2025 Summit: Changing Perspectives to Provide Better Support

The challenges we face are complex. Innovation no longer follows a linear path, and entrepreneurs are navigating an environment where uncertainty is the only certainty. In this ever-changing ecosystem, the ways in which we guide, organize, and support must also evolve. But how?

That is precisely the goal of the 2025 Accelerator Summit: to create the space needed to collectively reflect on the future of innovation and entrepreneurial support in Quebec.

A lot is happening in the political landscape here, as elsewhere; but the only thing we have control over is how we work together to get through these challenges.

We sometimes tend to view issues through a narrow lens, rooted in our habits and points of reference. This year, we have chosen to take a step back and broaden our perspective in order to better understand the forces shaping the present and those that will determine the future.

For the sixth edition of the Summit, we are offering three main content areas

• Taking a Broader View: Strategic Content to Expand Our Perspective on the Ecosystem and Pave the Way for Greater Resilience and Collaboration
• Cross-Perspectives: Co-creation workshops to collaboratively identify concrete solutions for reigniting entrepreneurial spirit, streamlining entrepreneurial pathways, and reducing barriers to innovation
• Putting Things into Perspective: Opportunities to Collectively Rethink How We Support Entrepreneurs by Placing Their Needs at the Center of Our Work

Support should serve as a foundation, a springboard aligned with entrepreneurs’ real needs. And to achieve this, it’s essential to rethink how we listen to them, understand their needs, and support them.
That is why we have revised our mission to broaden our scope and reach as many entrepreneurs as possible, no matter where they are in Quebec.

Your participation in the Summit should give you an opportunity to reflect on three aspects:

1. What It Really Means to Support Innovative Entrepreneurs Today.
2. Ways to (re)empower entrepreneurs to take risks.
3. The mechanisms of our ecosystem that make it a more agile, more human space, and one that is more conducive to the emergence of innovation in all its forms.

Seeing things differently is good. Acting on that perspective is essential. Entrepreneurial support cannot be static. It must adapt, improve, and, above all, be co-created with those it supports. That’s why we’ve divided the program into five modules that will allow you to explore different aspects.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems don’t build themselves.Ecosystem building, as a strategic approach, inspires us to collectively build sustainable innovation environments. We’ll take you to the heart of best practices with builders who have come to share their local realities and global visions.

During three sessions, we’ll have the opportunity to exchange ideas and take a step back to reflect on this first day of the Summit:

• A high-level discussion with innovators: Philippe Telio (Startupfest), Jean-François Harvey (Canadian Council of Innovators), Marie Chevrier Schwartz (TechTO), and ilias Benjelloun (ÉlanTech)
• A transatlantic conversation between professionals from Quebec and France, featuring Anne Lemieux (accelerator ), Éric Darveau (OSEntreprendre), Arnaud Archimede (Whistle), Léa Jouffroy (Pépite Lille Hauts-de-France), and Stéphane Carrier (LOJIQ)
• A panel discussion on the importance of studying ecosystems using data, as part of our PERSÉIS project, featuring Naomie Allard (UQO), Sophie Veilleux (Laval University), Marie-Michèle Lord (UQTR), Octave Niamié (Polytechnique Montréal), and Charles Beaudry

And we’ll also have our first overview with Louis-Félix Binette to awakenthe ecosystem builder within you.

Entrepreneurs—who are at the heart of our services—have little interest in the complex mechanisms surrounding them. By putting their voices back at the center of authentic conversations and dynamic workshops, we can co-create solutions tailored to their real needs. Understanding the entrepreneurial perspective means building an aligned ecosystem.

The afternoon of Wednesday, February 12, will be devoted to presenting different perspectives on entrepreneurial support and hearing entrepreneurs share their honest insights.

