Hurun Canada Under30s 2023 

Toronto, 26 November 2023

The Hurun Research Institute today released its second Hurun Canada Under30s list, in association with the Canada Business Youth Club and featuring Canada’s most successful and exciting entrepreneurs aged 30 or under.

“Canada remains one of the world’s best places to start a business,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Shanghai-headquartered Hurun.

“Despite the global downturn in venture capital funding of the last year or, it continues to be the launching pad for many new and exciting ventures,” Hoogewerf said.

The list features 70 people – 16 women and 54 men – from 46 companies.

Among those companies is one unicorn – artificial intelligence chat firm Cohere, which after raising $270 million in June 2023 which was reported to give the company a valuation of $2.2 billion. The Toronto-based startup, headed by ex-Google researchers Aidan Gomez, Ivan Zhang and Nick Frosst, has raised a total of $435 million since its launch in 2019.

Other standout names on the Hurun Canada list include Zak Lefevre, founder of ChargeLab, and Griffin Keglevich and Ruslan Nikolaev, co-founders of Float.

Lefevre’s startup develops software for electric vehicle chargers that used by EV-infrastructure providers such as ABB and Siemens. In April 2023, ChargeLab secured $15 million in additional funding to bring the total raised by the company to more than $35 million.

Keglevich and Nikolaev’s Float was set up by the two University of Waterloo students in 2019 to develop a corporate card expense management platform. Their startup has raised $30 million to date.

Another emerging force in Canadian B2B business is Aanikh Kler and Swish Goswaim’s white-label loyalty and rewards platform Surf. Their business, founded in 2018, has raised nearly C$40 million to date as it helps enterprises capture consumer data ethically and reward consumers sustainably.

Also more than worthy of mention is Saad Siddiqui, founder and CEO of Bonsai, which brings online content publishers and merchants together to create new buying opportunities. In 2022, Siddiqui’s startup raised C$21 million to bring its total funding to C$38 million.

Gilbert Chen, chief of Canada Youth Business Club, said, “We are immensely grateful to Hurun Report for providing us with this opportunity, entrusting the Canada Youth Business Club as the sole exclusive organizer of the 2023 Hurun North America U30s. Relying on the robust data and professional research of the Hurun Research Institute, we have discovered these outstanding entrepreneurs. CYBC shares the same spirit and dedication as Hurun Report, committed to promoting the entrepreneurial spirit. We firmly believe that this spirit knows no borders. Through the U30 listing, we aim to increase the visibility of these young entrepreneurs, garnering attention from society and the government while enabling investors to discover promising projects for investment. We hope these entrepreneurs receive more effective support in their early stages, creating greater benefits for future development. Through collaboration with Hurun, we've unearthed exceptional entrepreneurs from diverse ethnicities and nations, which holds particular significance for Canada's cultural diversity, showcasing the borderless nature of the entrepreneurial spirit. We have extended invitations to these entrepreneurs to join our Youth Business Leaders Group, firmly believing that this circle will serve as a model for more young entrepreneurs, offering guidance and support for their future. Therefore, we are confident and eagerly anticipate our collaboration with Hurun, seeing this partnership not just as a momentary intersection but as the beginning of a journey together. We look forward to mutual growth in this collaboration and anticipate expanding our cooperation with Hurun Report in other domains.”

Sector breakdown

A striking feature of this year’s Canada list was the many different sectors in which entrepreneurs are launching businesses. Broken down by industry, the biggest categories were information technology, with 6 companies, financial services and manufacturing each with 4 companies, automotive and healthcare each with 3 companies.

Services account for the majority of businesses on the list, with only 22 of the 46 companies dealing with physical products. 

And the majority of the companies are B2B (business-to-business) firms – 26 of the total. 

Location

By city, Toronto is the most popular location, with 17 businesses, followed by Vancouver with 12. In third place was Surrey in British Columbia with four.

Education

Almost all of Canada’s young entrepreneurs are university graduates. One launched has business straight out of high school, while four dropped out of university to start their firms. 

Three universities accounted for nearly half of the people on the list: the University of British Columbia, with 13 names (including one who dropped out), the University of Toronto with ten (three of whom dropped out), the University of New Brunswick with seven names, and Simon Fraser University and the University of Waterloo (one dropout), both with four.

