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A summer of building led to one final pitch
After spending the summer developing their startups, five student entrepreneurs took the stage at Basecamp Demo Day to pitch for a share of $30,000 in grants. Each founder presented a solution designed to solve a real-world challenge with innovation and purpose.
Selected from more than 130 applications, 33 startups joined this year's Basecamp cohort, with half of them being founded by Toronto Metropolitan University students. Throughout the program, they worked alongside experienced entrepreneurs and mentors to strengthen their business models, validate their ideas and prepare for Demo Day. Over the past 12 years, Basecamp has helped more than 500 students take the first steps in building successful startups.
Meet this year's Basecamp grant recipients
Altas Bio
Founded by Zain Malik, Altas Bio secured the top grant prize of $15,000 for its AI-powered platform that helps life sciences labs identify failing lab-grown brain models early, reducing research costs and accelerating drug development.
Enyday
Founded by Thivya Jeyapalan, Enyday received $10,000 to advance its science-backed oral wellness product designed to help prevent enamel damage and support everyday oral health.
Squeeky
Squeeky, founded by Abdulsalam Oladimeji, received $5,000 for its home services marketplace that connects homeowners with vetted local professionals through a concierge-managed booking experience.
Tackling challenges across industries, this year's finalists demonstrated the creativity and determination driving Canada's next generation of entrepreneurs.
The finalist lineup also included Tommy Wu, founder of PaddleIQ, an AI-powered table tennis coaching app, and Oscar Howe, founder of OWN Financial, a digital platform that helps Canadians manage their finances with personalized guidance and financial literacy tools.
While the grants will help the founders to continue building, Basecamp was about more than funding. It gave participants the opportunity to work alongside peers who challenged their thinking, learn from mentors with firsthand startup experience and gain customer feedback that helped shape their ventures.
“I feel good that I got to represent all the amazing mentors that really supported me, as well as Eva and Heer from the Basecamp team, to everyone at DMZ,” said Zain Malik, Founder and CEO of Altas Bio. “I’m really excited to see where the Basecamp 2026 cohort goes in the next few years. I want to see everyone flourish because I really believe in this group of people.”
As they move forward, these founders leave Basecamp with stronger businesses, practical experience and a community behind them.
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