  
Joe Flanders, Andrew Rose, Carl Lemieux
Presence Meditation - www.presencemeditation.ca Inception: 2017 Jobs Created: 10 Business Profile: Presence is Montreal’s first drop-in meditation studio. We offer guided and silent meditation classes seven days a week for people who want to learn how to meditate, or just a space and some guidance to maintain an existing practice. Their story: A longtime meditator, Andrew was working in tech and found himself wishing he had a space to go to better support his practice. With two young kids at home he found it challenging to make the time and space to meditate. He approached his old friend Joe Flanders who had successfully built a psychology clinic that relies heavily on meditation and mindfulness techniques as a form of therapy and a means to improve mental wellbeing. Joe jumped at the opportunity to collaborate on the aligned vision, and Presence was born. PME Quote: PME’s support came at a crucial time for us, allowing us to gain momentum around the brand. We are now more confident to overcome growth challenges and scale the business. 
Aaron and Ryan Hutman
Portions - www.portions.ca Inception: 2018 Jobs Created: 5 Business Profile: Portions manufactures and distributes healthy, delicious fresh foods sold through their innovative network of vending machines. Our goal is to create greater access to these foods so people can lead both healthier and happier lives. Their story: Long time foodie Aaron Hutman has been dedicated to providing delicious foods to hungry customers. Ryan Hutman, a personal trainer, recognized the need for nutritious meals for his fitness- minded clients. Together they are turning the vending industry upside down through their new development Portions: healthy eating uncompromised by taste, accessibility and value. PME Quote: Through PME’s support we have been able to acquire new machines allowing our company to expand to new locations and create key partnerships. PME mentors have offered ongoing support from creating key marketing strategies to acquiring strategic location sites for expansion. 
Dan Aronson, Matt Aronson, Alex Aronson & Liz Ostroff
MKRLAB - www.mkrlab.ca Inception: 2018 Jobs Created: 9 Business Profile: MKRLAB is a makerspace and tool library located in the heart of NDG. We are a membership-based neighbourhood workshop, whose mission is to build a community of makers and doers. We encourage members of all ages to discover and explore their creative passions using raw materials, tools, technology, repurposed items, and imagination. We are a hub for innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial endeavours. We provide facilitation, learning resources, and an educational space for our members to work and access tools. Here, members have access to: equipment for 3D printing, printmaking, electronics, culinary sciences, and more. Central to our ethos is the workshops and programming we offer for adults, kids and families. Their story: MKRLAB was inspired by our CEO, Dan Aronson, and his experience as a prototyper, designer and tinkerer. Our family has always had a passion for the DIY. This naturally led to Dan’s involvement with the emerging Maker Movement, which began in the mid 2000s in New York City. When an ideal location in NDG became available, our family rallied behind the concept of a membership-based community workshop, and combined our talents and professional experience to turn this dream into a reality while fulfilling a need in our community. PME Quote: Applying for funding from the PME Fund was our first big stress-test. Pitching our start-up forced us to articulate and communicate our vision in a way that would achieve market buy-in. The PME Fund provided us the seed capital needed to develop our brand concept and start buying equipment. 
Pablo Gerstenfeld
Les empanadas Pachamama - www.pachas.ca Inception: 2017 Jobs Created: 10 Business Profile: The name Pachamama refers to the Inca goddess of the earth who presides over planting and harvesting. This name perfectly represents the spirit of our cuisine: empanadas made from ancestral recipes from the north-western region of Argentina, specifically from the province of Tucuman. Pachamama offers hand-made, oven-baked empanadas using 100% natural ingredients, without preservatives or artificial dyes. His story: Pablo Gerstenfeld is originally from Argentina, where empanadas are the most common fast food choice among the population. The product combines several characteristics that make them very appealing to the general population: healthy, source of protein, versatility, among others. Pablo understands that there is a missing gap regarding the fast good category meals in Canada: fast, delicious and healthy food. PME Quote: PME was essential to the creation of the company. The monetary help was the key to being able to start as we wished, with a great branding and a beautiful look of the restaurant. The mentoring provided by PME has been a game changer for us as we have very little experience in the domain. 
