”As entrepreneurs we fall in love with our products, and the problems that we are solving. We [the RUBIES team] celebrate trans kids and trans families - it’s infectious.”

Every girl deserves to shine. That’s the mission behind RUBIES - a Toronto-based business led by this episode’s guest, Jamie Alexander, alongside his daughter, Ruby. RUBIES is creating form-fitting clothing - everything from bikini bottoms and underwear, to bras and active wear - for trans girls so they can feel comfortable and confident doing what they love to do.

Along with apparel, Jamie and Ruby have ignited a powerful community online and across the world to support, celebrate and connect trans kids and their families.

This episode is part of the 2023 Startup Canada Podcast Pride Takeover. Today and everyday, we can all do our part to make Canada a better, more inclusive place to start and grow a business.

Ready to start right now and help Ruby and Jamie #spreadtransjoy? Consider donating a pair of bottoms to a girl in need:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/cd94e5-help-me-send-form-fitting-swimwear-to-trans-girls

Every Girl Deserves to Shine: Inclusivity in Fashion with Jamie Alexander

On the Startup Canada Podcast, we speak with the movers and shakers of Canada’s entrepreneurship community to give a glimpse into the future of business, and share insights on everything from social innovation to the future of work, investing, and why we need to think bigger to take our businesses global.

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As the CEO and Founder of Loba, Kate is innovating health and wellness by taking pill and supplement management from routine to ritual. Kate’s own health journey led her to to search for a solution that combined sleek organization, convenient reminders, and a positive sentiment around taking her pills. Finding nothing that resonated, Kate took the reins and created a platform for pill and supplement management that empowers rather than stigmatizes.

Reasoning with Ritual: Innovating Healthy Habits with Kate Bouchard

Inspired by his own experience with a tutor, Will realized the power of a great tutor and started TutorOcean in 2018. Just one year later, Will was approached by a university to offer the platform as a solution which led him to launch QuadC. Today, Will and his team support more than 50 higher institutions across North America and have more than 250,000 users across both products.

Tutoring Powered by Talent and Technology with Will Li

David Souaid is the Chief Revenue Officer and member of the board of directors at Journey Capital (formerly OnDeck Canada,) a leader in online small business lending. Journey Capital offers fast and flexible financing to founders so they can refuel their business. Journey Capital uses technology and also the guidance and advice of real business loan advisors to evaluate the financial needs of entrepreneurs and founders.

Get Funded: Accessing Money For Your Business with David Souaid

Together, Berto, Phil, Anthony and Robert are creating products that men can start celebrating, instead of tolerating. When searching for a comfortable pair of boxers and finding nothing … they created their own and began Manmade.

Underwear Worth Celebrating with Anthony Ciavirella

The card aisle doesn’t often represent queer folks, so Heather decided to do something about it and create her own products for herself and her community. 

Today, Little Rainbow Paper Co is a shop filled with cards, pins, mugs, ornaments, notepads and more that celebrate the queer and the quirky! Heather designs every product in her shop and the products exist to provide opportunities for members of the queer community to show love, affection, and joy for each other.

Every Girl Deserves to Shine: Inclusivity in Fashion with Jamie Alexander

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