Fredericton’s Don’t Dis-My-Ability Takes Home Startup Canada Award
FREDERICTON– Fredericton entrepreneur Shawn Smith took home an award last night from the fourth annual national Startup Canada Awards at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
Smith, CEO of Don’t dis-my-ability Consultation Services was the winner of the Resilient Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC. Smith was the only entrepreneur from New Brunswick to take home an award last night. There were 11 New Brunswick entrepreneurs and companies up for nominations across the 17 categories.
Don’t dis-my-ability specializes in the emerging field of neurodiversity. Through the company, Smith offers counselling for individuals and families, consulting for businesses and keynotes and workshops.
RELATED: Fredericton’s Shawn Smith is Championing Uniqueness
Honoured to receive the @Startup_Canada Resilient #Entrepreneur #Award #nbproud pic.twitter.com/4Y2hhvetXe
— Don’t dis-my-ability (@dontdismyabilit) October 20, 2017
Another winner from the Maritime region was Nova Scotia-based Peace By Chocolate, who took home the Newcomer Entrepreneur Award.
The winner of this year’s Newcomer Entrepreneur #StartupCanAwards is @Peacebychoco! @bdc_ca pic.twitter.com/N8xRaNly6E
— Startup Canada (@Startup_Canada) October 20, 2017
The national winners were evaluated by the National Adjudication Committee; comprised of some of Canada’s leading entrepreneurship and industry experts.
The full list of winners from last night is below:
- The Right Honourable David Johnston, Former Governor General of Canada | Adam Chowaniec Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Mastercard Canada
- Anne Whelan, President and CEO, Seafair Capital Inc. | Entrepreneur of the Year, presented by Scotiabank
- Cindy Gordon, CEO and Co-Founder, SalesChoice Inc. | Senior Entrepreneur Award, presented by Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
- Graham Mann, Co-Founder, Lean Systems | Young Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC
- Nicole Verkindt, CEO and Founder, Offset Market Exchange (OMX) | Woman Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC
- Patrice Mousseau, CEO of Satya Organics | Indigenous Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC
- The Hadhad Family, Founder of Peace by Chocolate | Newcomer Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC
- Shawn Smith, Founder & CEO of Don’t dis-my-ability | Resilient Entrepreneur Award, presented by BDC
- Manny Padda, Founder, New Avenue Capital | Entrepreneur Promotion Award, presented by Opportunities New Brunswick
- YuKonstruct Makerspace Society | Entrepreneur Support Award
- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development | Policy Prize, presented by Lockheed Martin Canada
- Startup Kamloops | Startup Canada Community of the Year
- Hootsuite | Global Entrepreneurship Award, presented by UPS Canada
- Clearbanc | Innovation Award, presented by Intuit QuickBooks
- Pinnguaq | Social Enterprise Award, presented by Centre for Social Innovation
- GSOFT | High-Growth Entrepreneurship Award, presented by MNP LLP
- La Maison Simons | Canadian Icon Award
“Congratulations to all of the 2017 national Startup Canada Award winners,” said Victoria Lennox, co-founder and CEO of Startup Canada, in a release. “Each and every one of these outstanding recipients has an immense impact on the future of Canada and they all represent the greatness and diversity of our nation’s entrepreneurship community.”