Calling all Women Entrepreneurs, Make 2023 YOUR Year!

We are proud to invite you to StrikeUP 2023 , a FREE digital conference dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and providing a forum for growth, mentorship, and financing.

We are proud to introduce our newest team member – Leslie Worsfold! Leslie is our Office Administrator/Bookkeeper at Community Futures Eastern Ontario. Join us in welcoming her to our team!

Community Futures Eastern Ontario welcomes new Board Member, Jim Beechey, from South Lakes CFDC. 

SOFII helped us launch our Software Platform aimed at simplifying and transforming the way Companies and On-Demand Professional Freelancers work together. It allowed us to add key resources to the team earlier than we could have without SOFII’s help and support.

SOFII gave us the necessary funding to turn our pilot into an approved project with one of the largest utility clients in the world. Without SOFII funding, it would have been difficult reaching the milestones needed to win. VCs did not want to fund this gap, and SOFII believed in us and gave us the resources and tools to convince our client. CFEO was very professional, super helpful and responsive. All the panel members were veterans who understood the opportunities and challenges and ask critical questions to understand our business.

The SOFII program provided funding at a critical juncture in Clear Blue's development of its core products. It promoted innovation of Canadian technology that has now enabled the company to become an international supplier of Smart Off-Grid power products and services in 37 countries around the world. At Clear Blue we had a very positive experience with the program process with staff making it easy and straightforward, allowing us to access much-needed funds for our R&D efforts.

SOFII funding supported our certification project that has now unlocked global sales channels. This funding was key to our growth as we required third party recognition and verification for sales within the fire service. This was a relatively smooth process, there was considerable prep and due diligence performed, however the organizers were very supportive and prompt with assistance. This should be a model for other government programs.

We leveraged the funds secured from the SOFII program to help commercialize our product offering and expand our market.  We significantly enhanced our self-funded solution that took well over a decade to get to version 6 and moved it to version 9 within 4 years.  We added and expanded within new customers.

Our experience with the program, the staff and the IRC members was excellent!  We received great support throughout the process from applying to presenting to fulfilling follow on requirements throughout the term of the project.

The SOFII program was particularly important to us - especially at the critical stage we were at in our evolution. It allowed us to invest in people and technology that enabled our SaaS transformation. All aspects of the program - from the initial application to our reporting obligations were well documented and communicated. There were no surprises and ongoing communication is prompt and courteous. It is clear that the SOFII team members' main concern is with our company's success.

The SOFII program has been an integral part of our success. Their funding allowed us to grow 6x year over year, secure more financing, and take our team from 9 people to over 120 in less than 2 years. I appreciate their belief in us and support over the years.