small businesses : Featured Stories

If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be? A new youth-driven movement connects the leaders of today with the leaders of tomorrow, bridging the gap between ideas and opportunity, all over a cup of coffee. 

As the LRT construction chews its way along Eglinton, local businesses are teaming up with the Business Improvement Area to counter the construction chaos with creative placemaking. 

West Queen West is a neighbourhood in deep transition. We talk to Rob Sysak, executive director at the WQW BIA, about how the neighbourhood has changed and what's in store for the stretch of Queen Street that runs from Bathurst to Gladstone. 

Open data is revolutionizing public access to complex government information. It's allowing entrepreneurs to build new apps based on regional data--from bus times to safe beach databases--all while making the City and its citizens more informed and involved.

By collaborating with universities in India and across the world, and building a mini accelerator program that's set to open in the Bombay Stock Exchange in May, Ryerson looks to help cement Toronto's position as an international innovation capital. 

There's more to believing than seeing. We look at two local entrepreneurs with vision impairments who are creating new products designed to enhance the day-to-day life and social experiences of those with low vision and blindness.

A tough job market for youth might have one benefit: encouraging young entrepreneurs to take the plunge. In part II of our series exploring youth entrepreneurship we look at how young leaders are using underemployment as an opportunity for advancement.

The first in a two-part series exploring local youth entrepreneurship, this article looks at how a growing number of high school, university and college students are using crowdfunding to help finance and launch their own businesses while they're still in school. 

Igor Bonifacic reflects on the year that's been in the city's startup community, and looks forward to five startups to watch in 2014. From cameras to keyboards, Toronto's entrepreneurs are entering the market with five exciting new products.

Wearable technology is gaining significant ground here in Toronto, from bulletproof suits to devices that offer vision to the legally blind. We round up several entrepreneurs who are pushing boundaries and weaving the world of wearable tech as we know it. 

From printing synthetic skin to preventing Internet censorship, local companies are shaking things up. In part II of our series exploring exponential technologies in Toronto, we look at how the city’s innovators are revolutionizing cyber security and 3D printing.

A new program called Garden Connections uses design technology to imagine and demonstrate what gardens could look like on condominiums, all before lifting a shovel. The technology beautifies floorplans and could have huge sway on how buyers purchase condos. 

Hossein Rahnama is the brain behind Flybits, an award winning Ryerson-based company that is changing the way we communicate with our cities—and how our cities communicate with us. Context-aware computing may sound futuristic, but it's already here.

From Toronto to New York: International investors, especially American ones, are starting to invest in the city's most promising startups. We look at how Toronto's 500px scored its first investment and what that means for the city's ecosystem.

Faster computing and cheaper product development has created a booming culture of innovation in Toronto. This two part series takes a look at four sectors leading the way, starting with healthcare and cleantech.