Age breakdown

Broken down by age, 51 of the people on the list were aged 26 or over. The other 19 were aged 23 to 25.

Not born in Canada

Just under a quarter of the entrepreneurs are migrants to Canada. Twelve were born in China, three in India, two in Russia and one in the Netherlands.

“Canada’s openness to people from other countries is a huge plus,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Shanghai-headquartered Hurun. “It means talented people from around the world can arrive here and expect to thrive.” 

Hurun Canada Under30s 2023

Source: Hurun Research Institute

Aidan Gomez. Aidan Gomez with Ivan Zhang and Nick Frosst founded AI company Cohere in 2019 to make better chatbots using large neural networks. To date, Cohere has raised $435 million.

Ivan Zhang. Ivan Zhang with Aidan Gomez and Nick Frosst founded AI company Cohere in 2019 to make better chatbots using large neural networks. To date, Cohere has raised $435 million.

Nick Frosst. Nick Frosst with Aidan Gomez and Ivan Zhang founded AI company Cohere in 2019 to make better chatbots using large neural networks. To date, Cohere has raised $435 million.

Akshat Jagga. Akshat Jagga is one of five founders of artificial intelligence company Wombo, along with Ben-Zion Benkhin, Parshant Loungani, Angad Arneja and Paul Pavel. Wombo, which has raised $6 million to date, helps users create and manipulate digital replicas of themselves.

Angad Arneja. Angad Arneja is one of five founders of artificial intelligence company Wombo, along with Ben-Zion Benkhin, Parshant Loungani, Akshat Jagga and Paul Pavel. Wombo, which has raised $6 million to date, helps users create and manipulate digital replicas of themselves.

Ben-Zion Benkhin. Ben-Zion Benkhin is one of five founders of artificial intelligence company Wombo, along with Angad Arneja, Parshant Loungani, Akshat Jagga and Paul Pavel. Wombo, which has raised $6 million to date, helps users create and manipulate digital replicas of themselves.

Parshant Loungani. Parshant Loungani is one of five founders of artificial intelligence company Wombo, along with Angad Arneja, Ben-Zion Benkhin, Akshat Jagga and Paul Pavel. Wombo, which has raised $6 million to date, helps users create and manipulate digital replicas of themselves.

Paul Pavel. Paul Pavel is one of five founders of artificial intelligence company Wombo, along with Akshat Jagga, Ben-Zion Benkhin, Parshant Loungani and Angad Arneja. Wombo, which has raised $6 million to date, helps users create and manipulate digital replicas of themselves. Pavel left the company to pursue other business interests in January 2023

Saad Siddiqui. Bonsai, founded by Saad Siddiqui in 2016 after he dropped out of university, lets online publishers sell goods on their sites with an embedded commerce app. The company raised C$21 million in 2022.

Swish Goswami. Swish Goswaim with Aanikh Kler set up white-label loyalty and rewards platform Surf to let enterprises capture consumer data ethically and reward consumers sustainably. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly C$40 million to date.

Aanikh Kler. Aanikh Kler with Swish Goswaim set up white-label loyalty and rewards platform Surf to let enterprises capture consumer data ethically and reward consumers sustainably. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly C$40 million to date.

Griffin Keglevich. Griffin Keglevich co-founded Float with Ruslan Nikolaev to build a corporate card expenses management platform. Established in 2019, Float has raised $30 million to date.

Ruslan Nikolaev. Ruslan Nikolaev co-founded Float with Griffin Keglevich to build a corporate card expenses management platform. Established in 2019, Float has raised $30 million to date.

Maxwell Nicholson. Maxwell Nicholson with Kartik Bhutani and Annika Ng founded Blossom Social to create a platform that would boost financial literacy by letting people learn and share knowledge about investing. Since its establishment in 2021, Blossom Social has attracted $1 million in funding.

Kartik Bhutani. Kartik Bhutani with Maxwell Nicholson and Annika Ng founded Blossom Social to create a platform that would boost financial literacy by letting people learn and share knowledge about investing. Since its establishment in 2021, Blossom Social has attracted $1 million in funding.

