Articles Kayla Isabelle
Kayla Isabelle has demonstrated incredible resilience and noteworthy leadership during 2020. Faced with taking leadership of both Startup Canada, Canada’s Entrepreneurship Organization, on March 1st, 2020, and of the Innovators and Entrepreneur Foundation during a global pandemic, Kayla has not only sustained, but grown an event-based non-profit, and provided an extended reach to Canada’s entrepreneurship community during one of its most challenging years on record.
Kayla began her journey as Executive Director getting a crash course in crisis management in her first two weeks as the new leader of Startup Canada. In the span of just a few days, she went from meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Startup Canada’s International Women’s Day event to discuss women’s entrepreneurship, to dealing with perhaps the greatest economic crisis this country’s small businesses have confronted in generations. Startup Canada was able to retain 100% of their corporate partners by shifting traditionally conference-based events, digitally. By developing strategic partnerships with organizations like Google, Kayla led the charge on national digital programming, reaching the highest cohort of entrepreneurs on record. Kayla also amplified the organization’s focus on social impact, sharing the stories, and providing resources for entrepreneurs aligning to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Through Impact Icon campaigns, and a first-ever digital SDG specific pitch competition, over 2k entrepreneurs tuned in to see the future of social innovation, and social good coming from Canadian Startups.
Kayla also focused on the mental health of Canadian entrepreneurs, leveraging partners like BDC to tell the candid and honest mental health struggles of small business owners through a “Health over Hustle” series of mental health conversations, and providing mental health resources to 20k+ entrepreneurs weekly through the Startup Canada newsletter.
Kayla also led the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation through its first year of programming, recognizing innovators and entrepreneurs both regionally and nationally. With over 17,000 viewers across Canada, the CANIE awards celebrated leading entrepreneurs during their most demanding times, and provided Canada with stories of inspiration. Indigenous entrepreneurs, innovators, and women entrepreneurs alike were recognized with both national publicity, but also funding to scale their businesses. Kayla grew this awards platform digitally from the ground up, in May of 2020, pivoting the entire program in a matter of weeks.
She has led Startup Canada in delivering an unprecedented amount of programming, supporting women entrepreneurs, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and startups looking to scale their businesses on a global scale. Startup Canada, in 2020, has supported thousands of entrepreneurs across 145+ cities across Canada with over 52 national and regional large-scale events and training. With a focus on underrepresented founders, Startup Canada has almost tripled its impact through 2020.
At only 28 years old, Kayla is the CEO of Startup Canada, is the Board Chair of the Innovators and Entrepreneur Foundation, the host of the THRIVE Podcast providing support for women entrepreneurs, an Allied for Startups Member and COVID-19 Working Group Member, and the President of the International Association of Business Communicators Ottawa Chapter.
Kayla is a Founders Institute Mentor, a Carleton University Career Mentor, and an international public speaker on all things entrepreneurship, speaking in India, Tanzania, Israel, and Ghana to name a few.
