technology Accelerator Demo Day, on the evening of Sep. 29th. At the invite only event, the top three startups in the accelerator program were awarded $30,000 total to be split among them, with AI technology startup NLPatent securing the top prize.

Five high performing finalists were chose from this year’s cohort of 15 startups to participate in the Technology Accelerator Demo Day: Cola’s Kitchen, NLPatent, Sn126, TechEasy and WayFast

The YSpace Technology Accelerator program is a 4-month intensive program focused on helping market-ready tech statups develop their growth playbook and capital strategies and helps tech startups gain access to dedicated mentorship from Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, growth coaches, and experts. They take part in workshop sprints, mastermind sessions to support their leadership developments, and curated mentorship support throughout the program.

“Accelerators and Incubators are a great resource for entrepreneurs who are looking to gain access to a network of mentors and tools to help grow their business. At YSpace, we are not only focused on providing strategic business support but also tactical support that focuses on what they need to do now to succeed. In addition to that, pitch competitions such as our Demo Days are a great way to showcase our companies to our community of investors and corporate partners, we hope that these competitions will create greater exposure for the companies and the cash prize is the cherry on top.” explained David Kwok, Associate Director of Entrepreneurship.

The Demo Day, sponsored by York University, the City of Toronto, Ace Beverage Group and Houser, Henry & Syron consisted of a pitch competition, a panel Q&A and an evening of networking and socializing for those who attended.

As for our winners, taking the top prize of $15,000 cash was NLPatent, an AI tech startup whose platform is dedicated to aiding IP professionals and R&D teams.

NLPatent co-founder Stephanie Curcio shared her experience working with YSpace and being part of the Tech Accelerator program.

“YSpace has been super supportive of our business. We learned a ton from the various workshops that ran throughout the program on topics perfectly suited for companies at our stage, like developing a sales process, raising capital, and setting the business up to scale. We were also matched with a dedicated mentor who has been tremendously helpful in helping us attain our goals and position us to succeed. Last, but not least, the YSpace staff genuinely care about the startups in the program and have gone above and beyond for us during the program and continue to support us as new alumni. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the YSpace Tech Accelerator program!”

Securing the second-place prize of $10,000 was Cola’s Kitchen, a personalized, fresh food solution for dogs and their owners.

The third-place prize worth $5,000 went to Sn126, a tech startup dedicated to building the future of API testing.

“The Tech Accelerator is a flagship program at YSpace, laying the foundations for high growth market ready startups to build and execute on their roadmap to scale. The Demo Day is an exciting opportunity to celebrate these startups, and particularly showcase some of the top performers in the program, creating exposure to investors and industry networks as they grow into the next phases of their companies.” said Nafis Ahmed, Entrepreneurship Manager at YSpace.

Congratulations to our winners and a huge shoutout to all finalists and participants of the Tech Accelerator program.

Government invests $3M in York partnership supporting Black-led organizations

August 15, 2021

The Government of Canada has announced an investment of close to $3 million for the Black Creek Community Health Centre (BCCHC) and the Black Creek Community Farm, in partnership with York University’s Innovation York’s YSpace, Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC), and TD-Community Engagement Centre, to support Black-Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses in Humber River-Black Creek. The funding comes as part of the federal government’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) – an investment of more than $400-million to support the long-term success of Black entrepreneurs and business owners in Canada.

Black-Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs make important contributions to the Canadian economy, yet they continue to face systemic racism and obstacles in starting and growing their businesses. This has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Canada is working to address long-standing barriers through the BEP.

Judy A. Sgro, member of parliament for Humber River-Black Creek on behalf of Mary Ng, minister of small business, export promotion and international trade, made the announcement Aug. 12. The funding will be delivered through the National Ecosystem Fund in North York, which was created to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs and business owners across Canada. In Southern Ontario, FedDev is administering the fund.

With the recommended funding of $2,999,431, BCCHC in partnership with York University, will launch an agri-food program called the Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA), offering a full spectrum of education, mentorship and acceleration supports to Black entrepreneurs seeking to establish or grow agri-food businesses. Building off the success of the YSpace food and beverage accelerator, SEEC’s internationally renowned leadership curriculum, and TD-CEC’s continued commitment to community engagement, BEA will support more than 350 entrepreneurs over the course of the next three years. A graduate of the YSpace program, It’s Souper – an Afro-fusion gourmet soup and sauce line founded by Lola Adeyemi in 2018 – is an example of the type of entrepreneur the program will support.

“Today was a fantastic event that will offer great opportunities to through Black Creek Community Health Centre, and York University. It was also wonderful to meet the founder of It’s Souper, Lola Adeyemi. I’m excited to the potential and impacts this funding will provide for everyone involved,” said Sgro during the announcement.

“The Black Entrepreneurship Alliance will build on the Black Creek Community Health Centre’s leadership within the Black Creek community – as well as York’s historic strengths in business, innovation, and entrepreneurship – to provide educational support and training to Black entrepreneurs,” said Amir Asif, York’s vice-president research and innovation. “We look forward to continuing our long history of partnership with the Black Creek Community Health Centre in providing increased access to education and opportunities for members of the Black Creek community – and creating a fairer, more equitable and more prosperous city.”

