The Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas has announced the 18 innovative tech-based companies in the first 2025 cohort of its LevelUP business accelerator program.
Over the next 12 weeks, the entrepreneurs will learn how to commercialize and scale their business by engaging in hybrid and hands-on workshops, accessing guidance from industry experts, receiving personalized mentorship, and honing their pitching skills — with eight of the participating businesses competing for a $10,000 cash prize at the end of the program.
Since its inaugural delivery in February 2024, the free LevelUP program has been oversubscribed in each cohort, and the first cohort of 2025 was no different. The Innovation Cluster received 47 applications from tech companies who have at least a minimum viable product (MVP) in the agriculture tech (agtech), healthcare tech, cleantech, and digital tech sectors.
The companies participating in the spring 2025 cohort are Assertive AI, Cherie AI, DocumentPro, FuturU Global Health Inc., Happy Cramps, Her Yes Club, Leapon, MainLogix Technology, MantaHQ, Morphace Inc., MYWALLAPP, Ninichef Education Labs Inc., Parham PKM, Reziland, Salleo, Sanostrategy Corporation, Storetune Fashion Retail Inc., and Yadag Technologies Inc.
“It highlights a really significant need within companies that are at minimal viable product stage and beyond that they need specialized knowledge and specialized coaching in order to reach a repeatable sales model,” says Christine Crandell, the Innovation Cluster’s vice chair of the board and interim CEO.
“Given where our economy is going and the uncertainty, it really tells us that focusing on SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and focusing on minimal viable product is a sweet spot in order to help our communities to grow, put food on the table, pay mortgages, and create jobs.”
The participating businesses come from locations across Ontario, including from Peterborough and Lindsay and outside the region from Bowmanville, Oakville, Brampton, Vaughan, and Toronto.
“It shows people are looking to access a program that is designed for companies who are no longer in the ideation but in MVP plus stage,” says LevelUP program lead Zahra Shafiei. “These companies have their MVP ready or are testing it, and most of them have tractions and customers and are trying to expand to new target markets.”
Throughout the program, entrepreneurs will learn from several of the Innovation Cluster’s experts in residence, who will share their knowledge on AI, robotics, sales, marketing, finance, and other areas critical for company growth.
“Someone may have had a good idea, and they’ve developed it into a product, and they may have even gotten a couple customers, but often then get to the point where they don’t know how to sell it or what their value proposition is,” Crandell says. “The gap between ideation and validation is pretty steep, and most companies don’t think about this and aren’t coached through this, and that’s where many of them fail. So we’re getting (these participants) to the point that they actually understand it.”
The companies participating in the LevelUP program have products and services in various areas including IoT, automation, API development, AI, and beyond, which Crandell describes as a “cornucopia of innovation.”
“All of them are bringing something new to the market,” Shafiei adds. “It’s very important for us that all of them are answering to a need in a different way — not in the ways that are in the market and used by other competitors.”
Upon completing the LevelUP program, the participating companies will have a realistic go-to-market strategy and investor pitch in preparation for market testing and scaling their business. The eight companies with the best investor pitch will compete for a $10,000 cash prize on Wednesday, April 30. The pitch competition is sponsored by boutique consulting firm Matrix Venture Studio, business incubator and accelerator LaunchPath, and entrepreneurial hub Innovation Venture Farm Inc.
“Business owners pitch all the time from potential customers to potential investors to potential partners,” says Shafiei. “We practise the five-minute pitch so many times, so they get comfortable doing it, and we see a huge change from their first pitch to their last pitch. It’s always amazing to see they learn a lot and they all are really open to feedback.”
With the spring cohort now underway, the second 2025 cohort will begin on Wednesday, August 6. To be eligible, companies must be based in Ontario, work in the agtech, healthcare tech, cleantech, or digital tech sectors, and have an innovative MVP. Applications for the fall cohort are open now, with applications due by Tuesday, July 15.
For more information and to apply for the fall cohort, visit innovationcluster.ca/programs/levelup-accelerator/.
