Innovation Guelph — Rhyze Up! Program

• The company must be women-led or women-owned, or nonbinary-led or nonbinary-owned.
• The business must be incorporated in Canada.
• The company must employ fewer than 500 staff.
• The business must generate a minimum of $200,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
• The founder must be committed to scaling the business beyond a local, consultant, or solo service/retail model.

Who is eligible?

• Women-led or women-owned companies
• Nonbinary-led or nonbinary-owned companies
• Canadian incorporated companies generating recurring revenue
• Companies seeking to scale up beyond local retail or local service operations

Who is not eligible

• Businesses that are not women-led, women-owned, nonbinary-led, or nonbinary-owned.
• Companies that are not incorporated in Canada.
• Firms employing 500 or more staff.
• Companies generating less than $200,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
• Consultants or solo entrepreneurs with a service or retail outlet focused on selling locally, and/or that are unable or unwilling to scale.

Eligible expenses

• Business scale-up services delivered through the program’s Traction Phase, supported by a subsidy of $5,000 for approved projects.
• Up to 15 hours of mentorship in the Discovery Phase (fully funded by the program).
• 1:1 leadership coaching sessions provided throughout the program (fully funded by the program).

Eligible geographic areas

• Companies incorporated anywhere in Canada.

There are evaluation and selection criteria for the Rhyze® Up! program. Companies must meet the following requirements:

• Be women-led, women-owned, nonbinary-led, or nonbinary-owned
• Incorporated in Canada
• Employ less than five hundred staff
• Generating a minimum of $200,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR)
• Founder cannot be a consultant or solo entrepreneur with a service or retail outlet focused on selling locally, and/or unable or unwilling to scale
• Other eligibility criteria may be used to determine companies who would be the best fit for the program

• The program is described as a national accelerator offered by Boundless Accelerator™ (formerly Innovation Guelph) and is supported in part by NRC IRAP.
• The initiative is positioned as inclusive, explicitly welcoming all women and those who identify as women, as well as nonbinary leaders.
• Limited spots are available, and not all applicants who meet the requirements will necessarily be accepted.
• Applicants who submit a detailed application can expect to be contacted by someone from Boundless within two business days.