About the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP)

• The Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) is a partnership between the Government of Canada, Black-led business organizations, post-secondary or other accredited educational institutions and financial institutions.
• Canada’s Regional Development Agencies deliver the BEP’s National Ecosystem Fund, and work with selected partner organizations to assist them in implementing their services.
• The Black Entrepreneurship Program is an over $400-million investment including:
  • up to $53 million for the National Ecosystem Fund to support Black-led business organizations across the country. It will help Black business owners and entrepreneursaccess funding and capital and provide them with mentorship, financial planning services and business training. An additional $51.7 million for the BEP was provided in Budget 2021.
  • up to $291.3 million in support through the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, which will provide loans of up to $250,000 for Black business owners and entrepreneurs.
  • Up to $6.5 million for the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, which will conduct qualitative and quantitative research and collect data on the state of Black entrepreneurship in Canada and help identify Black entrepreneurs’ barriers to success as well as opportunities for growth.
• Canada’s regional development agencies are on the ground helping businesses weather the effects of the pandemic. With the measures recently proposed in Budget 2021, FedDev Ontario continues to be a trusted partner to deliver targeted support in Southern Ontario

Meet the 2026 Technology Accelerator cohort! This year, 10 innovative companies are joining YSpace to refine their go-to-market approach, connect with customers, and accelerate their path to growth. Explore the startups shaping this year’s cohort below.

Breadcrumb is the first intelligent stakeholder reporting platform - starting with sports and live entertainment. They noticed that Vendor data ecosystems are broken. Breadcrumb allows anyone to turn raw data into stakeholder insights without a data team - saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and months of manual work per year.

Learn more here.

Genda is an AI learning infrastructure that guides students to think, not copy, while giving educators real-time insights through a proprietary, compounding learning graph.

Learn more here.

Hydroficient is the node between city water infrastructure and every property on the grid. Municipal systems are engineered to over-serve by design, guaranteeing minimum pressure at the furthest property within the service range, means every property closer to the source gets more water than it needs, every single day. The device installs at the building's service line and corrects that overservicing at the source, reducing water consumption and sewage output by 20% on average with no behavior change and no disruption to operations. They have been able to prove it across hotels, theatres, automotive groups, restaurants, and grocery.

Learn more here.

An AI control platform that makes data centers grid‑aware, coordinating AI workloads with renewables, batteries, and real‑time grid conditions lowering cost/carbon.

Learn more here.

Moon Trades Technologies is developing PEBBLE™, an AI-powered autonomous rover platform that transforms mineral exploration through real-time geological analysis. They consolidate historical drill logs, geospatial data, and geophysics surveys into a proprietary SaaS platform, then deploy their XRF-equipped rovers to autonomously navigate sites, analyze samples, and deliver drilling target recommendations with higher accuracy than current industry standards. Operating on an Exploration-as-a-Service model, they are solving the critical bottleneck in critical mineral discovery by reducing exploration timelines from months to weeks while cutting costs.

Learn more here.

MoVA turns event attention into measurable pipeline for enterprise teams. They build simple, QR-based interactive experiences that capture intent signals and qualify prospects in real time. Instead of passive booth traffic, teams leave with clear follow-up data and higher conversion. They have validated this with thousands of users and are now scaling across conferences and enterprise events.

Learn more here.

Current gene therapies often fail because of leaky expression and off-target toxicity. Re:Pair Genomics fixes this challenge with AI-designed synthetic promoters, precise biological switches that ensure life-saving therapies activate only in the right cells at the right time.

Learn more here.

Swish is building the infrastructure layer for solar efficiency. Today, up to 30% of solar energy is lost due to soiling from dust, sand, and snow, while cleaning remains manual, water-intensive, and poorly optimized. They solve this with a combined hardware and software approach. SwishScreen is a self-cleaning nanotechnology film that removes soiling without water or moving parts, and SwishOS is an AI platform that quantifies losses and optimizes cleaning schedules with no on-site hardware required. Together, they recover lost energy, reduce O&M costs, and increase revenue for solar operators at scale.

Learn more here.

Vigilant AI has developed a secure, patented platform that pulls important information from unstructured financial documents with an unprecedented 99.9% accuracy to automatically verify transactions and generate business insights.

Learn more here.

VRiT is developing INSITE, a handheld bioprinting platform that delivers cell- and biomaterial-based therapeutics directly onto complex wound surfaces. By enabling precise, conformal deposition of regenerative bioinks, they aim to replace autografting with scalable, autograft-free skin regeneration.

Learn more here.

THANK YOU TO PARTNER AND SPONSOR

Powered by Desjardins, the YSpace ELLA Ascend program is a four-month accelerator designed to help women entrepreneurs build momentum and scale their businesses. YSpace is proud to announce the 19 startups joining this year’s cohort!

Anamav was created to help fill the gaps in postnatal care that so many mothers experience in Canada. They offer some of the most essential services that a new parent needs: an extra set of hands, someone to offer words of comfort or just listen, and breastfeeding support for those who choose to and are able to breastfeed.

Learn more here.

Clarissa Ee is a psychologist and couples therapist offering couples therapy and relationship-focused workshops across Ontario and Alberta, Canada. She is passionate about supporting couples who are building their families and navigating parenthood. She focuses on helping couples strengthen communication, improve conflict management, and deepen connection. Her hope is that couples feel seen and connected, so they can face life’s challenges as a team.

Learn more here.

Bread ’n Batter is a family-owned Filipino bakery in Milton, Ontario, founded by Maria Gonzalez and rooted in traditional Filipino flavours. Co-founder Erin Maramag, a George Brown Culinary Institute graduate, brings modern technique, consistency, and quality. Together, they blend cultural authenticity and culinary excellence to create Filipino baked goods that are nostalgic, high-quality, and commercially competitive for both Filipino and broader markets.

Learn more here.

Celebrations of Life Toronto creates thoughtful, personalized gatherings that honour life with care and intention. Through considered planning, subtle design, and seamless coordination, each event is guided with a calm, steady presence. Their work brings people together in meaningful ways, creating space for reflection, connection, and shared remembrance.

