Grow Your
Small Business in Grey Bruce
Catapult Grey Bruce is at the nexus of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. As entrepreneurs ourselves we understand your challenges and can provide you connections to other founders, funders and supporters. Combined with our deep ties into the agri-food, energy and tourism sectors, we know the local, regional and national folks with the know-how to help get you further faster!
Convened the first Grey Bruce Entrepreneurship Ecosystem meetup. The ecosystem continues to meet quarterly and is open to any interested individuals supporting entrepreneurs in Grey Bruce.
Launched Catapult Grey Bruce website (February 2020) and monthly newsletters (January 2021) which are currently reaching about 100 people with high engagement rates.
Partnered with Georgian College’s Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre (HBEC) to host its first virtual “Mentor Mash” for female entrepreneurs on March 10, 2021. The event sold out.
Partnered with The Hub Huron Kinloss and Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) to launch Wednesday Warmup Virtual Networking Events.
Attended the Startup Canada Summit in October 2022 to connect with other entrepreneur-led ecosystems across Canada.
“This was the most invigorating event I’ve been to in a long time. I left feeling excited and motivated for the future of our local women entrepreneurs!”
Established business assessment to help businesses benchmark their progress.
Developed and launched a local mentorship program in December 2020 that has provided mentorship to 14 local entrepreneurs.
Building relationships with our community and stakeholders to better support marginalized entrepreneurs. (Ongoing)
“I came in with my head in the clouds; my mentor has been very helpful to get my time management down & use the right tools to do that.”
Incorporated in September 2019 as the Grey Bruce Not-For-Profit Business Innovation Corporation. Established an operating name, logo and organization strategy in 2020.
Hired first staff member part-time in October 2019.
Established a volunteer, private-sector led board.
$92,500 raised in private sector donations, grants and sponsorship for operations October 2019 - March 31, 2021. *
* Catapult Grey Bruce officially started in the fall of 2019, but due to the pandemic and fiscal year end of March 31, was really only operational for twelve months over the fiscal years of 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Catapult Grey Bruce was founded by leading entrepreneurs from Grey and Bruce Counties and is led by a volunteer board. Board elections take place in the summer.
Courtney Denard, Chairperson
Valleykirk Farms Ltd.
Mia Toose, Vice Chairperson
Mia Toose is the Founder and Designer of Truli Wetsuits, a size-inclusive women's wetsuit company based in Tobermory, Ontario. Mia launched Truli in 2016 as an e-commerce business with online personalized fittings for women around the world and established The Fitting Room by Truli in Tobermory for in-person fittings in 2022.
With a mission to connect with the thriving entrepreneurial eco-system across Grey and Bruce counties and excited to contribute to the startup phase that Catapult itself was in, Mia joined Catapult Grey Bruce as a Board Member and Vice Chair in August 2021.
Mike Comello, Treasurer
10in6 Inc.
Mike Comello is a senior project manager with 10in6 Inc. and founder of the Grey Bruce Technology Network. Mike’s expertise lies in helping manufacturers increase productivity through the use of software, technology and continuous improvement methodologies.
Mike is a professional engineer and holds a Bachelors of Applied Science, Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. Able to live and work anywhere, Mike chose to move to Grey County in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. He has served on the Owen Sound Community Development, Tourism and Culture Advisory Board, works with girls minor hockey and is a vocal advocate for the area.
Savanna Myers
Grey County
Jeff Loney
Bruce County
Jeff is the Economic Development Manager with Bruce County, joining the team in April of 2022. A recovering entrepreneur, spending the last decade in the public service, he has a passion for creating the environment for businesses and investment to thrive and succeed.
Courtney Miller
Grey County Business Enterprise Centre
Michelle Lennox
Michelle is a Chartered Professional Accountant having spent more than 20 years working in the Financial Services industry. Michelle’s experience includes corporate finance, budgeting and forecasting, strategy, product development and marketing, as well as operations management.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. With a passion for business and entrepreneurship, Michelle teaches Finance at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Accounting at the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship (University of Waterloo). An avid runner and cyclist, Michelle participates in many endurance events and enjoys epic bike rides throughout the Grey Bruce area.
Merry Bounpraseuth
BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada)
Merry is a Senior Account Manager, focusing on building relationships with entrepreneurs whose businesses have impacted the communities in which they support. Her objective is to learn how she can support the business operations through Financing and Advisory solutions with BDC. Through this, the goal is to support Canadian enterprises to grow, be competitive and produce profitability. This work is done out of the BDC Stratford, ON office supporting Huron-Perth and Grey-Bruce counties. Merry joined BDC in January 2018 initially serving Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and surrounding areas.
Previous to BDC, Merry was at RBC Royal Bank for 7 years, where she was a Business Account Manager in Kitchener-Waterloo-Perth, in her last role. Previous to that, she was with Scotiabank for 4 years.
Merry holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Honours Program - Degree with a focus in Marketing Management; as well as a Certificate in Leadership from the University of Guelph.
Linnea has spent the last 10 years as the Executive Director of a non-profit trade organization in the juvenile products industry. She is currently also the Business Enterprise Coordinator with the Grey County Business Enterprise Centre.