ATS Labs - August 2024 Edition

Hey everyone,

It's always so busy here at Access to Success that we often forget to pause and acknowledge just how far we've come. We tend to be always "go, go, go!", and to be fair it has led to some amazing wins - like getting transformative funding from the HP Digital Equity Accelerator, signing an MOU with KITE-UHN, and bringing back our old partners CIBC and CBC/Radio-Canada for yet another year.

But did you know, our team is now five people? It's been game-changing to have leaders like Hannah Sennik, Stephen Velasco, Teresa Lee and Prem Mehta-Spooner, all lifting Access to Success to a whole new level. They are all singularly brilliant people who are completely transforming our program experience in ways I (Varun) had only dreamt of.

It's thanks to this powerhouse team that this year, we received our highest-ever number of applications, and are now announcing our largest-ever cohort of 14 companies. These 14 companies will have access to resources and opportunities that we've been working towards for a long time. In the coming days and months, you will see news coming out that we've been working towards for years.

Tomorrow the team will get together for a mini-celebration ahead of ATS Labs 2024 beginning in September. If you're reading this, I hope you take the time to pause and celebrate your wins with your teams. It's important. And then, go, go, go!

- Varun

Introducing our ATS Labs 2024 Cohort

After receiving our highest-ever number of applications in 2024, it was only fitting that we make this our largest cohort so far. This year, 14 extremely promising accessibility startups will join us from Canada, the United States, the UK, and Australia.

These companies are at the forefront of disability innovation, each offering unique and scalable solutions that address diverse accessibility needs. We are excited to welcome them into the ATS Labs community and support them in their journey to #EnableEveryone.

Please join us in welcoming:

1. Baby Zips, Canada: Makes the process of dressing children easier with zipper integration, adaptive hoodies, pants, jackets and inclusive-TEEs.
2. Cyberworks Robotics Inc., Canada: Makers of an autonomous wheelchair robot.
3. MedInclude, Canada: Helps providers better communicate with patients by simplifying and translating medical information.
4. Pump Pocket, Canada: Makes undergarments with specialized pockets to hold an insulin pump and/or receiver for children and teens with type one diabetes.
5. Orthosium Inc., Canada: for patients recovering from a lower-body injury or post-surgery, the CastOff Weight-bearing system provides biofeedback using a sensor-based insole, a tracking pod and smartphone app.
6. 119, USA: A patent-pending communication tool for individuals who need personalized medical care on a recurring basis, to guide bystanders through the appropriate response in an emergency situation.
7. Autism Travel Club (ATC), USA: Empowers businesses and their employees to support autistic people and their families through autism-sensitive experiences.
8. Blueberry Technology Inc., USA: Autonomous personal mobility solutions designed for airport environments to enhance last-mile transportation.
9. Good Trouble Games Inc., USA: Designs and builds remarkably accessible video games, alongside pioneering accessibility tech that extend beyond gaming to democratize education, job training, and social benefits for people with disabilities.
10. Soul Mobility Inc, USA: Bridging the gap between sleek, compact manual wheelchairs and larger, dedicated power chairs with the Power-Flex power base attachment.
11. Testa Seat Inc, USA: Multifunctional seating solution designed to meet the needs of children with physical disabilities and their parents.
12. Accessercise, UK: The world’s first complete fitness app, specifically designed for the disabled community.
13. PoiLabs, UK: Making venues accessible for visually impaired and blind individuals through its advanced indoor location platform.
14. Split Atom Labs Pty Ltd, Australia: Accessible-by-design casual games with social connection at their core for people with disabilities.

Stay tuned for your chance to meet these inspiring innovators soon!

Learn more about their work, congratulate them, and help us spread the word via our LinkedIn post announcing the cohort.

Resources and Opportunities

• Aging in Place Challenge: Funding opportunity to support older Canadians and their care partners to live well in their home and in communities of their choice. Apply by August 19 >
• AGE-WELL Emerging Entrepreneur Award: $50,000 award ?designed to give a new entrepreneur the financial resources to help make their ideas viable and deployable in service to older adults. Apply by August 30 >

Up Next

ATS will be at the 2024 AGE-WELL Annual Conference, which takes place fromOctober 23-24 in Edmonton, Alberta. This is a great conference for age-tech innovators – come say hi if you're planning to be there! Learn more >

A message from our Chief Fetch Officer (CFO) - Dash

Thank you for being part of the ATS community. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you in the coming weeks!?

ATS Labs Alumni - got news to share? Email us and we'll feature you in a future newsletter.