ABOUT YEY
WHY WE BUILT IT
YEY was built to recognize high-potential founders earlier. Nominations are free and open to founders and the people who believe in them. An independent judging panel of operators, investors, and partners reviews every submission.
Winning costs nothing and gives away nothing.
WHAT WE’RE BUILDING
More than a moment on stage.
Four ways YEY makes a signal of recognition more useful in the years that follow.
01 — RECOGNITION
Recognition that moves something.
National visibility, founder stories, and warm introductions that help a strong company become easier to see.
02 — PLATFORM
A bigger platform for young founders.
Bring remarkable founders from across Canada to the attention of partners, investors, operators, and future customers.
03 — POSSIBILITY
Proof for whoever’s next.
Every founder we celebrate shows another young person that building a company is a real option—and that their geography or background does not set the ceiling.
04 — CONNECTION
One room for a country this big.
Bring founders, judges, partners, and community leaders together around one cohort and one shared commitment to Canada’s next generation.
THE SUMMIT
The awards bring people together. The Summit keeps them connected.
Across two days in Vancouver and Whistler, founders, partners, judges, and alumni spend less time watching panels and more time building real relationships. The experience combines honest founder stories, shared meals, outdoor time, and small-group conversations designed to continue long after the weekend. Founders leave with recognition. What they use afterwards is the network.
10
NATIONAL WINNERS
UNDER 30
BUILT FOR YOUNG FOUNDERS
$0
COST TO ENTER
ACROSS CANADA
FOUNDERS AND PARTNERS
AN INITIATIVE BY
The awards are the loudest thing we do. They aren’t the only thing.
WHAT’S NEXT