Wednesday, May 10, 2023

From capstone project to international success

By Rose Simone. This is an excerpt of an article originally published in the Spring 2023 issue of Waterloo Magazine.

When Michael Litt looks back at Vidyard’s 12-year timeline, he is amazed.

Then: Michael Litt (BASc ’11) and his partner Devon Galloway (BASc ’10) were finishing up their Systems Design Engineering studies in 2010 when they saw an opportunity for a startup in the video sharing space.

Now: Vidyard has about 300 employees, international hubs in the United States and UK, more than 12 million users and is selling its products and services to about 160,000 companies.

What started as a video production company that embedded videos on company websites has become a dynamic video creation, sharing and analytics platform that incorporates sophisticated chat and artificial intelligence into its products.

Throughout it all, there has been a constant: The talented graduates and co-op students from the University of Waterloo.

“We’ve been able to amplify our efforts in the innovation arena because of access to the incredible talent that the University generates,” said Litt, who is the chief executive officer at Vidyard. His partner Devon Galloway is the chief technology officer.

Litt attributes the successful launch of the company to the skill set taught in the Systems Design Engineering program at Waterloo.

“It helps you think at a level that is truly solution oriented. You're equipped with this mindset of breaking down a problem into its solvable components. That, I think, is an often-overlooked aspect of what an engineering degree is at the University of Waterloo.”

The co-op program that alternates work terms with university studies helps form the entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, he adds. It also allowed Litt and Galloway to be self-employed for a term, which led to them launching Redwoods Media, which evolved into Vidyard.

Also, in the final year of their degree, Litt and Galloway worked on a Capstone design project that formed the basis of their video startup.

They won a highly coveted spot in the Y Combinator accelerator program, one of the most successful startup accelerators in the United States. It provided seed money, advice and connections.

Then they landed back in the Region of Waterloo, where they initially set up shop in the Velocity Incubator before outgrowing the space and establishing offices in Kitchener.

The University’s policy of allowing innovators to fully own their inventions was also key to their success, Litt added. “The University of Waterloo steps out of the way completely and allows innovation to naturally happen.”

Litt was named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 list in 2019 due to the company’s success. But there has been no time to rest on laurels.

Today, in the era of Zoom, TikTok and rapidly changing video technology, Vidyard has innovated and remade itself several times over.

Read the rest of the article on the Waterloo Magazine website.

Master of Fine Arts thesis work on display

The Fine Arts department and the University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG) will be exhibiting the works of two MFA students: Clara Laratta and Stephanie Florence.

Clara Laratta
In Search of Wholeness

The work in this exhibition is grounded in autoethnographic research that examines aspects of wholeness. It looks at familial relationships, relations to food, culture, and our environment. The work ties these components together as fundamental elements of being complete. Natural materials such as wood, celery pulp, and fibres are presented as forms that appear both ancient and modern, bridging the gap, and forging bonds between the past and present, while highlighting the continuity of human experience, and transcending the individual. The exhibition considers whether wholeness can be achieved in a world where everything is constantly changing, transient and impermanent. It reflects the belief that personal healing occurs in conjunction with collective and planetary healing. Through offering space for contemplation on these interconnected themes, this body of work contributes to, and dialogues with, a broader cultural shift towards more diverse, inclusive understanding, and compassion.

Clara Laratta is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. In her work she utilizes integrative methodologies to research aspects of identity. Her current body of work uses an autoethnographic approach to examine elements of wholeness. This work consists of sculpture, video, and photography. It moves between and merges modalities, connections, personal and collective healing and culminates in an informal archive of lived experience.

Stephanie Florence
rinse and repeat

rinse and repeat is a collaborative space that invites the viewer to become an active participant in endeavouring to unlearn consumerist behaviours. Florence will be guiding participants through walking tours, workshops, and listenings throughout the exhibition period, intending to develop community and invite discussion as interspecies citizens. Moss and Fungi are at the center of this relational practice, as artworks become habitats and offerings to the Land. All are welcome while treading with empathy.

Walking tours and listening workshops are open to public:

• Thursday, May 18 at 3:30 p.m.—National Museum Day; and
• Saturday, May 27 at 1:00 p.m.—closing day of the exhibition

Participants are invited to forward pictures from walking tours and listening workshops to @i.intuited.this for possible inclusion as part of the artwork personnel growth. Further details about the project can be found at stephanieflorence.ca

Stephanie Florence is a neurodiverse non-binary artist and curator originally from amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta). They are currently collaborating with Moss, Fungi, and Trees to investigate the possibility of interspecies citizenship, and how living bodies become a commodity for colonial-capitalist culture. Florence is grateful for support from the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, Pat the Dog, and Canada Council for the Arts in researching or producing collaborative artwork with species in the colonized-city landscape.

The exhibition runs from May 11 to May 27, with the opening reception taking place on Thursday, May 11 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Remarks will kick off at 6:00 p.m. followed by a performance of Stephanie Florence's listening at 6:30 p.m. 

Wednesday's notes

First, a reminder that on Tuesday, May 16 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, the Extended Reality Community of Practice (XR CoP) will host an online session in which Lynn Long and Burcu Karabina will discuss their experience in Fall 2022 offering optional supplementary augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) learning activities via tutorials to second year multivariable calculus students. Feedback gathered indicated that both technologies enhanced student learning, that learning could be further enhanced by improving accessibility, and that complementary use of the two technologies merits further exploration. They will also discuss where they hope to go next. Note that the findings to be shared are relevant to all disciplines, not just STEM subjects.

"Click here to join the meeting when it starts (no need to register in advance)," says a note from the XR CoP. "All are welcome!"

Employers hosting Virtual Employer Information Sessions (VEIS) this week and next week include Scotiabank, MDLand Digital Health Inc, Capital One, Genesys, Splunk, Sixty Degree Capital Inc, Bettermode, Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, Home Hardware, Formlabs, Oliver Wyman, Cooperative Education, International/ Powering Change Award, and Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management. Make sure to register through WaterlooWorks and check the calendar for any updates.