• Voices of Entrepreneurs: Clément Bouland (co-founder of Bello), Elisabeth Gosselin (co-founder of Paralog), Sarah DeGrâce (co-founder of INSPPI), and Phil Rivard
• Inclusive Support for Our Entrepreneurs with Tina Pranjic of Élance
• Tailoring Support to the Diversity of Business Models: Chantal Thieblin Goffoz (evol), Diana Horqque (V1 Studio), Isabelle Thibault (Esplanade Québec), Sarah Girouard (Quartier artisan)
• Entrepreneurial Resilience, Regenerative Economy, and Global Prosperity: John Stokes (Real Ventures) and Katy Yam (FounderFuel).

Two workshops will also be held this afternoon:

1. Cultivating Empathy to Enhance the Coaching Experience with Catherine Gauthier of Interface & Co. and Elisabeth Michel
2. Amplifying the voices of entrepreneurs in government circles with Lanie Dufour of Catapulte Communication and Guillaume Lajoie

Highlights of the evening

🔸 Fuckup Nights – Marco Bérubé gives us a candid account of his entrepreneurial journey and the reasons that led him to start the Beloeil chapter of Fuckup Nights

🔸 Improv Show on HR – A quirky and hard-hitting look at the realities of recruitment in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

🔸 Networking Cocktail Party – Because some of the best ideas come from casual conversations.

Innovation is a key driver of entrepreneurship, and vice versa. From artificial intelligence and process automation to mass customization and corporate social responsibility, the facets of innovation are multiplying and accelerating. How can we effectively identify the innovative aspects of entrepreneurial projects in order to better protect, finance, and market them—in short, to support them?

After all, we need to work together to improve our ability to provide better support. This means equipping ourselves with the tools to minimize our own challenges, for the benefit of entrepreneurs.

• The Many Facets of Innovation—Recognizing Them to Better Support Them, with Thomas Baracos (Maison de l’innovation sociale) and Samuel L. Audet (Québec Tech)
• AI and Technology with David Dufresne (CMD Capital) and Gabrielle Langlois (IVADO)
• Funding the Journey from Idea to Innovation with David Boisvert (Fondaction) and Hélène Olland (Desjardins Entreprises)

Two workshops will be held in the morning:

1. The Master Class on Venture Capital Fundraising, presented by Espace CDPQ, featuring Emmanuelle Coppinger, Nicolas Rubbo, M.Sc., ASC, C.Dir, and Julien Roy
2. A workshop on the impact of intellectual property on entrepreneurs' success, featuring Tiamy Treguer

Catalysts for growth, trusted partners, architects of ecosystems. Support organizations must rethink their role to remain relevant in the face of uncertainty and complexity. Resilience, adaptation, innovation: How can our structures, services, and networks evolve to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit and build ecosystems conducive to innovation?

The afternoon of February 13 will mark an important milestone in reaffirming that support organizations are here to stay, and that we must work together to generate more economic value for Quebec and for entrepreneurs.

• Navigating Uncertainty with Virgile Ollivier (TheConvenors) and Anick Patenaude
• Rethinking Curricula to Include Mental and Holistic Health with Farnel Fleurant (Working), Julien Vasseur (La base HEC Montréal), and Florence Guiliani (Université de Sherbrooke)
• Taking Action to Better Support Entrepreneurs
  And a closing discussion led by Louis-Félix Binette with Joyce McLean on the topic “Navigating Uncertainty: Become Antifragile or Disappear?”

A workshop on practical tools to minimize the stress of those who support entrepreneurs and maximize the entrepreneurs’ happiness, with Pierre Rivoire and Jonathan Falardeau.

Highlights of the evening

🔸 Festive dinner
🔸 Musical entertainment featuring singing and percussion
🔸 Karaoke night —to keep the tradition alive!

The traditional field trip that wraps up the Sommet des accélérateurs for a third consecutive year. On this final morning, explore Saint-Hyacinthe’s local entrepreneurial ecosystem through a presentation on regional collaborations, a discussion on a decentralized sectoral continuum, and a tour of a leading agri-food hub that highlights CCTTs in future technologies.

The Summit isn't just a gathering. It's a hub for those who want to do things differently. Over the course of three days, we'll explore, challenge, test, and, above all, open new doors.

Because sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective to reveal opportunities we hadn't seen before.

So, are you ready to see innovation in a whole new light? Let's start the climb!