On January 15, U of T’s Health Innovation Hub (H2i) officially launched its latest edition of FemSTEM with an information panel event. FemSTEM is a multi-event series that aims to support women entrepreneurs in STEM fields and an emphasis on healthcare. The guest speaker panel featured the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Co-founder of HDAX Therapeutics, Pimyupa Manaswiyoungkul; Chief Executive Officer and Founder of My Well Self, Brenda Ahenkorah; and COO and co-founder of SilicoLabs, Kyla Alsbury-Nealy.
Since its inception in 2017, FemSTEM has provided resources for women looking to transition their ideas from academia into successful ventures. H2i, the incubator that houses FemSTEM, has also expanded. Established in 2014, it now supports over 250 ventures, 56 per cent of which are women-led. According to FemSTEM, these ventures have collectively generated $122.5 million in economic value from 2023–2024, with support from more than 160 mentors.
FemSTEM kickoff and panel event
FemSTEM 2025 is set to be a three-month-long event — after the first information panel event, the series will feature three fireside chats with women entrepreneurs, and will conclude with a pitch competition on March 26. The competition’s winners will receive awards of up to $15,000 in cash prize and $5,000 in legal services from law firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell. The winners will also get access to one-on-one mentorship opportunities and additional support from H2i.
The information panel event for FemSTEM focused on answering questions from women entrepreneurs in the audience. After a brief event introduction by the organisers, the audience was split up into break-out rooms with the three panellists where they could ask questions in a more intimate setting.
Manaswiyoungkul put a strong emphasis on the ‘hustle’ — finding and taking any and every opportunity available. It was this mindset in the early stages of her startups that Manaswiyoungkul gave credit to in securing her first major investment for HDAX Therapeutics.
“Before our seed round, we were at every pitch competition we could find — whether it was $500 or $50,000,” Manaswiyoungkul explained. She recounted how they didn’t take salaries for months, applied for every grant, and made sure they had the right data before seeking investors.
Success in entrepreneurship
Following the breakout sessions, participants reconvened for a panel discussion, where speakers answered audience questions on topics ranging from balancing scientific research with investor expectations to navigating intellectual property laws.
Alsbury-Nealy shared her experience transitioning from academia to commerce, emphasizing the importance of accelerators like FemSTEM in providing the necessary support for women entrepreneurs.
In an email to The Varsity, she elaborated on this point. “Participating in accelerators and pitch competitions, such as FemSTEM, has been transformative for us and for many female-led startups. These opportunities provide essential resources and mentorship and, importantly, create spaces to amplify women’s voices in entrepreneurship,” she wrote.
She noted that entrepreneurship programs like U of T Early Stage Technology, the Health Innovation Hub, and the Creative Destruction Lab’s AI Stream gave her the foundational knowledge to transition from academia into entrepreneurship. “Winning competitions, such as the Desjardins U of T Startup Prize and H2i’s Pitch Perfect, has further validated our vision, with a total of [$112,000] in non-dilutive funding allowing us to grow confidently,” she elaborated.
Another topic the panel discussed was how to transition from early-stage grants and pitch competitions to securing major investment rounds. Both Manaswiyoungkul and Alsbury-Nealy spoke about the importance of strategic timing in seeking investment.
Manaswiyoungkul advised entrepreneurs that the best time to fundraise is when they are not actively looking for funds. This will allow them to build relationships and have genuine conversations with investors without the pressure of needing cash immediately.
A launch to set the tone for the year
FemSTEM is set to have their first fireside chat on February 5, which will feature former CEO Sandra Beach Lin. Additionally, pitch applications for the business pitch competition opened on January 16. Those looking to participate can apply on the H2i website by February 1.
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