Learn more here.

CMV Design Solutions provides early-phase architectural planning for Indigenous communities. They specialize in "funding-ready" feasibility studies that integrate traditional knowledge with modern technical precision. By using immersive 3D and VR walkthroughs, They translate complex blueprints into a shared community vision, reducing rework and accelerating government approvals. They map the path from vision to reality, ensuring infrastructure is sustainable and culturally grounded.

Learn more here.

Cognitrex Inc. is an enterprise learning and workforce capability company that helps organizations design and deliver structured, role-based training at scale. Through its Learning OS and content production services, Cognitrex enables enterprises to move beyond fragmented learning toward systems aligned with real-world performance, particularly in complex and regulated environments. The company is focused on advancing how companies understand, measure, and manage workforce readiness over time.

Learn more here.

Faceology Spa brings expert skincare and luxury directly to your doorstep in a Nordic-inspired Mercedes Sprinter van. Each treatment is thoughtfully curated, blending innovation and precision to deliver results you can see and feel. Discover Your Best Face Life.

Learn more here.

Kate Lawton Therapy supports your therapeutic journey to greater self-compassion and self-confidence. They work with adults who overcame adversity early in life, only to find themselves derailed by a recent distressing event. They offer evidence-based somatic, cognitive and relational therapies with measurable results. More than symptom management, Kate Lawton Therapy approaches psychotherapy as a practice that helps people change their minds.

Learn more here.

Kreedns is a creative marketing agency focused on storytelling for hospitality, lifestyle and consumer brands. They help businesses refine their positioning and translate their brand experience into strong digital presence through strategy, content production, social media, paid media and SEO/GEO. Their model combines global creative teams with strategic direction to deliver high-quality, scalable marketing.

Learn more here.

At lunAR kids, they bring stories to life. Their immersive Augmented Reality (AR) platform blends storytelling, design, and emerging tech to create interactive storybooks that spark imagination and literacy in young minds.

By transforming traditional reading into interactive, values-based adventures, they provide engaging early learning experiences designed to inspire boundless curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.

Learn more here.

New Pathways Therapy Centre is a Toronto-based mental health practice offering integrative, trauma-informed care. They specialize in somatic therapy, mindfulness, and neuroscience-informed approaches for clients seeking deeper healing. Their team-based model supports both individual therapy and innovative group programming through their community “Third Space.”

Learn more here.

On Time Bride is a SaaS platform that streamlines wedding planning by centralizing timelines, budgets, vendor collaboration, and payments in one place. Designed for modern couples, planners, and vendors, it replaces fragmented tools with a single operational system reducing stress, saving time, and enabling seamless coordination while unlocking new revenue through integrated payment infrastructure.

Learn more here.

Relationship Counselling Toronto is a virtual practice providing culturally responsive, evidence-based relationship care for busy, high-achieving couples, particularly those in intercultural relationships and the family-building stage. In addition to therapy, the practice offers workshops and immersive experiences like Couples Intensives designed to help busy couples strengthen communication, repair conflict, and deepen emotional connection and intimacy.

Learn more here.

Rude Mama Hot Sauce is a Toronto-based food brand crafting authentic Vietnamese hot sauces with premium Canadian ingredients. Founded by immigrant entrepreneur Viet Anh “Vian” Nguyen, the company brings bold, balanced flavors to everyday cooking through clean-label, vegan, gluten-free sauces. Now carried in major Canadian retailers, Rude Mama is on a mission to share the hidden charm of Vietnam in a tangible, delicious way.

Learn more here.

Skin by Noor is a family-owned skincare brand built around a patented botanical active, Date Palm Pollen. Rooted in four generations of science and tradition, they create clean, naturally derived formulations designed to simplify skincare while delivering high-performance results. Their mission is to bring this unique ingredient to the global beauty market through thoughtful, science-driven innovation.

Learn more here.

Snuggles N Bubbles is Toronto’s first baby spa, offering massage and hydrotherapy experiences for babies and young children. They support early development, bonding, and wellness while creating a welcoming space for parents to connect, learn, and build a strong sense of community.

Learn more here.

Trèsolz is a premium footwear brand disrupting the fashion industry by designing bold, stylish shoes for women who wear sizes 11 to 16. In a market that has long ignored this customer, Trèsolz leads with intentional design, quality, and confidence. They are not just selling shoes. They are building a movement where women feel seen, powerful, and unapologetic in their size.

Learn more here.

Twish Cart's grocery platform helping families pool their orders in volume to maximize savings on food costs and buy directly from local suppliers at wholesale prices.

Learn more here.

You Got this Clinic has the knowledge, tools and team to diagnose and treat chronic Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs). They provide people around the world with chronic UTI diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Their team has specialist knowledge delivered through in person care, virtual care and global collaboration.

Learn more here.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Tanika McLeod joined the community to share practical insights on how founders can build strong startup teams through passion, purpose, and equity. Drawing from her experience building and scaling a startup through multiple pivots, difficult funding moments, and eventual acquisition, Tanika unpacked what it really takes to find the right people early on, retain them through uncertainty, and create a culture where teams feel ownership over the journey, not just the outcome.

The Startup Journey Is Never Linear

One of the clearest themes from the session was that startup building rarely follows the neat trajectory founders imagine at the beginning. Tanika reflected on her own company’s path, describing a journey marked by pivots, financial pressure, wrong product bets, and long periods of uncertainty before the team finally found traction. She described the reality plainly: “the journey is violently nonlinear.” That framing grounded the entire session. Building a startup is about navigating repeated highs and lows while continuing to move forward together.

