February 10, 2023
Meet Ahmed Hamodi (BSE '22, Software Engineering), 2022 recipient of the Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award. The Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award gives a befitting undergraduate graduating student the chance to win $50,000 cash award that they can use for ANYTHING that kicks off their future goals!
Ahmed is passionate about the use of technology for our common good. He takes an active role in improving the community around him by working to eliminate prejudice for future generations. As a rising entrepreneur, Ahmed uses his engineering mindset and multidisciplinary skills to work on projects that empower and create long-term impact for minority communities.
His startup company, DecisionHub, enables organizations to collect, review and make unbiased decisions on applications. DecisionHub’s strategic focus remains, for now, on student bursary and organizational granting applications. With current operational capacity and a facilitated distribution valued at $10 million, future growth expansion will focus on eliminating bias in organizational hiring and investment decisions.
What has been your post graduation work experience so far?
For the first 4 months after graduation, my co-founder and I doubled down and invested in the growth of our product and the number of users of DecisionHub, hiring 2 interns from the University of Waterloo and working full time ourselves, and we grew from 4 organizations using the service to 7 organizations, with a couple more in the pipeline!
To this day, Greg and I are still working on DecisionHub and helping it reach the hands of a lot more organizations, particularly not-for-profits, to help spread our anti-bias features and allow for the fair selection of candidates everywhere!
Complimentary to this work, I have started a job at Meta working on the infrastructure of a team supporting millions of users, an experience that will allow me to continue to develop and hone my technical skills, particularly in regards to dealing with scale, that I hope to bring back to the social good sector in the coming years. In my own time, I also volunteer for a local high school basketball team as an assistant coach, and I am on the Board of Directors of Blueprint Software Foundation, a new initiative which I hope will grow a lot in 2023, that hopes to continue the impact of UW Blueprint's great work through maintaining projects handed off by the student cl
What have you done with the award funds or what do you plan to do with the funds in the future?
During the first 4 months after graduation, our team supported 2 interns from the University of Waterloo, which is where a good chunk of the funds went to. We also retained one of these interns part time the 4 months following that summer, and the other for 5 months and counting (she's still working for us!). We also upgraded majority of our infrastructure to support our new clients, particularly as two of them are larger organizations that plan to use our platform quite a bit. Lastly, we added tools to our company including Seamless AI and HubSpot to help facilitate our growth!
Overall, this funding has been largely impactful and has set us up with a solid foundation to continue to carry out our vision. The remaining funds will be used in a similar fashion, to keep supporting the business and growing it!
How has the award helped you reach your goals, progress your career, or provided assistance?
The award allowed me to dedicate 4 months post graduation to DecisionHub, and allowed us to support 2 internships - something I never thought I'd be able to say. Through this, I have learned more and more about running a business, the challenges of product market fit, finding users who are willing to give the new product a chance, and the process of maintaining and retaining clients! These skills, while not too useful in my current Software Engineering role at Meta, will most definitely be useful in my role on the Board of Directors of Blueprint Software Foundation, as well as future roles I strive to have in the future. It's also actively helping me as we continue to work on DecisionHub and getting it in the hands of more organizations.
Advice for students thinking about applying for the Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award?
Apply! I know it sounds cheesy, but genuinely just apply.
Imposter syndrome is real - when I applied, I didn't think I was going to make finalists, much less be the recipient. The University of Waterloo produces so much great talent, even within my own graduating cohort I know some amazing people, but in reality I deminished the fact that I'm right here to! I also did things outside of school. And you did too!
If you were active in the community, or had your own extracurricular activities, or were a part of student bodies or leadership roles, you should apply and see what happens. I also encourage you to have a reason -- a motivation -- to try and be the recipient of this award. What is your goal if you are selected? Will it change your current post-graduation plans (even if by 4 months like it did with mine)? Will you continue to hold the principles of this role in everything that you do in the future?
After speaking with Sanjay Malaviya (BASc '93, computer engineering) - the PSEGL Award donor; it was clear what his intention was with this award - long term leaders.
He understands that in the short term, you may take a different road in life, but ultimately long term, is your heart focused on making the world a better place? Helping people? Helping to diminish all the bad that happens in the world? Does your heart break when you see a video online that depicts a horrible event and are you motivated to change that?
These are all questions you should ask yourself. Ultimately, we are young and are just about to enter the real world. Short term deviations will happen but if your heart is in the right place, you should apply. Your passion will shine through to the judges.
Best of luck to the 2023 applicants, and I am excited to see who the recipients of this prestigious award are this year and in future years.