When Nick Gray first partnered with soil remediation startup LiORA through Co.Labs’ X in Residence (XiR) program last spring, he expected to offer strategic advice from the sidelines, not join the C-Suite.
But after helping the Saskatchewan-based startup sharpen its growth strategy and close a record-breaking $5-million seed round, Gray, a Toronto tech veteran and former VP at Humi and Drop, signed on full-time as Chief Operating Officer in January.
“I don’t see why we can’t find more billion-dollar successes.”
Nick Gray, LiORA
“I was like, wow, these are some of the world’s leading scientists in this space,” Gray said of LiORA founder Steven Siciliano and Director of Science Steven Mamet. Their mission to clean up and restore contaminated soil revealed both a staggering global challenge and a massive market opportunity touching close to two percent of global GDP.
For Gray, the company ticked every box.
“An investor once told me to make sure your total addressable market is bigger than your ambition,” he said. “This is one of the few industries that actually has that possibility.”
Gray’s shift from advisor to team member is exactly what XiR is designed to enable: not just mentorship, but immersive, high-impact partnerships that accelerate startups through the toughest phase of growth.
Many Prairie ventures show early promise, but scaling requires experienced, hands-on guidance, which remains more available in hubs like Toronto and Vancouver.
Co.Labs launched the XiR program in 2023 to close that gap, embedding seasoned operators into high-potential Saskatchewan tech startups during what Gray calls the “messy middle”—the often-chaotic phase between product-market fit and sustainable growth.
The goal is to help ventures scale and reach global markets much faster than without that expert guidance, while strengthening the region’s innovation economy.
According to Siciliano, having Gray’s expertise was incredibly valuable for LiORA at its stage of growth at the time.
“With the number of customers and sites we serve, we needed Nick’s scale-up experience to build the right product roadmap,” Siciliano added. “LiORA would grow moderately fast without this support, but initiatives like the XiR program set us up with the potential to increase our growth tenfold.”
XiR advisors work directly with founders to refine products, align strategy, and build operational capacity. When Gray, who also leads the strategic advisory firm MapMind, first engaged with LiORA, he facilitated a two-day session to chart a three-year roadmap and sharpen the company’s investor pitch. And just this week, LiORA secured the largest seed investment in Saskatchewan’s history.
“A lot of these companies are stuck in the weeds,” he said. “They’re so focused on operations that they fail to see the bigger picture. But when you’re fundraising or pushing for scale, you need a clear, shared story.”
The results are already rippling through Saskatchewan’s startup economy. Since launching in 2017, Co.Labs reports that it has supported 218 startups, helping them raise $55 million in private capital, generate over $103 million in revenue, and create 957 jobs.
After the first half of 2025, startups’ revenues have grown 32 percent since July 2024, a strong continuation to the 33 percent growth seen in the same period from 2023 to 2024.
Startups that received expert guidance through the XiR program are now entering global markets, attracting national investment and increasingly supporting other founders, which Gray believes is essential to building a self-sustaining tech economy in the Prairies.
“The odds are just stacked against you,” he said, citing data that shows 90 percent of startups fail in their first year, and of those that survive, only about nine percent ever surpass $1 million in revenue. “Most don’t need a head of product. They need a strategy.”
Backed by a recent $2.6-million investment from PrairiesCan, Co.Labs is expanding the XiR program and deepening its network of operators. For Gray, who has relocated to Calgary but continues to advise ventures across Canada, it’s a mission rooted in both personal conviction and Canadian ambition.
“There’s an opportunity for Canada to build even bigger businesses,” he said, noting that a thriving economy creates broader opportunities for everyone.
And while he’s seen firsthand the challenges facing founders, he’s confident in what’s emerging on the Prairies.
“I don’t see why we can’t find more billion-dollar successes.”
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At Co.Labs, we help exceptional Saskatchewan-based founders and teams turn an idea into a multi-million-dollar technology business. Learn more.