That reality, she explained, is exactly why team-building matters so much in the earliest stages. A team is the group that has to withstand setbacks, recover from mistakes, and stay committed even when the path ahead is unclear. In Tanika’s experience, the most meaningful part of the startup journey was not just the outcome, but the people who stayed committed through its hardest moments.

Founders Are Recruiting People Into a Shared Adventure

Tanika encouraged founders to rethink what they are really offering when they recruit early team members. In the earliest startup stages, especially before stable revenue or funding, founders are often not offering traditional employment in the usual sense. They may not yet be able to offer high salaries, benefits, or long-term certainty. What they can offer is something different: a genuine partnership around a shared mission.

As she put it, the best early-stage offer is not employment, but “this offer of partnership, not employment, and this offer of going on an adventure together.” That idea became one of the strongest takeaways from the session. Early hires are joining an evolving vision that they will help shape.

This perspective also reframed what a founder’s role should look like. Tanika drew on a lesson that “the best founders are the best recruiters,” emphasizing that strong recruiting is about attracting people to a purpose. The strongest teams are built when founders are honest about the uncertainty ahead while still making the mission compelling enough that others want to be part of it.

Hire for Personality, Not Just Skill

A major part of Tanika’s talk focused on what founders should actually look for when building a team. Her answer was clear: in startups, personality traits often matter more than polished credentials. She argued that while technical skills can be taught and developed on the job, certain deeper qualities are much harder to build into someone later.

She encouraged founders to look for people who are curious, self-motivated, low ego, high conviction, purpose-driven, scrappy, and resilient. As she explained, “you cannot backfill these traits,” but training and role-specific knowledge can be learned over time. In startup environments where the work is uncertain, the pressure is high, and the path is constantly shifting, those deeper characteristics often determine who adapts and who lasts.

That idea was especially important because startup work rarely resembles traditional corporate work. Tanika noted that startup teams are often learning in real time, solving problems nobody has laid out for them, and trying many things that do not work before discovering one that does. In that context, founders need people who can learn quickly, stay grounded, and keep moving without needing perfect clarity.

Low Ego Matters More Than Founders Think

When asked how founders can identify qualities like low ego, Tanika pointed to something more practical than resumes or hypothetical interview questions. She suggested that one of the best ways to assess those traits is to actually work with someone in some temporary capacity, whether through an internship, a short project, or a trial sprint.

She also explained that low-ego people tend to show accountability in difficult moments. They are willing to admit when they made a mistake, acknowledge when they did not understand something, and approach pressure without turning every challenge into blame. For Tanika, that kind of mindset is critical because startup environments are already stressful enough. Teams work better when people treat mistakes as part of the process rather than something to hide or defend.

A Strong Team Needs a Strong Why

Another major lesson from the session was the importance of a shared purpose. For Tanika, the reason her team stayed committed through extremely difficult periods was not because they were chasing an exit or a title. It was because they were deeply connected to why they were building in the first place.

She reflected on how she and her co-founder, Nathan Knight , had both experienced being underestimated in traditional work environments. Building a company became a way to create a space where they and others like them could pursue their highest potential without those same limitations. That purpose became a source of resilience for the whole team.

Tanika emphasized that this kind of purpose matters because startup building is often more painful than people expect. When things go wrong, the team needs something deeper than short-term excitement to hold onto. A shared why gives people a reason to keep going even when the product is wrong, the money is tight, or the future is uncertain. In her words, the team was motivated by the journey itself, not just the outcome waiting at the end.

Startup Teams Should Be Cultivated, Not Managed

Tanika also challenged a more traditional view of leadership by arguing that startup teams should be cultivated rather than managed. In large companies, layers of management often exist to coordinate scale and keep people aligned around efficiency and predictable outcomes. Startups operate differently. In their early stages, they are shaped less by formal management structures and more by how much ownership individuals feel over the work.

She explained that in her company, team members were encouraged to help co-author the vision. Rather than treating strategy as something handed down from the founders, she and her co-founder would present their thinking, invite discussion, and allow the team to shape the direction together. That made the vision stronger, but it also made people more committed to it. When team members help build the direction, they feel responsibility for carrying it forward.

This approach also allowed personal growth and business growth to reinforce each other. Tanika spoke about aligning people’s ambitions with the needs of the company, so that as team members became better at their craft, the business naturally benefited. Instead of focusing first on extracting output, the team focused on investing in people, trusting that strong outcomes would follow.

Building Relationships Starts Earlier Than Hiring

Toward the end of the conversation, Tanika stressed that founders should start building relationships long before they think they are ready to hire. Many of her own team members came through community networks, referrals, internships, and earlier conversations that built trust over time. In her experience, the strongest startup teams were not assembled through cold job postings, but through sustained relationships where both sides had already seen each other’s character and commitment.

She also shared that building trust often means giving before expecting anything in return. Mentorship, support, and generosity in early relationships can create the kind of foundation that later makes collaboration possible. That approach reinforces one of the session’s central ideas: startup teams are built through human connection, not just transactional hiring.

At its core, Tanika McLeod’s session was a reminder that startup teams are not built by accident. They are built through intentional recruiting, shared purpose, mutual trust, and a willingness to grow together through uncertainty. Skills matter, but in the earliest days, character, conviction, and cultural fit often matter more. The strongest teams are not simply managed toward an outcome. They are cultivated around a vision they genuinely believe in.

About Founder Fundamentals

Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week workshop series hosted by YSpace and Black Enterprenurship Alliance and powered by City of Markham designed to equip you with essential entrepreneurial skills. Attend 9+ workshops to earn a Certificate of Completion and take the first step toward entrepreneurial success!

