Cultivator celebrates female founders for Women Entrepreneurs Week

As we celebrate Women Entrepreneurs Week at Cultivator powered by Conexus (Cultivator), we would love to take this time to showcase the female founders who are breaking boundaries, slashing stereotypes, and moving mountains in the local tech world.

Since its inception, Cultivator has proudly supported 38 female founders. This means that to date, 33% of Cultivator’s startups have been led by women. Women entrepreneurs have forever been underrepresented in the tech industry and we strive to combat that with intentional support through female leadership.

“The work we do now is critical to the long-term success of our ecosystem, and we know that female-led companies need to be at the forefront of everything we do.” – Hannah Castle, Program Manager at Cultivator. Cultivator fosters an environment for women to thrive in the tech ecosystem. The current success of female founders at Cultivator forecasts a bright future for women in tech. “Building a community of strong women at Cultivator has been so inspiring. Together, we are moving the dial on female representation in technology for the future.” – Bre Walkden, Community and Partners Manager at Cultivator.

Take a look at just a few of the women at Cultivator who are making waves when it comes to contributing to our communities and the economy…

Rochana Sawatzky – Beautiful Mood

As the sole founder and team member of the Beautiful mood app, Rochana is making waves and showing us here at Cultivator what it means to be a one-woman powerhouse. Beautiful Mood is an app that allows users to digitally journal/track their mood and will provide meaningful analytics based on inputted data. After recently hitting 200,000 downloads on the Beautiful Mood App, Rochana is staying consistent by adding new themes and designs each month.

Kristy Ehman – Hyon 

Led by founder Kristy Ehman, Hyon is one of Cultivator’s GROW companies and is the second Saskatchewan company ever to receive SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada) seed funding. Hyon has made it a mission to create a circular economy for office assets that will enhance sustainability, all while developing a growing team of 10 employees. 

Kayla Kozan – Peak Wellness 

With her mind on mental wellness, Kayla Kozan founded her meditation and wellness company, Peak Wellness,  to help reduce workplace-induced stress. With clients ranging from Hello Fresh, Microsoft, Netflix, and Amazon, Kayla has proven that she is a top dog at what she does. Whether it is by leading sessions for us here at Cultivator, or capturing another world-renowned client, Kayla proves to be an influential model for mental health and women in tech.

Karen Schuett – Livestock Water Recycling

Innovating the dairy industry, the founder of Livestock Water Recycling (LWR), Karen Schuett is connecting the farm, supply chain, and consumer interests. LWR has linked up with three of the world’s most renowned dairy companies (Nestle, Land O’Lakes, and Lely Group) to apply a forward-thinking approach to the dairy industry. Karen’s leadership has led LWR to its selection for the Mars Momentum Programs as one of Canada’s next 100 million companies. She was featured in Influential Women in Agriculture and continues to leave her mark in the industry.

Jessica McNaughton + Taylor Fox – memoryKPR

Having their app downloaded in over 100 countries, Co-Founders of memory KPR, Jessica McNaughton and Taylor Fox aim to store priceless memories in a digital format. When it comes to these women and representation in the tech ecosystem, they are all about it. They were recently accepted into the Silicon Valley Canadian Tech Accelerator Program and were named a part of the Startup Woman Advocacy Network representing Saskatchewan. 

Kimberley Baldwin + Carmen Johanson – Paytrail 

We were introduced to Paytrail Co-founders Kim Baldwin and Carmen Johanson way back when they were a part of the START Cohort 4 program. Fast forward to now, and Paytrail has just launched its consumer-facing app and is on the lookout for more eco-conscious retailers to become pay trail partners. Both Kim and Carmen are environmental engineers, and take the slogan ‘Women in STEM’ to all-new levels. If you thought these two ladies were busy enough just trying to clear the path for eco-conscious consumers, just wait until you hear what else they are up to. Kim is an avid learner and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in computer science. They recently secured a top 12 spot at the OKGN Angel Summit in 2022 and are now being considered for an accelerator in the U.S called Gener8tor. 

“Cultivator is a community. It’s a space where women support women, and men support women. The entire Cultivator community has lifted Kim and I up to feel like we can do anything – and because of that, we have. We have felt nothing but love and support and pride from the Cultivator HQ and we couldn’t imagine it any other way!”– Carmen Johanson

Serese Selanders – SolusGuard

SolusGuard is one of two successful safety-focused companies that Serese Selanders has founded. SolusGuard’s vision is to help employers keep their employees safe through safety devices and digital software. In recent news, SolusGuard was granted a patent application and has doubled its sales under Selander’s leadership. Serese was selected to join the Communitech Fierce Founders and the Canadian Trade Commission’s Silicon Valley Canadian Technology Accelerator programs. Serese was awarded one of the Top 20 Women in Safety of 2022 from Canadian Occupational Safety. SolusGarud has a growing team and is working to fill their new space-based out of Saskatoon, SK. 

“I am so proud to be a part of an organization that supports and encourages female tech founders.”– Serese Selanders

Yvonne Cafik – BoardCheckup 

Yvonne Cafik is the founder of Board Checkup, a self-assessment software service. Currently, BoardCheckup provides performance assessments for boards of directors of nonprofits. Their software has provided 24,000 assessments across the world. Yvonne has a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Public Administration. Aside from her impressive academic resume, Yvonne is quite an athlete. Her latest accomplishment was finishing the 2022 Boston Marathon. 

 “Through its entrepreneurial programming and support, Cultivator has helped me become a better scientist and founder of Board Checkup.”–Yvonne Cafik

Annika Mang – TrailCollectiv

TrialCollectiv is an alumni from START Cohort 2. Co-Founder Annika Mang is on a mission to help families find nearby hiking trails and connect people to the environment. TrailCollectiv is scheduled to go live in June of 2022 and has already been named top 100 for the Total Mom Pitch and for the StartUp Global Pitch Competition. Annika is an advocate for adventure which can be illustrated through her website ‘Born to Be Adventurous’. 

“Cultivator showed an incredible amount of support for me and my tech startup TrailCollectiv while I navigated my journey as a female founder. I have always felt like it has been a safe space to learn and grow.”– Annika Mang

These women are shaping the future for women in tech and are only scratching the surface with their own capabilities. Cultivator is dedicated to enhancing and supporting the success of our female founders, and we could not be more proud to showcase these women entrepreneurs this week, and every week.