Morgan Abraham & Mitch Schwartz
Ugo Smoothies - ugosmoothies.com Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 8 Business Profile: Ugo has created the world's first automated smoothie store where you can easily add delicious, all-natural and vegan smoothies on your menu. UGo has developed the healthiest smoothie recipes possible, everything is straight from nature! His story: UGo smoothies provides all natural healthy nutrition on-demand through its smoothie vending machine. We developed a system that replaces smoothie stores and makes smoothies using fruits and vegetables with no added sugar or dairy. PME Quote: PME helped us secure government funding to finish developing our concept system. From there we launched our first smoothie location and are now close to launching out first commercial line of smoothie systems. The PME team has put us in touch with mentors who have helped us develop our marketing, branding and business strategies. The PME team has been incredibly supportive of our endeavors. They also challenged us appropriately to improve and build a better business. 
Moshe Lobl
Johnny Brown - www.johnnybrown.ca Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 11 Business Profile: Johnny Brown has been making premium quality dance wear and ballet shoes for beginner students and professional dancers since 1932. The company prides itself on creating partnership with dance schools across Canada in order to deliver the best products that fit the school's needs. His story: I saw an opportunity to provide better quality materials to every dance schools across Canada in an easier and better way, I took a risk and did it. PME Quote: More important than the money, it's the support PME has given me and continues to provide. That has included advice on starting a business, helping me find additional seed money from government sources and allowing me to attend PME's ABCs of Business workshops – all free of charge. 
Maurice Berdugo & Philip Mankoff
3rd Vista - www.3rdvista.com Mentor: Mike Glass, Taught how to manage teams and to problem solve. Moshe (Paul) Reichman: I Learned the importance of giving, being humble and remaining calm in business. Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 8 Business Profile: Company has software built to extract financial data (statements and cheque images) from hundreds of bank/credit card web sites and present the data to; accountants, lenders and other financial software companies that require the use of client financial data. Financial Service Professionals take their client's financial data and prepare tax returns, lend money or prepare financial models to manage their money all based upon actual, live financial data. Their story: Was preparing tax returns for accountant and it was taking hours upon hours to go back to collect financial data, look at the every cheque transaction and keep a record. What if I could have a software fetch every cheque, every transaction and every statement and forward it to my accountant totally automated and seamless. We thought there were many companies doing this already, but in reality there were none! It made my job easier, my bookkeeper's job easier and then we knew we were on to something. Hence came out the concept of 3RDVISTA. PME Quote: Every company prior to attaining the next level needs that "extra golden stepping stool" for some, it's a single large sales order, others a joint venture, but for 3RDVISTA it's the; golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with some of the greatest business minds in Canada that make up ProMontreal Entrepreneurs. 
Joseph Daoud & Robert Daoud
Axwell Management - www.axwell.ca Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 6 full time jobs and a few other part time positions Business Profile: Axwell is an innovative real estate solutions company that aims to simplify the way business is done and modernize an old industry. We aim to surpass expectations of management service quality, and aren't afraid to get creative when structuring deals. Their story: It came naturally after seeing the poor quality of service offered in the industry, and how inefficiently real estate management companies are run. PME Quote: PME gave us access to a wide range of knowledgeable people who excel in their fields and who were able to pass on valuable business advice. 
Michael Reinharz & Justin Efraim
Cat Around Films - www.cataroundfilms.com Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 8 Business Profile: Cat Around Films delivers creative film, video, and editing solutions. We channel our love of film and the engagement and input of our clients to exceed expectations at every opportunity. Their story: The business idea was a coming together or our individual experiences. Mike being from the creative realm and Justin from the technology and business development realm. Together we fused creativity with good technological and business practices to be able to produce a caliber of work on time and on budget... every time. PME Quote: PME's support allowed us to acquire new and better equipment. Since then we have grown substantially outpacing our expectations. It was also extremely flattering that PME believed in us and put their resources behind us. 