About the Speakers

Tanika McLeod is a dynamic entrepreneur, educator, and co-Founder of OneCliq (Acquired), an AI-powered consumer insight engine compiles engagement metrics and generates insights that brands can use to inform marketing approaches. As of July of this year, Tanika’s company OneCliq has ben acquired by Dig Insights.

In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Moshe Mikanovsky, founder and product coach at Products for Good, joined the community to share practical insights on when founders should and should not build with AI. Drawing from his experience across software development, product management, startup coaching, and AI-powered product development, Moshe unpacked the difference between traditional systems and AI, the key questions founders should ask before choosing AI, and how entrepreneurs can better assess cost, risk, and real product value before building.

Not Every Problem Needs AI

One of the strongest takeaways from the session was that founders should not default to AI simply because it is trending. Moshe encouraged participants to move away from the pressure of adding AI for the sake of it and instead focus on whether it actually fits the problem being solved.

As he put it, “people going directly into that direction and it’s not always the right decision.” That idea shaped the session from the start. Rather than framing AI as something every startup must adopt, Moshe pushed founders to ask more practical questions about when it is useful, when it is unnecessary, and what trade-offs come with using it.

He explained that traditional software is deterministic, meaning it follows fixed rules and predictable logic. AI, by contrast, is probabilistic, which means it works through patterns, models, and likelihood rather than certainty. That distinction matters because some problems simply do not need AI at all.

“If it’s deterministic, there is no reason to build it with AI,” Moshe said, noting that it is often “way more expensive and it’s less accurate” in those cases. For founders, that means the real challenge is not figuring out how to add AI, but figuring out whether AI belongs there in the first place.

Understanding How AI Learns

To make this clearer, Moshe walked through the difference between traditional engineering and AI systems. Traditional software, he explained, is built on logic that maps inputs to outputs in a predictable way. AI systems behave differently. They rely on models trained on data and return results based on probability.

“The main thing about a traditional one is that it is deterministic,” he explained, while AI is “probabilistic… it’s always about probabilities.”

This distinction helped founders understand why AI can feel powerful but also unpredictable. A model can generate useful output, but it can also hallucinate, misclassify, or behave in ways that are hard to fully control. That uncertainty is built into the system itself, and founders need to understand that before using it in products where accuracy and reliability matter.

Moshe also reflected on his own experience moving from traditional product management into AI products. “It actually drove me crazy,” he admitted. “I didn’t really understand that perspective that it’s only an experiment and I’m not sure what the result is going to be.” It was an honest reminder that working with AI often requires a mindset shift, especially for teams used to building systems with predictable outputs.

AI Is Not One Thing

Another major focus of the session was helping founders understand that AI is not one single tool or method. Moshe broke down the main types of AI learning, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning.

This section gave participants a broader understanding of what it actually means to build with AI. Different models require different levels of labelled data, different computational resources, and different forms of oversight. Some approaches are more accurate but expensive to train. Others are more scalable but harder to validate.

Moshe emphasized that each option comes with trade-offs, and founders need to think carefully before assuming AI is a simple plug-in solution. “Each situation will be a different fit,” he said, adding that every founder needs to understand “what does it mean and there is pros and cons and cost associated with each one of those.”

That grounded the conversation in reality. Using AI is not just about capability. It is also about resources, time, infrastructure, and whether a team can realistically support the system they want to build.

How Much Should AI Be Allowed to Decide?

The session also explored a question that becomes increasingly important as products become more automated: how much decision-making should AI actually handle?

Moshe introduced a helpful framework built around prediction, judgment, and action. In some cases, AI may only support a decision by generating predictions. In others, it may also influence judgment by ranking options or narrowing choices. In more advanced cases, it may go all the way and take action on behalf of the user.

He used a recruitment example to show how this plays out in practice. AI could help a job seeker identify the best-fit roles, or it could help a recruiter filter hundreds of applicants down to a top shortlist. At its most automated level, AI could even schedule interviews without human review.

This led into an important conversation around human oversight. When asked whether there should always be a human in the loop, Moshe made it clear that the answer depends on context. “It all depends,” he said. “It depends if you need human in the loop or not.”

That answer became even more useful when participants pointed out that risk matters. A low-stakes action may not require human review, but a high-stakes action probably does. The session reinforced that founders need to think not just about what AI can do, but what it should be trusted to do.

Building With AI Means Thinking About Viability

One of the most practical parts of the workshop focused on what it actually takes to build an AI-powered product. Moshe introduced a canvas designed to help founders evaluate whether an AI use case is viable by thinking through value, risk, inputs, training costs, feedback loops, and outcomes.

The framework moved the conversation beyond hype and into execution. Founders were encouraged to think about what success would look like, what failure would cost, what data or infrastructure would be needed, and whether the organizational value justified the investment.

He stressed that it is not enough to build something impressive. Founders need to understand what is required to support it. “There is a bit of work that needs to be done to assess the cost that it might take you to build that,” he said.

He also reminded participants that many teams forget to define success early enough. “Always remember that you want to define what the success looks like,” Moshe said. “How do you measure it?” That point extended well beyond AI. It was a strong product lesson in general: if a team cannot define success or track it clearly, it becomes very difficult to know whether the product is actually working.

Buy, Build, or Adapt?

Another valuable part of the discussion focused on whether founders should build their own AI systems or use existing models and APIs. Moshe encouraged early-stage founders to avoid overbuilding, especially before product-market fit.

“If you’re early stage, pre-product market fit, probably you want to try to use existing models,” he said. Today’s landscape offers many more options than even a few years ago, including hosted APIs, open-source models, and tools that allow for fine-tuning or retrieval-based systems.

