2025 Summit: Changing perspectives to provide better support

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

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

Many things are happening in the political environment here, as elsewhere, but the only thing we have control over is how we work together to get through the challenges.

We sometimes tend to view issues through a limited lens, rooted in our habits and references. 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 proposing three pillars of content

• Taking a step back: strategic content to broaden our view of the ecosystem and pave the way for greater resilience and collaboration
• Cross perspectives: co-creation workshops to identify concrete solutions together to revive entrepreneurial intent, simplify entrepreneurial pathways, and reduce barriers to innovation
• Perspective: opportunities to collectively rethink how we support entrepreneurs by placing their needs at the center of our actions.

Support must be a source of strength, a springboard aligned with the real needs of entrepreneurs. To achieve this, it is essential to rethink the way we listen to them, understand their needs, and support them.
That is why we have revised our mission, to broaden our scope of action and reach as many entrepreneurs as possible, no matter where they are in Quebec.

Your presence at the Summit should enable you 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 so that it is a more agile, more human space that is more conducive to the emergence of innovation in all its forms.

Seeing things differently is good. Acting accordingly 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 blocks that will allow you to explore different facets.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems do not build themselves.Ecosystem building as a strategic approach inspires collective efforts to build sustainable innovation environments. We take you to the heart of best practices with builders who have come to share their local realities and global visions.

During three conferences, we will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and take the necessary step back for this first day of the Summit:

• A high-altitude discussion with builders: 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 your ecosystem with data, thanks to our PERSÉIS project, featuring Naomie Allard (UQO), Sophie Veilleux (Laval University), Marie-Michèle Lord (UQTR), Octave Niamié (Polytechnique Montréal), and Charles Beaudry.

And we will also have our first perspective with Louis-Félix Binette to awakenthe ecosystem builder in you.

Entrepreneurs, who are at the heart of our services, are not particularly concerned with the complex mechanisms that surround them. By putting their voices back at the center of authentic conversations and dynamic workshops, we will be able to 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 dedicated to presenting different perspectives on entrepreneurial support and hearing entrepreneurs tell us the truth.

• The voice 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 from Élance
• Adapting support to the diversity of entrepreneurial forms: Chantal Thieblin Goffoz (evol), Diana Horqque (V1 Studio), Isabelle Thibault (Esplanade Québec), Sarah Girouard (Quartier artisan)
• Entrepreneurial resilience, regenerative economics, and global prosperity: John Stokes (Real Ventures) and Katy Yam (FounderFuel).

Two workshops will also take place in the afternoon:

1. Cultivating empathy to improve the support experience with Catherine Gauthier from Interface & co, and Elisabeth Michel
2. Raising the voice of entrepreneurs with government bodies with Lanie Dufour from 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 create the Beloeil chapter of Fuckup Nights.

🔸 Improvisational show about HR – An offbeat and hard-hitting look at the realities of recruitment in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

🔸 Networking cocktail – Because some of the best ideas come from informal exchanges.

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

After all, we must work together to improve our ability to provide better support. This means giving ourselves the tools to minimize our pain, 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)
• Financing from idea to innovation with David Boisvert (Fondaction) and Hélène Olland (Desjardins Entreprises)

Two workshops will take place in the morning:

1. Master class on venture capital fundraising, by Espace CDPQ, with Emmanuelle Coppinger, Nicolas Rubbo, M.Sc., ASC, C.Dir, and Julien Roy
2. A workshop on the impact of IP on entrepreneurial success with Tiamy Treguer

Growth catalysts, trusted partners, ecosystem architects. 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 restore entrepreneurial momentum 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 take action to generate more economic value for Quebec and for entrepreneurs.

• Navigating uncertainty with Virgile Ollivier (TheConvenors) and Anick Patenaude
• Rethinking programs to include mental and overall health with Farnel Fleurant (Working), Julien Vasseur (La base HEC Montréal), and Florence Guiliani (Université de Sherbrooke)
• On the move to better support entrepreneurs
  And a closing dialogue between Louis-Félix Binette and Joyce McLean on the theme "Supporting in uncertainty: become antifragile or disappear?"

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

Highlights of the evening

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

The traditional field trip that concludes 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 visit to a leading agri-food facility highlighting CCTTs in future technologies.

The Summit is not just a gathering. It is an anchor point for those who want to do things differently. Over three days, we will explore, confront, 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 new light? Let's start the climb!