Benjamin Syne & Abe Syne
DogSync - dogsync.com Inception: 2014 Jobs Created: 7 Business Profile: DogSync builds digital tools to help dog owners track their dog's care and communicate with other caregivers (family, couples, roommates), while recommending curated dog products based on app your dog's info and care habits. Their story: Taking care of a dog is a lot of work. I learned that firsthand when my family brought home Winston. We thought it would be easy to look after him because we were 6 people and could split up the tasks. We soon learned that communicating about all the things you need to do for the dog between multiple busy people was so tough that instead of it being easier, we ended up with pee on the floor and a lot of frustration. In the pursuit of an easy and fast way to communicate and stay consistent with Winston's care we built DogSync. PME Quote: Getting funded by the PME was a bit surreal. It meant so much to the team and I to see that kind of recognition for the hard word we have been doing. It made us feel further validated and has given us a heavy dose of motivation. 
Jonny Goldmaker, David Prince, & Andrew Cohen
Main and Local - www.mainandlocal.com Mentor: Adam Goldberg, David Horowitz Inception: 2015 Jobs Created: 5 Business Profile: Main and Local designs and creates unique Souvenirs. Our souvenirs are inspired by places with character and stories to tell. Their story: Main and Local was inspired by our city, the city of Montreal. We wanted to create products that brought the best (and worst) out of the city. When we started selling them, customers were starting to refer to our items as "souvenirs." Ever since, our motto has been: creating souvenirs... that don't suck! PME Quote: It meant everything! It not only enabled us financially to continue and grow our business, but gave us an incredible boost of confidence, as well as, access to incredible mentors who have made a real different in our business. We are eternally grateful to PME! 
Jason Frohlich & Georges Laraque
Mentorum Inc. - www.mentorum.co Inception: 2016 Jobs Created: 4 Business Profile: Mentorum inc. is a Montreal-based health & wellness startup co-founded by Jason Frohlich and Georges Laraque. They are both athletes passionate about health & wellness and have joined forces to develop an application that helps people find the right health & wellness professionals based on their specific needs and location. Find the right health professional for you, book an appointment and go! Their story: Georges Laraque and I are both athletes passionate about health & wellness. We participate in sports fundraisers ever year to raise funds for social causes across Montreal. From these experiences we've come to realize that people don't always know what their health needs are and which health professionals are best-suited for their needs & objectives (therapy, nutrition, fitness). This realization led us to launch Mentorum. Our vision is to level the playing for health professionals and create a health & wellness ecosystem across North America that will empower consumers to live a healthier lifestyle by eating better, training better and preventing injuries. PME Quote: We are currently targeting consumer and health professional (B2B2C) markets in Montreal and select cities via social media, public relations, events, strategic partnerships and by leveraging Georges’ star power. The PME funding will help us validate our business model and market and commercialize our product in Montreal in order to build a foundation for Mentorum to scale across Canada and help people live a healthier lifestyle. 
Daniel Blumer & Navi Cohen
Revol Technologies Inc. - www.revols.com Inception: 2015 Jobs Created: 6 Business Profile: Revols are the world's first Quick custom-fit Bluetooth earphones that mold to the unique shape of your ears in exactly 60 seconds. The entire molding process is controlled by the user, using our companion app on their phone! These revolutionary earphones are designed to provide the perfect fit, delivering unparalleled comfort and sound. Their story: Navi Cohen had been struggling with regular earphones for what felt like his entire life. They were uncomfortable and did not fit well. In March 2014 he approached his long-time friend, Daniel Blumer with an idea to create custom-fit earphones at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional custom-fit earphones. Over the next two years they worked together to make their vision a reality and in November 2015 Revols launched a Kickstarter campaign and raised over 2.5 Million USD becoming the largest Canadian crowdfunding campaign of all time. PME Quote: PME was instrumental in our company's success. Even prior to getting the fund they worked with us on optimizing our business plan, raising funds, and creating a team. The fund itself meant the world to us. That money allowed us to get through the majority of the early stage development process without giving up significant equity. It also gave us access to a list of invaluable mentors that we are now grateful to have in our network now. 
