Building a Business While Building Community 

When Kathryn LeBlanc joined the Social Entrepreneurship Enclave (SEE)‘s Pride Venture Coaching Program in fall 2024, she was two years into growing her agency and had just relocated from Ottawa to Winnipeg on Treaty 1 Territory. At the time, she had recently hired her first full-time employee and was stepping into leadership while entering a new market without an established network. 

The Challenge

As a queer entrepreneur running a values-driven agency, LeBlanc found that many traditional business support spaces did not reflect her reality. These environments often focused on rigid growth models and overlooked the nuances of social impact work, including the importance of sustainability, mental health, and community connection.

“I find that a lot of mainstream business spaces can feel very male-dominated, and sometimes too entrenched in doing business the quote-unquote typical way that it’s always been done, ways that have not always grown and evolved and become more diverse and supportive, supportive of mental health, supportive of staff, supportive of diverse communities, supportive of furthering your business, but also caring about the social impact that you make, caring about the planet and the people around us.”  

— Kathryn LeBlanc

The Experience

Through the Pride Venture Coaching Program, LeBlanc was matched with Métis entrepreneur and certified coach Joey Crampton. Their one-on-one coaching sessions created a trusted space to navigate both the strategic and emotional aspects of growing a business.

Alongside coaching, she participated in workshops, peer group sessions, and community events through SEE programming. This combination of individualized support and community engagement helped her strengthen her leadership approach while building meaningful connections with other queer entrepreneurs in Winnipeg.

The Growth

Since participating in the program, LeBlanc (& co.) Communications has evolved from a newly formed team of four into a stable team of seven full-time staff with defined departments and internal leadership roles.

The agency has experienced strong financial growth, with annual revenue increasing by approximately 90 percent. It now regularly secures larger, integrated communications contracts and delivers bundled services including strategy, campaigns, branding, web design, and media training.

LeBlanc also successfully established a local client base in Manitoba. She began with just one client in the province and has since worked with approximately ten organizations, significantly expanding the agency’s regional presence.

“When I had just joined the Pride Venture Coaching Program, we were a team of four, and we were just getting settled in. No one had been on the team for more than six months. Now, we have people who have been with us for two years solidly and are really growing into their role. I had maybe one contract in Manitoba when I first joined the program, and now we’ve worked with about 10 different clients here, which is a huge jump.”  

— Kathryn LeBlanc

Community Impact

Beyond her own business growth, LeBlanc has contributed to strengthening the 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurial ecosystem. She has served as a mentor in the Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce’s EMERGE program and has delivered workshops and lunch-and-learn sessions for SEE participants and the broader community.

Through this work, she continues to share expertise, support emerging founders, and help build a more connected and collaborative business landscape.

“The Pride Venture Coaching Program provided a sense of community, tangible professional support from experts, and also skill building to a community of queer and trans entrepreneurs, in an amazing organization that helps entrepreneurs who are queer, trans, BIPOC, Indigenous, or facing barriers. I’m interested in how we can do business differently, and how our work can contribute to a better world—and I love spending time with queer business owners who feel the same way.”  

— Kathryn LeBlanc

Looking Ahead

Kathryn LeBlanc’s journey reflects what becomes possible when queer entrepreneurs have access to support that recognizes both their business goals and lived experience. As her agency continues to grow, so does her impact on the communities and entrepreneurs around her.

learn more about see

The Social Entrepreneurship Enclave (SEE) empowers diverse and barrier-facing entrepreneurs in Manitoba through comprehensive, free support services. By nurturing innovation and prioritizing entrepreneurs’ overall well-being, SEE fosters an inclusive ecosystem that addresses both professional and personal needs, with a focus on BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, youth, and rural innovators.

Through support of the Ecosystem Fund*, SEE offered Manitoba 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurs entry into their incubator program, and also developed and delivered the Pride Venture Coaching Program providing entrepreneurs (like Kathryn!) access to 1:1 business and financial coaching to grow their business.

*The Ecosystem Fund is a pillar of the 2SLGBTQI+ Entrepreneurship Program, an initiative supported by the Government of Canada and led by the Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce (CQCC).