Vancouver BC | May 28, 2025 – Today, Vancity and Frontier Collective celebrated bold thinking, real-world impact, and the future of problem-solving innovation awarding a $20,000 prize to Rootd for winning its Impact Innovation Pitch Contest.
The contest—sponsored by Vancity credit union as part of the very first Vancity Innovation House at Web Summit Vancouver—invited innovative start-ups working in the technology and social impact space to the pitch contest, held on Wednesday morning. The winner was selected from a diverse group of innovators whose pitches demonstrated technical creativity and deep commitment to solving real challenges in today’s world.
“We believe in supporting people who are alive to the world around them—people who see the problems communities are facing and are driven to help solve them,” said Wellington Holbrook, CEO of Vancity. “Every pitch we saw today was full of creativity, commitment, and hope. We’re thrilled we’ve been able to help showcase so many entrepreneurs from our local economy as part of our partnership with Fronter Collective”.
Rootd is a values-driven mental health tech company focused on providing accessible, science-backed solutions for anxiety and panic attack relief. Founded with a mission to reduce stigma around mental health and provide affordable, easily accessible support. Rootd combines educational resources, real-time tools, and guided exercises to empower users to take control of their mental health anytime, anywhere. Rootd’s approach is built on the principle of inclusivity, focusing on serving diverse populations and tackling stigma in mental health care. Rootd was founded by Ania Wysocka, and is based right here in British Columbia.
“With Vancity Innovation House, we set out to spotlight innovation that drives real-world solutions—from climate tech to fintech to inclusive growth,” said Dan Burgar, CEO and Co-Founder of Frontier Collective. “The energy in the room today showed what’s possible when local talent and global leaders come together to build a cleaner, fairer future.”
Vancity Innovation House—a partnership between Vancity and Frontier Collective—is a full day of impact-focused events programming in Gastown as part of Web Summit Vancouver. The day features demos and talks with global industry leaders and local changemakers, a full day of panels, fireside chats, and hands-on activations. Through this activation, Vancity has brought its commitment to sustainability, equity and innovation to help power the conversations—and the change—at Vancity Innovation House.