🚀 New 24hr store openings, Alumni updates, and big tech in court

🔔 Your campaign updates feed

🏪 KaleMart24 is opening 3 new locations 

Kalemart24 is opening 3 new locations by the end of February in Kitchener ON, Place Bell QC, and Griffintown QC. These new locations are part of the 20 new locations that are expected to open this summer. Plus another 10 locations in the pipeline currently in progress.

Invest in KaleMart24 | $217K Raised | 87% of target

🔔 Alumni updates

🔵 joni will be attending CHFA NOW Vancouver 2026 (Feb 21–22) at Booth #820, showcasing their plant‑based, sustainable period care products and highlighting innovation in design, accessibility, and eco-friendly solutions.

👟 Hettas is highlighted in The Globe and Mail coverage of Simon Fraser University’s WearTech Labs. Featured as an example of next-gen wearable sports tech, Hettas’ smart performance gear helps female athletes train smarter, boost performance, and stay injury-free.

🚁 AIRmarket is featured in the Scale Up Canada Edmonton50, highlighting its role in Edmonton’s fast-growing innovation ecosystem and connecting the company to global investors and opportunities.

🤔 What’s on our minds

📱Social Media faces a defining moment

A major trial in Los Angeles is putting Big Tech’s social media model under scrutiny. A young adult plaintiff alleges that prolonged use of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube harmed her mental health, arguing the apps were designed to maximize engagement rather than user well-being. While Snap and TikTok settled ahead of trial, Meta Platforms and Google are fighting the claims, challenging whether long-standing legal protections apply when harm is linked to platform design.

This trial arrives as social media is already in flux. Governments are introducing new rules, users are demanding greater transparency and control, and a new wave of platforms is emerging with different priorities. These newer models emphasize intentional engagement, smaller or interest-based communities, stronger user privacy, clearer algorithms, and success metrics beyond time spent.

📌 Defendant response

Meta and YouTube dispute the allegations and point to tools they say support young users’ safety, including parental controls and age-appropriate features. Both companies emphasize that mental health outcomes are shaped by complex factors beyond platform design alone. During testimony, Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s safety practices and rejected claims that its platforms are designed to target or addict children.

⚖️ What happens next

Testimony is now underway, including appearances from senior executives and expert witnesses, as attorneys argue over whether platform design can create liability for youth harm. Legal observers increasingly view the case as a bellwether that could influence thousands of similar lawsuits and test the scope of long-standing legal protections for social platforms. A ruling against Meta Platforms or Google could accelerate settlements, reshape product design priorities, and prompt lawmakers to introduce stricter youth safety standards.

🌐 Broader context

Pressure on social media companies is intensifying. Some U.S. states have passed laws aimed at protecting young users, while countries such as Australia have introduced age limits for social media use.

In that sense, this case is less about ending social media and more about what comes next. It reflects a shift away from platforms optimized purely for attention toward systems designed to support connection, creativity, and well-being. Whether driven by regulation, market pressure, or cultural change, social media appears poised to evolve in response.

 🌐 Community Responses

Sharing some community responses from last week’s newsletter article on Canada’s auto industry.

🎙️ Hear from our founder feature

Collective Arts: Fusing innovative beverages with emerging artists with Matthew Johnson

Q: What inspired the creation of Collective Arts?

A: The idea really came from a belief that creativity makes the world better. In the beverage industry, creativity was always in the liquid but not on the outside. Most labels were generic, following the same rules. We wanted to flip that by pairing world-class drinks with emerging artists and musicians. 

Q: What makes Collective Arts stand out in a crowded beverage market?

A: Collective Arts is a creative, community-driven movement. We have encouraged artistic collaboration by receiving nearly 40,000 art submissions, paying over $1 million directly to artists while allowing them to retain ownership rights. Their brand appeals especially to Gen Z consumers who seek purpose and culture alongside products.

Q: Looking back, are there a few standout moments in Collective Arts’ journey?

A: The first was our launch party at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. We had over 600 people show up, the walls covered in art, and for the first time, we saw beer drinkers reacting to this crazy idea we’d been working on. 

🎧 Want to listen to the full episode?

Spotify / YouTube / Apple

📝 From Our Desk

Private markets move to the mainstream

FrontFundr Founder & CEO Peter-Paul Van Hoeken shared his perspective on a recent World Economic Forum analysis exploring how private markets are reshaping global capital flows, a shift becoming increasingly relevant for investors, founders, and policymakers alike. He highlights 3 themes emerging from the discussion:

🔷 Shift from public to private growth: Companies are staying private longer, meaning much of the early value creation now happens outside public markets.

🔷 Retail participation is expanding: Technology and regulatory evolution are gradually opening private investments to a broader investor base, though access remains uneven across jurisdictions.

🔷 Innovation and competitiveness are at stake: Private capital plays a critical role in funding innovation, scaling companies, and strengthening economic resilience.

Read the full post ​