Intuit Canada announces eight startups joining the inaugural cohort of Canadian accelerator
Selected startups of the Intuit Prosperity Accelerator, powered by Highline Beta, will pilot innovative tech solutions positioned to help Canadian small businesses and consumers address urgent financial health challenges that have been advanced due to COVID-19.
TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2020 /CNW/ - Intuit Canada, a leading global financial platform company known for products such as TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint, and Highline Beta, a venture studio and venture capital firm, today announced the inaugural cohort of eight startups that have been welcomed to the Intuit Prosperity Accelerator.
The Intuit Prosperity Accelerator is a partnership between Intuit Canada and Highline Beta, where a cohort of global seed-stage tech startups will help solve specific pressing financial prosperity challenges that Canadian consumers, self-employed and small businesses will be facing in the wake of COVID-19.
The inaugural cohort was selected based on their commitment to building durable solutions that help consumers eliminate debt, build savings and enable financial literacy; and/or help self-employed and small businesses improve cash flow, attract customers and access help.
"This promising group of startups bring a true passion and commitment to solving for their customers - a value that is at the heart of Intuit's mission of Powering Prosperity Around the World," said David Marquis, Country Manager at Intuit Canada. "Over the coming months, this collaboration with the startup ecosystem will allow us to innovate with velocity and purpose. I am inspired by the opportunity to expand the scope of our impact for Canadians in the wake of COVID-19."
"We have been impressed with the calibre of the applications, and I am thrilled to welcome these eight amazing companies to the inaugural cohort," says Benjamin Yoskovitz, Founding Partner at Highline Beta. "They are all tackling complex problems – from financial advice accessibility to handling payroll, and estate planning to life insurance. We look forward to supporting these companies and getting pilot solutions off the ground."
"COVID-19 has created distinct challenges for Canadians, and start-ups are no exception," noted Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. "The Intuit Prosperity Accelerator is an exciting initiative to support Canada's start-up ecosystem and foster innovative, digital solutions to help small businesses and Canadians with their financial health at this challenging time. Congrats to these eight start-ups joining this Canadian accelerator!"
These pilots will work on delivering solutions related to two distinct segments: 1) preparing consumers for pivotal life moments; and 2) helping small businesses develop resilience amidst this period of uncertainty and beyond.
Meet the inaugural cohort:
Consumer Segment
Homewise (Toronto, ON) is a digital mortgage provider that uses machine learning and automation to enable home buyers to get their best mortgage from over 30 lenders with a simple, full-service digital experience.
Emma (Quebec City, QC) is a family-centric life insurance platform that makes buying life insurance easy, affordable and accessible. Their solution leverages big data to underwrite their insurances, and a proprietary chat function that allows customers to get on-demand advice from experts.
Willful (Toronto, ON) is an estate planning platform that makes it easy, affordable, and accessible for Canadians to plan for and deal with death in a digital age.
Paper & Coin (Toronto, ON) aims to transform the way young adults think about and handle their money through financial coaching, courses, and content that helps Millennials eliminate debt, build wealth, and live the life of their dreams.
Small Business Segment
Dryrun (Edmonton, AB) is a sophisticated cash flow management tool that pairs automation of intelligent financial forecasts with scenario planning and modelling, assisting businesses of all sizes to make better informed decisions about their present and future direction.
Otis AI (New York, NY, US) is an AI-powered app for businesses who strive to connect with customers and generate results. Their solution allows anyone to launch data-driven digital ad campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and Google in minutes.
Rivvi (Toronto, ON) is an autonomous payroll platform that incorporates AI to remove manual processes and enables small businesses to offer their employees the benefit of choosing when they get paid, depending on their own personal circumstances.
Sparcblock (Toronto, ON) streamlines B2B transactions, reducing data entry and paperwork and eliminating reconciliation that helps small businesses reduce processing time, increase efficiency, and save money through invoicing, approval, posting and payment.
These eight startups will participate in four months of virtual programming that gives them access to Intuit and Highline Beta's mentorship network, $20,000 towards pilot execution, and the opportunity for follow-on investment from Highline Beta. For more information on the program, visit: www.intuit.com/ca/prosperity-accelerator.
About Intuit: Intuit's mission is to power prosperity around the world. We are a mission-driven, global financial platform company with products including TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint and Turbo, designed to empower consumers, self-employed and small businesses to improve their financial lives. Our platform and products help customers get more money with the least amount of work, while giving them complete confidence in their actions and decisions. Our innovative ecosystem of financial management solutions serves more than 50 million customers worldwide. Please visit us for the latest news and in-depth information about Intuit and its brands and find us on social.
About Highline Beta: Highline Beta is a venture studio and venture capital firm helping Fortune 1000s grow outside of their core through venture development and startup partnerships. Highline Beta runs accelerator programs with leading corporations to help them partner and pilot more quickly and effectively with startups. Learn more at Highline Beta.
SOURCE Highline BETA
Contacts: Elena Yunusov, Highline Beta, [email protected], 416-817-6296; Sana Mehkri, Edelman Canada (for Intuit), [email protected], 416-524-5456
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