At the same time, Moshe acknowledged that there are cases where building or hosting custom models makes sense. Privacy requirements, latency needs, or high usage costs can all shift the equation. This made the conversation especially useful for founders trying to make practical decisions rather than theoretical ones.The broader point was that AI infrastructure choices should come from product and business needs, not from pressure to look more advanced than the company really is.

Not All AI Companies Are the Same

Toward the end of the session, Moshe introduced a useful way to think about different kinds of AI companies. He broke them into three types: AI-native, AI-embedded, and vertical AI.

AI-native companies are built entirely around AI from the start. AI-embedded companies use AI as a meaningful enhancement within a broader product. Vertical AI companies apply AI to specific industries or use cases where domain expertise and specialized data matter.

This helped founders better understand their own positioning. Not every company needs to be AI-native. In many cases, a better approach is using AI in a focused, meaningful way that strengthens an existing product without making it the whole story.

Moshe cautioned founders against adding AI superficially. In AI-embedded products especially, the real question is whether it creates value or is just “a gimmick.” That distinction is what determines whether users actually care.

About Founder Fundamentals

Founder Fundamentals is a 12-week workshop series hosted by YSpace and Black Enterprenurship Alliance and powered by City of Markham designed to equip you with essential entrepreneurial skills. Attend 9+ workshops to earn a Certificate of Completion and take the first step toward entrepreneurial success!

About the Speakers

Moshe Mikanovsky is a product management leader with a background in enterprise B2B software engineering, he brings a lean, user-centered approach to building impactful products. He is the founder and product coach at Products for Good and a Product Director at Rootquotient, where he also mentors founders through leading accelerators. He teaches Information Systems and Design Thinking at the Schulich School of Business, co-hosts two product-focused podcasts, and is the author of the novel The Resurrector.

Welcome to Part 2 of the YSpace 2025 Holiday Gift Guide! We’ve curated a collection of Canadian-made goodies, unique finds, and thoughtful gifts that are sure to impress. Many of these picks even come with exclusive discount codes to make your shopping easier and sweeter.

From family and friends to coworkers, these gifts bring big smiles while supporting small businesses in our community.

Let’s make this season extra special. Happy holidays and happy gifting!

Brightfield

Brightfield creates timeless home fragrances to spark joy in your everyday. Inspired by joyful memories and the simple things in life, they handcraft each candle, reed diffuser, and room spray from their studio in The Beach, Toronto.

Shop online at Brightfield.ca or to find a stockist near you.

• 1 Candle = 3 Meals donated to Second Harvest.
• Proud 1% for the Planet member

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Verlee Atelier Inc.

Canadian-made and consciously crafted, Verlee Atelier blends North American and Asian influences into clean, vegan, gender-free fragrances. With ingredients vetted by their partner lab in Korea, each scent is designed to inspire confidence and connection. Subtle yet expressive, their fragrances help you feel grounded and authentically you.

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Joeydolls

Joeydolls is a cultural doll brand dedicated to helping every child feel seen, valued, and proud of who they are.

Created by mom and founder Samantha, Joeydolls began with a simple mission: to offer the culturally authentic dolls she wished she had growing up. Inspired by the rise of anti-Asian hate and the lack of representative toys for her daughters, she set out to create the world’s most diverse line of soft, cuddly cultural dolls.

Designed in Canada and crafted with love, each doll features meaningful cultural details and is certified safe for all ages. More than toys, Joeydolls spark conversations, celebrate heritage, and empower children to embrace their identity with pride. It’s a movement to uplift every child through inclusive, confidence-building play.

Save 10% until Dec 24 with the code yspace10

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Zuri & Dre

Zuri & Dre is a plush doll, colouring book, home decor and accessories brand that celebrates uniqueness and aims to diversify toy boxes, plush collections & everyday life. Based in Montreal, Canada.

They represent anyone who feels unnoticed, and unappreciated because of your uniqueness and they are a reminder that, YOU belong.

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Aga’s Wholesome Foods

Aga's Wholesome Foods is a black woman owned health food company, providing you with Clean, Delicious & Nutrient Dense alternatives to support your health and wellness goals.

With Aga's Wholesome, you don't have to sacrifice taste for nutrition, you get the best of both worlds!! Our plant based, gluten & dairy free products are made with West African superfood ingredients, and do not contain any funny ingredients you cannot pronounce?

Explore their range of 100% natural, delicious beverage powders, low sodium & MSG free seasoning powders alongside superfoods to keep you healthy & strong all day.

Save 15% with the code WELLNESS15

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Happy Natural Products

Happy Natural Products is wellness care rooted in culture for a global generation. From gua sha tools and bamboo period underwear to ube lip balms and hydrating hand sanitizers, each creation is designed to celebrate care, culture, and connection.

This holiday season, share gifts that tell a story — of heritage, resilience and thoughtful care. Whether it's for yourself or as gifts, their products are made to uplift and inspire moments of happiness.

For a strong, beautiful, and Happy world.

Save 15% with the code YSPSACE15

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Pure Botanica

Pure Botanica Company crafts premium, non-alcoholic botanical distillates made from organic, hand-selected plants. Using traditional steam-distillation in copper stills, they capture the pure water-soluble nutrients, aromatic compounds, and natural vitality of each botanical—without alcohol, sugar, additives, or preservatives.

Each distillate offers its own unique wellness qualities. Rose has long been appreciated for its uplifting, mood-brightening properties, traditionally used to support emotional balance. Lavender is known for its soothing aroma that helps ease stress, promoting calm and relaxation. Mint is widely valued for its refreshing taste and traditional use in supporting healthy digestion, making it a revitalizing addition to daily rituals. Added to sparkling water, tea, or wellness routines, these botanical distillates offer a clean, sensory way to support balance and well-being.

