Starter Company Plus 2026 – Grant Awards

16 entrepreneurs receive grants totalling $80,000

Pembroke, (ON):  Enterprise Renfrew County is pleased to announce Starter Company Plus training has now concluded for 2026. This transformative business development program sponsored by Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation, guides small business owners through creating a full business plan and two years of cash flow projections with opportunity to compete through a business pitch for grant awards. To complete this program takes dedication, motivation, and perseverance! These 16 stand-out businesses were awarded grants totalling $80,000 in 2026:

Town of Arnprior

• David Meek – Mainbrace Studio – https://mainbracestudio.com
• Tina Thompson – Temple 13 – https://temple13.com

Town of Deep River

• Carolyn Mathews – Daisy's Butterfly – https://www.facebook.com/daisysbutterfly
• Salina Vanderhorn – Saturday Morning Books & Analog –https://shopsaturdaymorning.ca

Town of Petawawa

• Jolene Kellsey – In Fine Fettle – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586649195048
• Valerie Proulx – The Blushing Reader – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592639969690

Township of Madawaska Valley

• Sarah Blakeney Malo – Seed and Stone Farmstead – https://seedandstonefarmstead.ca

Township of McNab/Braeside

• Alice Banks – Alice Alishka Yarn Cake – https://alicealishka.com
• Oliver Richards – Boa Engineering Inc. – https://www.boaengineering.ca
• Dereck Wilson – Start 2 Finishes Construction – (website under development)

Township of Whitewater Region

• Melissa Jardine Ridley – Natures Vesta Holistic Nursing – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593271132969

City of Pembroke

• Matthew Chalifoux – Peak Digital Partners – https://peakdigitalpartners.net
• Marina Neville – Neville Mediation – https://www.nevillemediation.ca
• Rebecca Paulson – Winter Fresh Harvest – (website under development)
• Riley Thatcher – Valley Hair Artistry – https://www.facebook.com/valleyhairartistry
• Stephanie Williamson – Beautifully Balanced Books – https://www.beautifullybalancedbooks.ca

New for the Starter Company Plus program in 2026 was the addition of a mentorship program matching past program participants and local entrepreneurs with new participants. The mentorship program provided new participants with the opportunity to engage with like-minded entrepreneurs in a support environment, to share ideas and recommendations, receive guidance and expand networks. Enterprise Renfrew County extends thanks to this year’s 22 business mentors from across the region.

Enterprise Renfrew County encourages the public to support grant award recipients and mentor businesses in Renfrew County to ensure these dynamic entrepreneurs continue to thrive regionally and contribute to community.

Starter Company Plus provides three months of business coaching, business plan and cash flow projection development, mentoring and instruction from staff and professional trainers on marketing, accounting, insurance, and legal considerations. This intensive training program has proven to be pivotal for entrepreneurs with new business ideas and owners of businesses that have been operating for five years or less. At the end of the program there is an opportunity for participants to compete, by pitching their business plan, for a non-repayable grant of up to $5,000 to be applied to their business operations. 

Grant recipient Oliver Richards, president and founder of Boa Engineering Inc., discovered the program while searching for grant opportunities, but he soon realized the process proved even more valuable than the funding, helping him formalize passions, plans, and processes.

"The Starter Company Plus program has been foundational in building my new business,” Richards shares. “The classroom sessions offered insight from industry experts across many facets of entrepreneurship, and the chance to ask questions and receive personalized guidance was incredibly helpful. Drafting my business plan and financial projections, and receiving detailed feedback on both, left me far more confident in starting and operating my business. I'm deeply appreciative of the time and effort Heather and the Enterprise Renfrew County team put in on behalf of everyone enrolled in the program."

The next opportunity to participate in Starter Company Plus will be spring of 2027. For more information and to join the contact list visit: www.enterpriserenfrewcounty.com/starter-company-plus. Interested entrepreneurs are encouraged to contact Heather Inwood-Montrose, Small Business Advisor.

The Starter Company Plus program is delivered locally by Enterprise Renfrew County and funded in partnership with the Government of Ontario, County of Renfrew, Town of Renfrew and the City of Pembroke. Enterprise Renfrew County is a non-profit program whose mandate is to encourage and contribute to the enterprising spirit and economic development of Renfrew County by assisting entrepreneurs with the development of new or existing companies.   

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Heather Inwood-Montrose       Small Business Advisor                                613-735-8224

Tina Peplinskie                         Media Relations Coordinator                         613-735-7288