About us
League of Innovators (LOI) is Canada’s only founder-focused accelerator designed specifically for youth aged 15-30. We empower the next generation of entrepreneurs by providing support that accelerates ventures while also deeply investing in the individuals behind them—because we know successful businesses begin with resilient, supported founders.
OUR APPROACH
Founder-first, always
LOI treats founders like professional athletes in training—helping them develop the mindset, skills, and community needed to sustain a career in entrepreneurship. Every program, event, and partnership we build is designed around one goal: to help founders stay in the game longer and create the future they want to see.
OUR ORIGINS
From a startup idea to a national movement
LOI was born from the belief that entrepreneurship shouldn’t be left to chance. It began in the early days of Hootsuite, when founder Ryan Holmes looked back on his own twenty-year path—from running a pizza shop as a teenager to building one of Canada’s biggest tech companies—and realized how different that journey could have been if support had started earlier.
What started as a small pilot program inside Hootsuite’s offices, known then as The Next Big Thing, was built to give young people something Ryan never had: access to mentorship, community, and real-world experience while they were still forming their entrepreneurial skills. The idea took off. What began as a local initiative quickly grew into a national movement—evolving into LOI, a charity dedicated to making entrepreneurship accessible to every young Canadian.
Today, LOI carries forward that founding vision: to back the next generation of builders with the coaching, connections, and confidence they need to turn potential into impact—and to do it faster than any generation before.
Let's build what's next -- together.
Whether you’re a founder, mentor, or partner, there’s a place for you at LOI.
Join our community, apply for a program, or collaborate with us to grow the future of entrepreneurship in Canada.