Hayes Nulman
Hayes Nulman Design - www.hayesnulman.com Inception: 2014 Jobs Created: 3 Business Profile: Hayes Nulman Design is a unique furniture design and fabrication studio in Montreal. It is unique because we build custom functional works of art by blending wood and metal in seamless design. We work well with clients who know exactly what they want. We also work well with clients who know the functions they need, but are unsure of the rest. In other words, we work well. His story: From a young age Hayes was fascinated with the construction of everyday objects. After finishing school in Furniture design and fabrication he tried to fit in at a large manufacturing company. Fortunately for us it was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. This led him to unleash his entrepreneurial spirit by establishing Hayes Nulman Design. PME Quote: The money we received from PME has enabled us to purchase state of the art equipment that will push us to enter new product segments.
Raquel Ansky
For The Love Of Dog - www.fortheloveofdogmontreal.ca Inception: 2013 Jobs Created: 2 full-time and many seasonal employees Business Profile: We provide quality pet grooming, straight to your door! We also provide safe overnight boarding for your dogs, in a home environment, which allows dogs to be a part of the family rather than just another dog in a kennel. Her story: When I was going through nursing school, I wanted nothing but a dog to call my own. Once I adopted Maya from the SPCA, I realized that leaving her home alone all day was not fair. Here I was stuck between leaving my precious Maya home all day alone, or hiring a dog walker, a stranger who now would have access to my home and personal life. Montreal definitely needed a reliable pet service and I was going to bring it to them! PME Quote: I was so lucky to have been given a 15k cheque from PME. This helped me with marketing and, essentially, cash flow! After over a year in business, I still have money to continue to grow my business, and I am so grateful for their amazing support. Getting this money proved to me that my community was there for me, and wanted to see me succeed. Even when others didn’t believe in my service, PME did!
Marina Staingart and Jean-Pierre Sabe-Affaki
Medialpha - www.medialpha.ca Inception: 2014 Jobs Created: 2 Business Profile: Medialpha manages an online platform that connects rising demand for home health services to a network of mobile health professionals. Medialpha offers patients the maximum control over their schedule; our professionals perform medical/paramedical acts whenever and wherever patients request them. Medialpha’s mission is to make everyone win in healthcare by providing great customer experience to patients, clinics and other partners. PME Quote: Before our pitch, we were nervous and humbled to present to such distinguished and accomplished panel members. It was such a thrill to receive their endorsement in terms of start-up funds and precious mentorship. Thanks to PME we are better equipped to launch our operations.
Benjamin Outmezguine, Noah Bernett, Konstantinos Vassiliou & Richard Bernett
CoolWhey - www.coolwhey.com Mentor: Jeremy Richman Inception: 2015 Jobs Created: 4 Business Profile: CoolWhey is North-America’s first protein ice cream. Each tub contains 23g of protein, is 100% natural and has no added sugar. Our ice cream can be used as a post-workout recovery or simply as a healthy snack! Their story: Konstantinos Vassiliou and Benjamin Outmezguine have been friends for many years. They’ve known each other since high school and have always shared a passion for entrepreneurship. One of their most memorable experiences together takes place at the Young Entrepreneurs program from Junior Achievement in 2011. Together they participated in the development of a product, its creation and its selling as well. This planted the entrepreneurial seed of one day starting their own company. Noah Bernett met Kosta and Ben in CEGEP, and it wasn’t long before they realized that they all shared the same goals and passion for business. The three young men shared much more than just business, they also shared a similar life style of being active and having a love for sports. This led them to spending time together working out and participating in the same sports. Together they signed up for classes in martial arts, they went skiing during the winter and played soccer during the summer. These activities led to the creation of their business, CoolWhey. PME Quote: PME provided us with everything we needed as a starting company; a great mentorship program, an interesting source of financing, and real support from the community.