Annika Ng. Annika Ng with Kartik Bhutani and Maxwell Nicholson founded Blossom Social to create a platform that would boost financial literacy by letting people learn and share knowledge about investing. Since its establishment in 2021, Blossom Social has attracted $1 million in funding.

Sukhmanjit Singh Sidhu. Sukhmanjit Singh Sidhu moved to Canada for study in 2015. After graduating he worked for a short time at a trucking company before launching Blackbuck Logistics to specialise in transporting agricultural goods in 2021. In his third year of business, Sidhu expects turnover to reach $4 million.

Avi Horwitz. Avi Horwitz launched Sterling Floor & Tile in 2016 determined to offer high service levels in the construction industry. The company turned over $1.5 million in its first year and is now targeting $50 million within the next two years.

Anastasia Kiku. Anastasia Kiku launched Reusables with Jason Hawkins in 2021 to help restaurants achieve zero-waste packaging and reduce their costs. Reusables has received funding of $1.5 million to date and turned over more than $250,000.

Jason Hawkins. Jason Hawkins launched Reusables with Anastasia Kiku in 2021 to help restaurants achieve zero-waste packaging and reduce their costs. Reusables has received funding of $1.5 million to date and turned over more than $250,000.

Joseph Lee. Joseph Lee co-founded e-commerce platform for foodservice distribution Freshline in 2016. He served as its chief product officer until December 2022 still serves on its board and as an advisor. In February 2023 he co-launched startup Supademo, a platform that lets users create interactive product demos.

Clinton Large. Clinton Large founded Large Tutoring in 2020 and has built his business since then around offering a safe space for students. He forecasts revenues of C$220,000 for 2023.

Vivian Liu. Vivian Liu launched Making Auto Easy to empower women to make informed auto purchases. At the heart of her business is a software engine that guides users to customized recommendations.

Arnav Mishra. Arnav Mistra founded Dyne, a SaaS platform to offer people restaurant recommendations and restaurants AI-organized data on their customer. Still an undergraduate, Dyne has already raised more than $1 million offering data across restaurants in five Canadian cities.

Enrique Moran-Corado. Enrique Moran-Corado with Sophie Berger and Callum Woznow founded Zeeno.ai to let people use AI chatbots on their smartphones. Within four months of setting up their business in early 2023, they had secured more than $600,000 in funding from San Francisco-based VC community Neo.

Sophie Berger. Sophie Berger with Enrique Moran-Corado and Callum Woznow founded Zeeno.ai to let people use AI chatbots on their smartphones. Within four months of setting up their business in early 2023, they had secured more than $600,000 in funding from San Francisco-based VC community Neo.

Callum Woznow. Callum Woznow with Enrique Moran-Corado and Sophie Berger founded Zeeno.ai to let people use AI chatbots on their smartphones. Within four months of setting up their business in early 2023, they had secured more than $600,000 in funding from San Francisco-based VC community Neo.

Franco Ng. Franco Ng launched Porte Global in 2021 to train young leaders by supporting parents and their children with academic planning and career preparation.

Sarb Purewal. When Sarb Purewal began working for his family's trucking company as a teenager, his first step was to automate all its processes. Since then, as COO he's grown Seven Horses Transportation's revenues to C$40 million and added warehousing and land development to its business scope.

Raveena Oberoi. From baking cakes for her two shops to launching jars of cakes and distributing to nearly 100 retailers, Raveena Oberoi has built Just Cakes Bakeshop to a C$2.2 million turnover business. Her latest venture: selling jars of cakes through vending machines.

Edward Tung. Edward Tung and his brother Jensen Tung launched Storagehotel in 2019 to offer students low-cost, technology-enabled storage for their belongings. The company now turns over hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Jensen Tung. Jensen Tung and his brother Edward Tung launched Storagehotel in 2019 to offer students low-cost, technology-enabled storage for their belongings. The company now turns over hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Jensen also runs his own media production company, Jensen Tung Media and has dabbled in NFTs.

Cassidy Watt. Cassidy Watt dropped out of university to enter the cosmetics industry. In 2019, she launched her own studio, which now has 20 staff and an education arm.

