Driving innovation and developing new technologies in uncertain and challenging environments (webinar)

Sep 14, 2022

From the value of being like a blade of grass (fluid and agile), to the importance of having “big, audacious goals,” the latest webinar in Osler’s Women in Emerging and High Growth Companies Leadership series offers many insights about launching a startup during times of uncertainty.

Hosted by Andrea Whyte, a partner in Osler’s Corporate Group, the discussion in this session was moderated by Shelley Kuipers, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The51, and featured Helena Kaylin, Founder and CEO of MINDD Bra, and Chloe Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Mercator AI, talking about their career journeys and the realities of driving innovation and developing new technologies in uncertain and challenging environments – from COVID-19, to supply chain difficulties, to the current economic turbulence.

When Shelley asks them what it was like to build a company during the pandemic, both Chloe and Helena are positive about the experience overall, despite the obvious challenges. Helena describes it as “a beautiful entry point” for her bra company: Women were online working from home and seeing the company’s ads. As a result, through 2021, MINDD experienced tremendous growth. Chloe says that she doesn’t “know what starting a business looks like outside of the pandemic,” but explains that while it was harder to get in front of potential customers, raising funds remotely was more affordable. Plus, businesses in low-digitized sectors – like Mercator’s target market, the construction industry – were beginning to see the value in embracing technology. And that, she says, was “transformational.”

They also “dive into the guts of being an entrepreneur” and touch on the importance of resiliency, with Helena likening launching a startup to undertaking the challenging Grouse Grind hike in Vancouver. And both CEOs offer the same advice to new women entrepreneurs: “It doesn’t really matter who you are: If you have a business idea, go after it.”