Save 15% with the code GIFT15

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The Sea Moss Guy

The Sea Moss Guy Inc. is a Toronto based wellness brand on a mission to make sea moss, a superfood from the Caribbean, a household staple. For the past five years, they have been earning five star Google reviews from customers who have noticed more energy, less bloating, and clearer skin.

From their signature Sea Moss Gel to their delicious Sea Moss Mocha Latte Powder, they are showing the world that the traditions we grew up with still have a place in today’s wellness culture.

This holiday season, sip your way to better health with the Sea Moss Mocha Latte Powder. A cozy, caffeine free blend of sea moss, carob, and coconut milk designed to help you relax, recharge, and feel your best with every cup.

Save 15% with the code YSPACE15

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Souper Well

Souperwell is rooted in the rich legacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), inspired by the founder’s grandfather, who dedicated over 60 years to TCM practice in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. Drawing from generations of firsthand experience with natural healing, Souperwell blends time-honored Eastern remedies with modern Western lifestyles. The brand reimagines traditional herbal soups with convenient, ready-to-cook packs infused with vegan protein—making ancient wellness accessible, practical, and nourishing for today’s busy lives.

Save 10% + free shipping for order $80 with the code YSPACE10

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AFTER9

Thoughtfully designed athleisure for women; perfect for running a 5k, or chasing a toddler. We believe that moms deserve function, comfort, style, and above all else, pockets. AFTER9 creates bold, functional athleisure to inspire movement and confidence with every moment.

Save 15% with the code YSPACE15

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Bee Video Production Inc.

Bee Video Production Inc. is a Toronto-based, woman owned video production company. We work with businesses to create corporate video communications - for marketing, onboarding, recruting… the use cases for corporate video is almost endless!

This season they are offering the YSpace colleagues a holiday greeting video for your clients, family and friends. Customize it for any holiday, any brand any theme, any format.

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Save 20% with the code BEEVIDEOYSPACEDISCOUNT

Jewelust

Jewelust creates elegant, handcrafted jewellery that blends timeless craftsmanship with sculptural, flowing designs. Each piece is made in sterling silver or gold, and designed to capture a sense of movement and grace. From bold statement earrings to delicate everyday pieces, Jewelust offers thoughtful gifts that celebrate individuality and artistry. Custom creations and heirloom redesigns are also available—perfect for those looking to give something truly personal this holiday season. Every Jewelust piece is made with care in Toronto.

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Trèsolz

Trèsolz is a Canadian, Black-woman–owned footwear brand that makes stylish, high-quality shoes for women with larger feet, sizes 9.5 to 16. They offer a wide range of designs — from boots and heels to flats and sneakers — in both standard and wide widths (B/C and D/E). Their shoes combine fashion and comfort, making size inclusivity feel effortless.

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Nature Bee

Nature Bee was founded in 2018 by Gustavson School of Business alumna Katie Gamble, guided by the motto: “One small change has a major impact.”

What began as a tiny school project in Katie’s basement has grown into a full-scale sustainability company serving customers and wholesale markets worldwide. Nature Bee started by handcrafting beeswax wraps in Victoria, BC using locally sourced ingredients—a craft the production team continues today. Over the years, the brand has expanded its lineup to include Swedish dishcloths, concentrated cleaning tablets, and innovative dishwashing products, offering a curated collection designed for effortless sustainable living.

As an inclusive, woman-owned Canadian company, Nature Bee takes pride in its core values of sustainability, community, impact, and education, and remains committed to making the planet a cleaner place.

Save 10% with the code ELLA10

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Welcome to Part 1 of the YSpace 2025 Holiday Gift Guide! We’ve curated a collection of Canadian-made goodies, unique finds, and thoughtful gifts that are sure to impress. Many of these picks even come with exclusive discount codes to make your shopping easier and sweeter.

From family and friends to coworkers, these gifts bring big smiles while supporting small businesses in our community. And don’t forget Part 2 is coming soon with even more amazing ideas to round out your holiday shopping!

Let’s make this season extra special. Happy holidays and happy gifting!

The Abibiman Project

The Abibiman Project is a food concept focused on celebrating the diverse cultures & cuisines from the African continent and Black diaspora with a desire to see more of a presence and respect for African cuisine on the global culinary stage.

Get $5 off with the code ABIBIMAN5

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Lost in the Sauce (LITS)

Lost in the Sauce (LITS) is a Toronto-based gourmet sauce brand that focuses elevating every meal through balanced flavour and spice. With a range of 5 different hot sauces and 1 Malaysian sambal, the line-up is great whether you're an avid spice enthusiast or like it mild but need a flavour boost to add to your food.

All of the sauces are all-natural, vegan, gluten-free and made locally. Whether you need sauce on the go, trying to find your new pantry obsession, or a saucy gift for your loved ones, LITS has got you covered. Happy saucing!

Save 15% any order above $30 with the code LITSYSPACE

*Can be combined with existing offers and free shipping promo above $50 with the code SHIPFREE

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Pepper North Artisan Foods

Pepper North Artisan Foods is a uniquely Canadian, uniquely personal, hot sauce company. With Canadian grown peppers, grown by Canadian farmers, let them take you on a spicy adventure! Since 2013, they have been curating, experimenting and building what started as a hobby and a dream, into a successful small family business. Over the years the company has grown as a business and a family, however their core values have remained the same: supporting local and being proudly Canadian. From Jalapenos to Habaneros, Ghosts to Reapers, they have tried them all. Their Canadian-grown hot peppers are picked at their peak of ripeness, then carefully blended to the perfect consistency to achieve a flavour profile unlike any other.