Nathaniel Schachter & Anik Decoste
N/A - www.naisgood.com Inception: 2012 Jobs Created: 12 Business Profile: N/A is a new kind of marketing agency with a singular goal: to connect people and brands in ways that affect positive social change. We call it Good Marketing. Their story: Working at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sid Lee, Vice Magazine, and V Magazine in cities ranging from Montreal to New York, we decided it was time to use our editorial and marketing expertise to put purpose at the core of business. PME Quote: The PME gave us one of our key big breaks early on. With their investment, we were able to grow in a smart way, and today - only 2.5 years in - count 3 multi-billion dollar companies in the US and Canada as clients. We couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without the PME.
Larry Markowitz, Raphael Bouskila & David Berliner
CoPower Inc. - https://copower.me/ Inception: 2013 Jobs Created: 14 Business Profile: CoPower is an online platform that allows Canadians to pool their money and invest in pre-vetted clean energy opportunities such as solar and energy efficiency systems. Investors receive solid financial returns, and make a positive impact on the environment and in their communities. Their story: David is a lifelong environmentalist who worked in Toronto and New York City on mobilizing communities towards clean energy and generating local power. Raphael worked in science and technology for many years, developing an appreciation for new energy technologies and for the power of the Internet. The two of them met at a Montreal-based clean energy investment fund, where they grew to understand the barriers the traditional banking system places in front of financially-viable clean energy investments. PME Quote: The support of the PME was about much more than money: it meant we had a rockstar group of entrepreneurs supporting us. From the CEO of a global clean energy company, to the founder of a successful research and marketing firm, to experienced lawyers and accountants, we have found ProMontreal Entrepreneurs to be one of the most valuable resources behind our company.
Stephanie Mitelman & Todd Bercovitch
Senseez Pillows - www.senseez.com Inception: 2013 Jobs Created: 3 Business Profile: These colorful, lightweight, fun-shaped vinyl vibrating cushions offer a gentle sensation they are squeezed or sat on, relaxing, calming or soothing the body. This can help some kids sit still and others fall asleep! Kids that have trouble sitting for meals, stories, car rides, shopping trips, school work, movies, or anything else will be comforted by the vibrations of Senseez. PME Quote: PME has been a tremendous support for us… not only in the financial area, but also in helping us to access a number of resources we would have not known about without their help!
Drs. Eli Stoffman & Thomas Jennequin
Cuttle Pharmaceutical - www.cuttlepharma.com Community Partners: PME, CDEC CDN/NDG, Montreal Inc., Concours Québecois en entrepreneuriat, Concours d’Entrepreneurship HEC-Poly-UdeM Inception: 2015 Jobs Created: 2 Business Profile: Cuttle Pharmaceutical is a Montreal-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) dedicated to producing high-quality test drugs and other fine chemicals. The goal of our drug development services is to provide our clients with top quality products tailored to their research requirements, effectively reducing costs and timelines and helping to meet drug discovery milestones.
Sylvie Tendler
The Tendler Group - www.tendlergroup.com Inception: 2001 Jobs Created: 12+ Business Profile: The Tendler Group is a provider of medical market research to leading pharmaceutical companies. Her story: I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I worked for 2 competing global agencies prior to starting my own. PME Quote: To receive funding from such a distinguished committee was support within itself.
Dylan Ribkoff
Dylan Ribkoff - www.dylanribkoff.com Inception: 2011 Jobs Created: 10 Business Profile: To create clothing that satisfies our customer needs. To provide a shopping experience that makes people want to share it with others. His story: I was dissatisfied with what was available; I was essentially making something for me. PME Quote: The PME fund meant life. It was a breath, without that breath you can't think.
Michael Moszberg and Damien Galan & Tarek Riman
Praktice Health - www.prakticehealth.com Mentor: Earl Azimov Inception: 2014 Jobs Created: 3 Business Profile: Gymbirds is pay-as-you-go fitness app that puts the entire menu of fitness classes available in your city at your fingertips. The app make it easy to discover the classes and gyms around you, get an affordable pass, and get going in seconds. No more lengthy signups, costly commitments or boredom at the gym! PME Quote: PME has provided us with the resources we needed to build our sales and marketing team, enabling Gymbirds to expand into new markets. They have also helped enormously by providing mentorship and making important introductions for us.
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