Wealthsimple leverages co-op students’ entrepreneurial spirit to build investment solutions for Canadians
By: Christie Zeb (she/her)
Co-op students contribute to building smart investment features loved by the 3 million Canadians who use Wealthsimple.
Madi Fuller (she/her), early talent lead at Wealthsimple.
Wealthsimple is a Canadian money management platform offering products from stock and crypto trading to tax filing and cash & spending. The company has a mission to help Canadians build long-term wealth.
To achieve this, Wealthsimple hires Waterloo co-op students for various roles; valuing their innovative mindsets and entrepreneurial spirit. Students are hired for roles like research, software development, data science, marketing and operations.
Each term, these students bring their unique skills and can-do spirit. They work on the overall functionality of the Wealthsimple platform. Their contributions help clients invest without hassle and build wealth with ease.
If you want students that bring innovative mindsets and ask the right questions, Waterloo co-op students are great. We find that they are innovative or entrepreneurial in their role. Many of them have either been exposed to startups or have started their own.
When hiring, the company looks for co-op students who are resourceful and curious. Students are encouraged to question processes and take initiative in their roles. “A big pillar of ours is the maker-owner mindset. Being able to see a problem and say, ‘I want to fix that, and I want to lead that’,” says Fuller.
What projects are Waterloo students working on?
From improving web and app experience to delighting clients with new features, co-op students work across the product team. They ideate and develop innovative solutions that are useful to clients.
“Waterloo co-op students have a wide range of influence across our product. From broad projects to projects that might seem small but are huge to the client experience,” says Fuller.
During his Summer 2023 term, Soham Shah (he/him) worked on the vulnerability management team. He collaborated with engineering teams across the company to help remediate over 70 vulnerabilities.
For his Winter 2024 term, he worked with the crypto product team. In this role, he collaborated with a sub-team to develop a feature that enabled clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies from Wealthsimple’s website.
Shah also created a solution that prevents ineligible clients from entering the crypto transfer flow on the Wealthsimple app. The solution resulted in a significant drop in client errors and client support calls.
Soham Shah (he/him), spring co-op student on vulnerability management team
How does Wealthsimple ensure student success?
Wealthsimple heavily prioritizes career development and mentorship. As part of this, students complete a self-evaluation and receive a manager evaluation at mid-term and end of their co-op work terms. The company uses this to stay connected to outstanding co-op students they’d like to have for future work terms. So far, Wealthsimple has had a high return rate, with 52 per cent of co-op students returning for a second work term.
The company hosts co-op events and hackathons regularly. Students connect with other team members and leaders at the company through these events. There is also a mentorship program where co-op students are connected to mentors.
Shah has completed two work terms at Wealthsimple and describes his experience as exceptional. Shah worked on meaningful projects and accessed a range of learning opportunities while being mentored by senior engineers.
The teams I worked with were incredibly welcoming, supportive and collaborative. It fostered an excellent environment for continuous learning.
Shah led planning for the hackathons during his co-op terms. He also participated in one of the hackathons where he joined a team to develop an automated debit/credit card replacement feature. The project received an award for the best client experience hack.
“Our philosophy at Wealthsimple is that if an intern doesn't have a safe or comfortable environment to learn, they're not going to feel empowered to take on projects and take their internship to the next level,” says Fuller.
As Wealthsimple continues to grow, the company is relying on the future-ready skills of Waterloo co-op students. These skills are integral to its mission of making more financial tools accessible to its growing number of clients.
“I hope they stay in Canada when they graduate. I encourage Canadian companies to hire from Waterloo so we can keep this awesome talent in Canada,” says Fuller.