Hanieh Zahiremami. Hanieh Zahiremami founded healthcare technology company Edee Care with Raaj Chatterjee to provide innovative solutions for individuals with epilepsy.

Raaj Chatterjee. Raaj Chatterjee founded healthcare technology company Edee Care with Hanieh Zahiremami to provide innovative solutions for individuals with epilepsy. Chatterjee is also the co-founder and CEO of MeaningfulWork, an organization that helps companies bring their people and culture strategy to life through impactful giving.

Xavier Hébert-Couturier. Xavier Hébert-Couturier, Dominic Levesque, Maxime Dumont and Zachary Andersen were all engineering students at the University of New Brunswick when they founded agtech startup Picketa Systems in 2020. Since then they have raised more than C$1.7 million for their technology which helps farmers decide when and how much fertilizer to use. 

Maxime Dumont. Maxime Dumont with Xavier Hébert-Couturier, Dominic Levesque and Zachary Andersen were all engineering students at the University of New Brunswick when they founded agtech startup Picketa Systems in 2020. Since then they have raised more than C$1.7 million for their technology which helps farmers decide when and how much fertilizer to use. 

Dominic Levesque. Dominic Levesque with Xavier Hébert-Couturier, Maxime Dumont and Zachary Andersen were all engineering students at the University of New Brunswick when they founded agtech startup Picketa Systems in 2020. Since then they have raised more than C$1.7 million for their technology which helps farmers decide when and how much fertilizer to use. 

Zachary Anderson. Zachary Andersen with Xavier Hébert-Couturier, Dominic Levesque and Maxime Dumont were all engineering students at the University of New Brunswick when they founded agtech startup Picketa Systems in 2020. Since then they have raised more than C$1.7 million for their technology which helps farmers decide when and how much fertilizer to use. 

Bronwyn Bridges. Bronwyn Bridges launched PragmaClin, a medical technology company that offers digital assessment tools for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, in 2021. The company has raised $157,000 to date.

Nicholas Dowling. Nicolas Dowling founded Potential Motors with Sam Poirier to develop control systems for electric vehicles. Focusing on off-road vehicles, their startup has raised C$7.2 million to date.

Sam Poirier. Sam Poirier founded Potential Motors with Nicolas Dowling to develop control systems for electric vehicles. Focusing on off-road vehicles, their startup has raised C$7.2 million to date.

Curtis Kennedy. After dropping out from an engineering course, Curtis Kennedy went on to found Symbodi in 2017 to make products that treat back pain and software aimed at preventing it.

Pratap Sandhu. Pratap Sandhu left his family food business to found Vancouver-based vegan food manufacturer Pangea Natural Foods in 2021. The company sells its products online and through more than 500 retail outlets.

Devesh Bharadwaj. Devesh Bharadwaj is founder and CEO of Pani Energy, a developer of artificial intelligence driven systems that optimize the operations of water, desalination and waste-water treatment plants. It has raised more than C$10 million in funding to date.

Shelby Yee. Shelby Yee co-founded RockMass Technologies with Matthew Gubasta while the two of them were students at Queens University. The company, which develops LiDar and other digital mapping technologies for mining companies around the world, has secured C$2.5 million in funding to date.

Matthew Gubasta. Matthew Gubasta founded RockMass Technologies with Shelby Yee while the two of them were students at Queens University. After helping the company, which develops LiDar and other digital mapping technologies for mining companies around the world, secured C$2.5 million of funding, Gubasta in early 2023 left the company to pursue other business interests.

Anouk van Pol. Anouk van Pol co-founded pipeline inspection company Ingu Solutions in 2016. Before that, as a student at the University of Amsterdam, she founded her first company, Amdano. Ingu has raised C$8.6 million to date for its "Pipers" technology.

Caleb Nasadyk. Caleb Nasadyk founded Heathrow Security with Ryder Davis in 2017. Since then they have grown their onsite and remote security services to C$5m annual turnover.

Ryder Davis. Ryder Davis founded Heathrow Security with Caleb Nasadyk in 2017. Since then they have grown their onsite and remote security services to C$5m annual turnover.

Seb Audet. Seb Audet co-founded Zapper in 2020 to give holders of cryptocurrencies a platform where they could manage all their assets in one place. Zapper has raised $15 million to date.

