Meet the 3 winners of the 2024 Project Zero Pitch Event

Innovation drives our province forward. Sure, that sounds like an advertisement for a government agency, but it’s true. And Victoria-based Synergy Foundation never disappoints on the innovation side. 

Synergy has been working to create opportunities that advance green business, food security and the circular economy since 2013. Programs like BC Green Business (which helps businesses take climate action) and Ecostar Awards (which celebrates environmental achievements and leadership on Vancouver Island) have helped the nonprofit establish itself as a leader in the larger conversation around climate change. Its executive director, Jill Doucette, was named a BCBusiness Women of the Year finalist earlier this year.  

Synergy’s Project Zero incubator—supported by Vancity—is all about sparking innovation. It supports businesses that are pushing the province toward a cleaner future, and the associated Project Zero Pitch Event not only graduates ventures from the incubator program, but it also awards three winners with prizes. Vancouver-based Spruce Circularity and Port Alberni’s Timber Tiles were among last year’s finalists.

Since the program’s inception in 2019, Project Zero has supported around 80 inspiring B.C. ventures with business plans, fundamentals and mentorship. Collectively, these businesses have gone on to raise over $10 million, and we’ve noted how ideas like Build Smartr (from Project Zero’s 2023 cohort) is growing big.

Last night, our editor-in-chief Nathan Caddell took notes in a different way. He sat on the judging panel alongside Morgan Beall of Community Futures and Charlotte Gilmour of Yulu PR as 15 businesses competed for prizes in the 2024 Project Zero Pitch Event.  

Sustain Grooming, a lean body wash brand from Vancouver Island, was crowned the first-place winner. Founder Shane Bahmann won the judges over with his pitch for natural personal care products that eliminate single-use plastic and took home $1,500. 

Wear On Kids Clothing came in second place and scored $1,000 with its efforts to fight waste and create circular processes for kids’ clothing. The Langley-based company repairs and resells clothing items to help them live on and repurposes or recycles pieces that can’t be resold.  

The Thingery, an equipment lending library in Vancouver, came in third and won $500. “I would like to see The Thingery grow and expand to become an important community hub, allowing residents to live more simply and share an increasing variety of items, which will both benefit our environment and improve our quality of life,” founder and CEO Chris Diplock said in a release.  

The full list of businesses in Project Zero’s 2024 cohort can be viewed here.