IT networks made easy

Meet Alex Hoff, Marc Morin and David Yach

Successful entrepreneurs Alex Hoff (BMath ’04), Marc Morin (BASc ’87) and David Yach (BMath ’83) joined forces in 2011 to co-found Auvik Networks, which helps small and mid-sized businesses better manage their IT networks. We asked CEO Marc Morin to tell us a bit about their journey.

What is Auvik all about?

Auvik is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application that makes it much easier for small and mid-sized businesses to build and manage their IT networks. Network management is far more complicated than it should be. We’re changing that. We’ve reduced dozens of normally complex and time-consuming tasks into simple, automated steps. 

What is the most challenging/rewarding aspect of starting your own business?

There are a number of make-or-break factors that require a lot of your attention: hiring the right team, finding the right funding, doing the right things to execute on your plan. Going from an idea to a strategy to actually achieving it is very satisfying. Don’t be afraid of things not turning out the way you planned. They never do! The only failure is not trying.

Why hire Waterloo co-op students?

We enjoy being able to nurture young talent from our alma mater. And hiring co-op students is an effective way of finding great talent early. 

With the creation of Velocity and the Accelerator Center at Waterloo, the entrepreneurial culture is growing. What does it mean to be a part of it?

We’re all proud to be part of one of the biggest and best startup communities in Canada. Having access to so many resources in one place creates opportunities that might not exist otherwise. 

Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

You don’t have to launch your startup the day you leave university. The world is big and there are lots of opportunities out there. Get some real-world experience. Uncover the day-to-day problems people struggle with. That will put you in a much stronger position to solve those problems eventually through your startup.

How have your days at Waterloo affected your entrepreneurial success?

Alex Hoff: Without Waterloo’s co-op program, I wouldn’t be an Auvik founder today. I gained valuable real-world experience while still in school. 

Marc Morin: The people I met in my classes have made all the difference. One is a venture capitalist, for example. One is CEO of a large telecom provider. Those connections are invaluable.

David Yach: University teaches you so much about how to learn, not just what to learn. It was valuable for me to see that grasping the first principles of a topic is essential to mastery.


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