Canada’s Startup Accelerator Landscape: 1Mby1M and the National Bootstrapping Opportunity

Canada is a country of vast distances, diverse cultures, and distributed talent. From the financial corridors of Toronto to the AI labs of Montreal, the creative studios of Vancouver, and smaller emerging hubs in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Waterloo, the Canadian startup ecosystem is geographically spread out yet deeply capable. This dispersion is both a challenge and an opportunity: traditional accelerators and investors often focus on major cities, leaving founders in smaller hubs under-supported. 1Mby1M bridges that gap, offering a virtual, scalable, and globally informed mentoring model that works anywhere in the country.

Featured Videos

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Daniel Ibri, Mindset Ventures (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: I would like to hear a bit about some case studies of companies you have invested in following this investment thesis you just described. And what have you learned? Why are they choosing you, and what value are you adding? How are you playing this investment thesis out?

What Makes a Startup Fundable

Over 99% of entrepreneurs who seek Venture Capital funding get rejected. I run One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), a global virtual accelerator for startups. 2025 is our fifteenth year supporting entrepreneurs.

Thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurs have approached us for help with their funding at a stage where their chances of getting funding is ZERO. We can’t help them, regardless of how powerful our investor connections are.

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Video FAQs

Canada’s Startup Accelerator Landscape: Vancouver, Sustainability, Gaming, and Global Scale

Vancouver sits at Canada’s Pacific edge, a city defined by its stunning geography, international connections, and innovative spirit. Unlike Toronto’s finance-driven entrepreneurship or Montreal’s AI research dominance, Vancouver’s ecosystem thrives at the intersection of sustainability, gaming, digital media, and global trade. Yet, like all startup hubs, it wrestles with a familiar tension: abundant support and capital, but often insufficient focus on revenue-first discipline.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Daniel Ibri, Mindset Ventures (Part 1)

Daniel Ibri is Co-founder and Managing Partner at Mindset Ventures. This is an excellent discussion about the changing dynamics of AI and venture capital.

Canada’s Startup Accelerator Landscape: Montreal, AI Powerhouse with a Global Mindset

Montreal has emerged as one of the world’s premier AI hubs, rivaling Toronto, London, and San Francisco in academic depth and innovation energy. With its deep research ecosystem, strong cultural identity, and global perspective, the city stands as a key pillar of Canada’s startup landscape. Yet, as with so many ecosystems I have studied globally, Montreal’s founders face a similar dilemma: too much emphasis on raising venture capital too soon — and not enough focus on bootstrapping to customer success first.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Mohanjit Jolly, Partner at Iron Pillar (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: What are you seeing in India? The first wave of Indian e-commerce or consumer brands served the higher end. Now the middle class is much more tuned into e-commerce. Everyone uses 10-minute services like Blinkit. What trends are you seeing in going down-market in e-commerce?

Canada’s Startup Accelerator Landscape: Toronto, Fintech Capital and SaaS Powerhouse

Toronto is the beating heart of Canada’s startup ecosystem. It’s where finance, technology, and academia intersect most densely — a city that has matured into one of North America’s most vibrant innovation hubs. With a strong base in FinTech, SaaS, and AI, Toronto has given rise to several of Canada’s most globally recognized tech companies. Yet, despite its achievements, Toronto also embodies the structural contradictions of the modern startup landscape — an overemphasis on fundraising at the expense of sustainable business building.