TechIgnite Award Categories
The TechIgnite Awards celebrate the innovators, leaders, founders, partners, and champions who are making a lasting impact across Canada's technology ecosystem. Below, you'll find the full list of award categories, each linked to its respective nomination form.
We encourage you to take a few moments to explore each category and carefully consider the individuals, organizations, and teams whose contributions deserve recognition. You may know someone who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, driven meaningful innovation, fostered collaboration, or helped strengthen our ecosystem in remarkable ways.
Don't limit yourself to just one nomination - you're welcome to submit nominations across multiple categories and nominate multiple deserving candidates. In fact, the more the merrier! Every nomination helps shine a light on the incredible talent, achievements, and impact that continue to move our community forward.
Thank you for helping us celebrate the people and organizations that are igniting the future of technology.
Nominations close Tuesday September 15 at 5:00 pm
The Spark Award
For the founder whose early momentum is already igniting the industry.
Awarded to an emerging, early-stage founder who has demonstrated exceptional momentum, originality, and leadership potential. This award recognizes an entrepreneur whose early milestones and sheer resilience mark them as a rising innovator shaping the next generation of Canadian technology.
Nominate someone here The Beacon Award
For the innovation titan whose light can be seen from anywhere.
Awarded exclusively to a ventureLAB corporate alumnus whose company has successfully scaled beyond our walls and is now disrupting international markets. This award recognizes commercial execution, massive business growth, and global competitiveness, honoring an alum who serves as the ultimate proof-of-concept for every founder coming up behind them.
Nominate someone here Collaborator of the Year
For the partner that carries the current.
Awarded to an ecosystem partner or organization that goes far beyond traditional sponsorship to actively accelerate corporate growth. This partner is recognized for deeply embedding themselves in the community by consistently connecting capital, customers, talent, or proprietary technology to ventureLAB founders to create tangible, real-world outcomes.Nominate someone here The Catalyzer Award
For the investor pushing capital to the hardtech frontier
Awarded to an investor, venture capitalist, angel group, or financial institution that has actively accelerated Canadian hardtech and semiconductor innovation through strategic capital deployment. This award recognizes a funding partner who breaks down the structural barriers unique to hardware financing, providing the critical capital, investment syndication, and financial runways required to scale complex, physical technologies on the world stage.Nominate someone here Mentor of the Year
For the advisor whose grounding keeps the whole system stable
Awarded to an individual advisor, operator, or investor whose selfless dedication and expert counsel have personally fueled a generation of ventureLAB founders. This award recognizes deep personal impact, regular accessibility, and trusted advisory relationships, honoring the person who quietly gives their own time to ensure ambitious tech breakthroughs do not burn out.Nominate someone here The North Star Award
For the visionary whose lifetime journey guides the entire ecosystem
ventureLAB’s premier lifetime achievement Award, celebrating an individual whose enduring career has shaped the very fabric of Canadian innovation over decades. This award honors macro-level ecosystem building, multi-generational leadership, and systemic industry influence, recognizing a pioneer whose lifelong contributions have fundamentally altered the landscape for Canadian builders.Nominate someone here