With over 10 years of experience as a lifeguard, combined with her background in engineering, Carlyn Loncaric knew there had to be a way to improve open water searches by drastically reducing the time it takes to find missing people.

During her Master’s Degree at Simon Fraser University, Carlyn began working on ideas for improving open water searches. After graduating, she continued experimenting with electronics that could serve this purpose. Although she had limited time outside her full-time job, an unexpected layoff in 2014 prompted her to focus more closely on these ideas. Determined to create a solution, Carlyn began building a prototype.

Looking back, she now recognizes this as the start of her entrepreneurial journey, though she didn’t see it that way at the time. “Although I had experience working for startups, I hadn’t considered creating one. I didn’t know the industry or what it would take to succeed. I just needed to know if the solution I envisioned would work. Until I had an answer, I wasn’t going to stop.”

This determination led Carlyn to build the first prototype of what would eventually become AquaEye—a lifesaving sonar device developed by her company, VodaSafe, which empowers first responders and reduces search times by 90%.

Building Impactful Connections Through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch

Like many women founders, Carlyn’s found that securing funding has been her greatest challenge. Building her network has been critical to overcoming these financing obstacles, and she’s grateful for the opportunity to do so through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch—a program designed to help entrepreneurs access and activate the key forms of capital they need to thrive.

Carlyn was a 2022/23 Finalist in The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch program and the recipient of a $25,000 prize package determined by audience vote, however, this wasn’t her first time participating. Years earlier, she had been selected as a Semi-Finalist when the program was known as Pitch for the Purse.

While she didn’t advance as a Finalist back then, the experience opened her eyes to the immense value of community connections. It helped her expand her network and sharpen her pitching skills. During the Semi-Final, she even met VodaSafe’s first investor, who was among the community members cheering her on in the crowd.

“After the pandemic closures, I realized I had lost some of those important connections I had developed. I knew it was time to reconnect with The Forum and its community, so I applied for The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch again. I’m so glad I did. It helped me build confidence, meet amazing people, increase exposure for my business, and helped us find our next lead investor for our latest round of fundraising. It was a great experience.”

Carlyn was first connected with VodaSafe’s newest lead investor through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale. Similar to VodaSafe’s first investor, they were also in the crowd to hear the pitch she developed throughout the program.

She developed her pitch with help from her Mentor, Melanie Ewan, the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Volition, and Valerie Galvin, a specialized performance coach and the Founder of Stand & Deliver.

“They were phenomenal. Their guidance really changed how I pitched my business. They helped me find the sweet spot between hitting everything on a venture capitalist’s checklist and telling our story with emotion, passion, and authenticity. It’s not easy to weave it all together–that was something I was really struggling with. Now I’ve found a new happy place in how I pitch.”

Carlyn’s experience pitching at The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale is one she’ll never forget. “I was blown away by how passionate and dedicated The Forum team and their supporters were. As entrepreneurs, we don’t typically have the chance to pause and cheer for our businesses or ourselves. We’re always putting out fires or focusing on what needs to be done next.

It was so nice to have the space to look back at how far we’ve come and feel the energy of a crowd that’s supporting you. I was so impressed by how The Forum and its community showed up for us. The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale is all about the entrepreneurs and the people who uplift them—that’s not something you typically see. It’s a big deal!”

How VodaSafe's Grown and What's Next

We’re now approaching the two year anniversary of Carlyn’s time on stage at The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale, and she has plenty of updates to share on VodaSafe’s growth.

“When I shared my pitch in 2023, I believe we had product in 10 countries. Now we have it in more than 50. We’ve sold over 1,000 units and have more than 500 customers internationally.

We’re also about to move into a new office and manufacturing space that’s much bigger and have grown our team.

Right now, we’re focused on new research and development, building out new software products, and are being more bold with our marketing efforts to ensure we’re driving home the importance of this technology so that it can be deployed in time to save more lives.”

When asked what she’s most proud of, Carlyn reflects on the growth of the VodaSafe team and the positive response to their product.

“I hired my first employee in 2018. Now we’re a team of 14. Some of our team members joined right out of university, and now they’ve bought houses and gotten married. It’s amazing to see how much we’ve all grown.

When we receive messages from customers telling us how our technology has helped them, it really reminds us of the impact of our work. There’s nothing like it."

Learn More About VodaSafe