June 2026 Startup Grant Awarded to VASCH Ltd.

We’re excited to announce the May $10,000 Startup Grant recipient. Congratulations to Hannah Nassiri, founder of VASCH Ltd.

Recently, WomensNet Advisory Board member Marcia Layton Turner sat down with Hannah for an exclusive interview. You can listen to their conversation and view the transcript below.

Video Transcript

Marcia: Today, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Hannah Nassiri of VASCH, who is our June 2026 Startup Grant winner. Our startup grant, as you probably know, is for entrepreneurs in the early phase of developing their business who haven’t yet hit $10,000 in sales. Some are still working on the idea, and others have a product that they’re selling.

I’m Marcia Layton Turner. I’m a member of the WomensNet Advisory Board, and usually every other month-ish, I get the opportunity to learn more from our fabulous winners.

Let’s start by having you tell everyone a little bit about your company, what you sell, where you got the idea, and how things are going.

Hannah: Sure. VASCH is a circular economy materials company that transforms wood ash, something that most people don’t think twice about, into sustainable products. I’m developing natural ingredients for eco-friendly cleaners as well as biodegradable packaging material made from biomass ash. And the whole idea is taking a waste stream that usually ends up in a landfill and turning it into something valuable again.

The inspiration came from a mix of personal history and professional experience. I’ve always cared deeply about the environment, and I remember even as a kid, I used to collect all my scrap papers throughout the school year, and at the end of the school year, I asked my dad to drive me across the town to the only recycling facility center that we had in town back then. And later, as a chemical engineer, I became fascinated by plastics and how difficult they are to deal with environmentally at the end of their life.

So, the spark for VASCH came during a quiet moment by a campfire as I was watching the ash settle by the fire. And I remember that my grandma used to use ash to scrub pots and pans, and that memory stayed with me. And later, when I figured that today, millions of tons of wood ash go straight to the landfill, something just clicked, and I realized that I could bring together tradition, science, and sustainability and build something meaningful. That’s how VASCH was born, from a very personal place but also from a desire to create something practical and impactful.

Marcia: Awesome. I’d love to talk now about the resources that you found especially helpful as you were thinking about your company. What’s one resource that you might suggest to women in your shoes a few years ago?

Hannah: I’ve been really fortunate to have support around me. One of the very first resources that I found was the WE CAN Project at Queen’s University here in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. And I joined them right at the beginning when the idea for VASCH had just come to me, and I didn’t know where to start. So, the WE CAN Project was designed to support women entrepreneurs in the Kingston area. And it gave me a place to start, a community, guidance, and a sense of feeling that I’m not alone doing this.

Unfortunately, the program ended earlier this year, but it played a really important role in helping me take my first steps. And after that, Launch Lab, which was a regional innovation center for entrepreneurs here in Kingston, again became a big part of my journey. They were one of the first organizations that believed in what I was building, and they helped me get into the Spark Centre entrepreneurial cohort, which ended up being all female entrepreneurs. And during the six months of the program, we supported each other, we shared challenges, and we learned together, and that sense of community was incredibly great. And in one of the final sessions, which was about raising funds, that was when I heard about the Amber Grant for the first time.

And then also, Launch Lab introduced me to Invest Ottawa as well as MaRS Discovery District, where I’ve worked with market intelligence advisors, and they helped me dig into market analysis and competitor research, and really understand where the white space for VASCH is, and where VASCH has the strongest opportunities, especially in consumer brand products. And also biodegradable non-food packaging that doesn’t compete with crops. Because VASCH is circular and uses waste valorization, the price point can be really competitive, much more competitive with traditional, pollutant, single-use plastics, which is a huge advantage for VASCH.

And on the technical side, I’ve also been fortunate to collaborate with researchers at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, and more recently with Carleton University. Their applied research and capabilities have been really valuable as VASCH advances its R&D and moves into pilot development. But honestly, I’m going to echo what others mentioned. Connecting with other women entrepreneurs and hearing their stories and their resilience has been the most supportive resource of all. It reminded me that even though I’m a solo founder, I’m not alone in the journey.

Marcia: Excellent. Sounds like Canada has some really great resources for entrepreneurs. I love hearing about them.

So now let’s talk a little bit about marketing, because I think that’s where a number of entrepreneurs get tripped up. What is the best marketing strategy you’ve discovered so far?

Hannah: Sure. Right now, because I’m still in the R&D and validation stage, my marketing is really about understanding the market and building awareness. The work that I’ve done with Invest Ottawa and MaRS has helped me understand where VASCH fits and what makes it unique. That foundation is shaping how I communicate the story. I found out that people really connect with the origin of VASCH, the campfire moment that I mentioned earlier, the environmental mission, and the idea of turning waste into something valuable. So, I’ve been focusing on storytelling and sharing the journey in a way that feels authentic and human. It’s less about selling right now, and it’s more about inviting people into the mission.

And as I move toward higher TRLs and pilot scale, I would love to explore partnerships with corporate sustainability programs. Many large consumer brands have ambitious packaging goals. And so once my products are ready, I would love to collaborate with the companies that are actively looking for biodegradable alternatives, because that’s a powerful way to bring VASCH into the market. I’m not at the stage of naming specific brands yet, but collaborating and partnering with the companies that are committed to sustainability is definitely a part of my long-term strategy. I see marketing as something that grows naturally alongside the product.

Marcia: And then, what’s one thing that our community, which is tens of thousands of women business owners, can do to support you?

Hannah: The biggest way to support VASCH is simply to help spread the word. Share the story, talk about the mission, and vote when the time comes. And I’m building something that’s still early, but it has the potential to make a real environmental impact. So having the community behind me means a lot. And connections are also incredibly helpful, whether it’s introductions to eco brands, to sustainability-focused organizations, or to people who care about circular materials. And honestly, even just encouragement and visibility make a difference. Knowing that there’s a community to cheer me on gives me the momentum to keep pushing forward. And support doesn’t have to always be a big one, so even small gestures can make a meaningful difference at this stage for me.

Marcia: Excellent. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us, and congratulations again on being our June Startup Grant winner.