Myra Arshad. Myra Arshad co-founded ALT TEX with Avneet Ghotra to create an ecologically sustainable polyester alternative from food waste. Established in 2020, ALT TEX has raised $1.4 million to date.

Avneet Ghotra. Avneet Ghotra co-founded ALT TEX with Myra Arshad to create an ecologically sustainable polyester alternative from food waste. Established in 2020, ALT TEX has raised $1.4 million to date.

Sophie Wyne. Sophie Wyne co-founded Ariglad with Ali Avci to develop a business services platform for human resources and other functions. Based in Vancouver, Ariglad has raised nearly $1 million to date.

Ali Avci. Ali Avci co-founded Ariglad with Ali Avci to develop a business services platform for human resources and other functions. Based in Vancouver, Ariglad has raised nearly $1 million to date.

Alexandre Turbide. Alexandre Turbide co-founded digital audio workstation platform BeatConnect to give musicians and producers a way of collaborating remotely in recording music. In 2020, BeatConnect secured funding of C$3 million.

Alexander Dungate. Alexander Dungate co-founded OnDeck Fisheries with Sepand Dyanatkar and Matthew Leighton to apply artificial intelligence to making fishing sustainable. OnDeck has secured funding of C$1.3 million to date.

Sepand Dyanatkar. Sepand Dyanatkar co-founded OnDeck Fisheries with Alexander Dungate and Matthew Leighton to apply artificial intelligence to making fishing sustainable. OnDeck has secured funding of C$1.3 million to date.

Zak Lefevre. Zak Lefevre co-founded ChargeLab to build the software for electric vehicle chargers. Its products are now used by companies such as Siemens and ABB. ChargeLab's funding has now reached more than $35 million.

Jason Zhen Zhao. Since co-founding his automotive sales and services holding company EMS World in 2017, Jason Zhen Zhao has grown its annual revenues to C$68 million and its net profit to nearly $2 million.

Pasha Celik. Pasha Celik founded Red Trillion as a holding company for his other food, distribution and technology businesses. Red Trillion reported turnover of C$19 million and profits of C$5.6 million in 2022.

Michael Qiyu Jing. Michael Qiyu Jing co-founded Justeco Canada to market and sell environmentally friendly food packaging. Established in 2021, Justeco reported revenue of C$6.4 million in 2022.

Tan Tan. Tan Tan launched her online vape products business Super Vape in 2021. Since then its annual revenues have grown to C$2.6 million.

Lucy Bao. Lucy Bao co-founded Blockchain Venture Capital in 2019. The Toronto-based startup has issued its own stablecoin, CADT, and is provider of technology infrastructure to participants in the blockchain and distributed ledger industry. 

Xianyu Zhu. Zha Xianyu's Chahalo sells its products across numerous online food platforms. His Toronto-based company was founded in 2023.

Leno Yizhou Zhao. Leno Yizhou Zhao co-founded Longan Vision to develop virtual reality and other hardware for use by people working in dangerous environments. Longan Vision has raised C$1 million in funding to date.

Celina Xiong. Celina Xiong launched new materials company Evola Material in Canada in 2023. The company sells and provides after sales service for new silicon monoxide materials developed in China.

Xirui Wang. Xirui Wang launched Hirenown Canada is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and development, production, and sales of new materials such as high-performance adhesives and functional coatings. 

Yi Zhang. Yi Zhang launched Illunox Media, which has emerged as a trailblazer in the digital marketing landscape, having served over 300 companies to date.

Jiacheng Xu. Jiacheng Xu is the founder of Fafa international power, which is a distributor of Beauty & Personal Care specified in Canada Nail Supplies.

About Canada Youth Business Club

The Canada Youth Business Club, a non-profit organization, cultivates entrepreneurship among Canada's youth. Committed to nurturing innovation and leadership, we provide customized resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Our workshops and seminars empower members with essential skills for navigating the business landscape. Join us to explore entrepreneurial ideas, access funding, and establish a vibrant network. Together, let's inspire and empower the next generation of young entrepreneurs, driving impactful change.

For further information, see www.hurun.net.