Founder Spotlight
In honour of International Women’s Day tomorrow, we are sharing stories from three founders who are working to solve impossible problems with grit and grace!
Angelique Mohring, CEO & Founder of GainX
Angelique has a combined 25 years of experience as a technology executive, Fortune 500 consultant, and is a published anthropologist. She decided to combine her interests and establish an enterprise software platform with the mission to solve an impossible problem.
“I remember this powerhouse of a woman in the UK who said if you’re going to do something, do it big - make it almost impossible.”
Angelique wanted to solve how large organizations could bring a big idea to the market. Again and again, she saw global companies failing to successfully scale good ideas. To meet this challenge, she and her team developed an executive leadership tool to predict the outcome of any given strategy and provide actionable recommendations. Driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence, GainX’s technology works to mitigate risk, reduce costs, and generate greater productivity and engagement amongst its client’s employees.
“It has not been a straight journey, but my company turns ten years old this year, and I’m proud of what my team and I have accomplished over the last decade.”
Over the course of her career, Angelique has faced many glass ceilings but was surprised to learn that less than 1% of all capital raised in the UK, where her company is headquartered, goes to female entrepreneurs. When people say, “Women don’t ask for enough,” or “women underestimate their value,” those statements didn’t feel true for Angelique who was working to solve an impossible challenge. Instead, Angelique emphasized,
“You have to get good at doing a lot with a lot less. Don’t hesitate to build something big, to be determined, and to persevere with grit and grace.”
Myrna Bitner, CEO & Founder of RUNWITHIT Synthetics
Myrna’s story starts in 1992 when the internet was only 1-year old, and her first technology startup was tackling online communication. As a social scientist and MBA, Myrna saw the internet as an opportunity for audio and video conferencing, voting, and online resolution.
“We were a disrupter - it was the first time people used the internet to meet together live, something we are used to now.”
Solving big problems also fascinated Myrna, as she became interested in how neronet and 3D visualization could solve problems. She learned how to build a reality around very complex systems and predict future outcomes by building synthetic environments. In 2019, RUNWITHIT Synthetics built its first city - Silicon Valley, for the city’s utility sector. The company built a synthetic environment and triggered an earthquake to learn how Silicon Valley could mitigate damage and human impact.
“That was the kickoff of our synthetic cities. Now, we are deeply immersed in the biggest, scariest, interconnected, spaghetti issues of the future around decarbonization, resiliency, national catastrophes, cybersecurity, and space weather. We model the future.”
Myrna emphasized her company’s power to disrupt. RUNWITHIT Synthetics is a certified aboriginal business, it has 70% women on staff, a GBA+ certified team, and a remote-first policy.
“People are now saying, “come disrupt us.” We are in an industry that needs to move forward in a new way.”
Angela Kouris, CEO & Founder of Synergia Biotech
For over fifteen years Angela Kouris, a microbiologist and molecular ecologist by training, has worked with research teams across the world focusing on life in extreme environments and in biotech. Recently, while managing and supporting the commercialization of new technologies at the University of Calgary, her team discovered how to produce a natural blue pigment, an unexpected and exciting finding. She shared that blue is one of the rarest colours in nature and that there is a high demand for natural alternatives to chemical and petroleum-based colours with a wide range of applications including food and beverage, nutraceuticals, and health and wellness.
She jumped on the opportunity and co-founded a company in 2019, and has already navigated the team through a business mentorship program, scaled the technology to conduct customer trials, and is now financing.
“Our disruptor, and what we’re really excited by, is that we’ve created a net-zero, carbon capture technology to produce an in-demand valuable product that is healthier and better for the environment than what currently exists."
When asked about challenges, Angela spoke about fighting different biases. As a scientist, Angela hesitates to advertise her Ph.D. because she is often taken less seriously as a businesswoman.
“It can be frustrating to experience unconscious bias in the room but I put a smile on my face. I can’t change what they thought before I entered. I can only make them think again.”
When building a team, Angela looks for people with different backgrounds, genders, and cultures. She doesn’t look for candidates that emulate herself but searches with the expectation of diversity.
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Thank you to Angelique, Myrna, and Angela for sharing your stories, and a big thank you to Insurance Supper Club Group for inviting the Canadian Women’s Network to showcase some of our members and their success!
Become a member, and join over 290 women entrepreneurs and business leaders across Canada! Sign up here.