Save 10% with the code YSpace10

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Sade's Hot Sauce Inc.

At Sade's Hot Sauce, their mission is to bring vibrant flavour and fiery passion to every plate through our handcrafted pepper sauces, inspired by the rich culinary heritage of Antigua. For nearly four decades, they have been committed to using fresh, local ingredients and traditional methods to deliver sauces that elevate everyday meals, delight the taste buds, and honour the legacy of their founder.

Save 10% with the code YSPACEHOLIDAY

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Caribb Pop

CARIBB POP makes pre-biotic tropical sodas inspired by Caribbean flavours.
Our reduced sugar, plant based, better-for-you sodas offer a new drink experience. CARIBB POP brings cultural representation to the beverage market, and is proudly a Canadian company.

Save 15% on 8PK & 12PK orders, from November 24th to December 24th with the code DRINKCPOP15

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Classic Juice Co.

Give gifts that taste like thoughtfulness. Classic Juice Co. bottles seasonal flavour and real care into every bundle — from “Sips that Entertain” for hosts (Jamaican Sorrel, Rose Petal Lemonade, Holiday Citrus trios, and ready-to-serve mocktails) to nourishing stocking stuffers like gift cards, African Black Soap, raw shea butter, and pumpkin-seed protein powder.

Perfect for family, friends, or client gifting, with options that scale seamlessly for teams. Choose bulk orders, personalized notes, or branded packs to make holiday gratitude delicious and memorable.

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Ginny

Ginny is a non-alcoholic functional spritzer created by two young founders blending tradition and wellness. Rooted in our South Asian and West African heritage, each flavor celebrates botanicals from our cultures like hibiscus, ginger, and tulsi, crafted in collaboration with a naturopathic doctor. With a full serving of adaptogens in every can, Ginny is designed to support your nervous system and bring balance back to your day. Whether you’re unwinding after work or skipping the hangover this season, Ginny makes it easy to socialize and feel good naturally.

Save 15% from December 4th, 2025 to December 18th, 2025 with the code YUHOLIDAY15

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Mama's Ginger Juice

Mama's Ginger Juice offers freshly made, all-natural juices with a variety of delicious blends to choose from:

• Ginger, Pineapple & Lemon
• Guava, Mango & Orange
• Strawberry, Pineapple, Lemon & Ginger
• Strawberry, Pineapple & Lemon

Enjoy the perfect combination of fresh ingredients in every bottle!

Get 6 bottles for $25

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Pain Punch

Pain Punch is a physician-formulated functional beverage from Canada that supports recovery and overall wellness. Each drink combines bioavailable turmeric, vegan algal omega-3s, vitamins, and amino acids to aid inflammation, energy metabolism, and joint comfort.

Developed by a Toronto physician, it offers a simple, pill-free way for athletes and active individuals to enjoy science-backed nutritional support with clean, natural ingredients.

Save 10% with the code Omega10

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WORCONET CORPORATION

WOW! brand is founder is Morley Wilson. She is committed to making a difference in people's lives through the WOW! brand, by providing delicious, health-conscious options of wholesome juices and recyclable cakes made from juice pulp materials. These healthy products aim to empower families to lead healthier and happier lifestyles.

Save 10% (under $24) - 20% (over $25) with the code WC-W2025

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Atome Bakery

Atome Bakery is an online bakery that delivers frozen, ready-to-bake organic sourdough bread and artisan pastries directly to your doorstep. Using traditional French recipes and Canadian flours, they offer a range of artisan-quality products that allow customers to enjoy fresh-baked bread at home. Their signature bake-from-proof method ensures bakery-quality results from your oven, preserving the texture, flavor, and moisture that make our breads and pastries stand out. Their subscription boxes are a perfect holiday gift for food lovers, bringing the authentic taste of French baking to homes across the Pacific Northwest. Whether it's sourdough baguettes, croissants, or loaves, Atome Bakery delivers delicious moments to your table, ideal for the festive season.

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Save 10% on your first order until Dec 31st with the code HOHOHOLIDAY10

Kula Foods

KULA® Foods is an award-winning, mission-driven B Corp bringing the vibrant flavours of Afro-Caribbean cuisine to the plant-based food market. Our core mission is to make nourishing, sustainable, and diverse food options accessible, while fostering positive social and environmental change. We believe in the power of food to connect communities, celebrate cultural heritage, and promote healthier lifestyles.

Save 10% with the code YSPACE10SPICE

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Prairie Goodness Snacks

PrairieGoodness™ Snacks is a Canadian food company dedicated to creating innovative, grain-free, high-protein snacks made from locally sourced legumes. Their signature product, Chipls™, is baked—not fried—and crafted from lentils and chickpeas, offering a clean, nutritious, and delicious alternative to traditional chips. They proudly support local farmers, use simple Non-GMO ingredients, and focus on bringing better-for-you snacks to families across Canada.

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Stellar Eats

What makes us different:

• Shelf-stable, with strong velocities in the natural and conventional channels
• 8 or fewer real ingredients — no fillers, gums, or refined sugars
• Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, vegetarian, kosher & non-GMO
• Sweetened only with unrefined coconut and date sugar (40-60% less sugar than competitors)

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Creation Farms

Creation Farms is a family-owned, family-operated sustainable farm dedicated to providing all-natural goods while giving back to their local community.

As a no-spray farm and stewards of the land, they believe in real food—just the way it was created. Everything you eat or use from Creation Farms is all-natural and free from pesticides. What they grow is what their own family eats, and they offer their customers the same: simple, flavourful, real food you can trust.

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