February 10, 2023
Founders helping founders gives startups an advantage
Velocity alumni return to guide the next generation of founders
Startups are shaking the foundation of modern technology, searching for different and better ways to solve today’s problems and imagining different futures.
In addition to the knowledge and experience-sharing among current Velocity students and founders, Velocity staff is unique in the number of alumni who have returned to help students and startup founders accelerate their ideas and ventures.
“I’ve been through a number of different incubators — but Velocity felt like home,” says Moazam Khan (BSc ‘16, MBET ‘17), director of Velocity Health and founder of health tech alum, Curiato, which won Velocity’s $25,000 pitch competition in 2016.
“The ecosystem is very well connected, you can walk up to any founder who will wholeheartedly help you out. You don’t find that in other places where founders are competing against each other.”
Since 2008, when Velocity started as a University of Waterloo residence, a thriving entrepreneurial network grounded in community has emerged.
Ross Robinson (BSc ‘11), Velocity Fund co-lead, lived in Velocity residence in 2009 and co-founded two Velocity alumni companies, Tinker and Willet. He says a founder-first philosophy has been a part of Velocity since its inception.
“Every decision we make revolves around how it affects founders. We constantly ask ourselves ‘is this founder-friendly, will they benefit’?” Robinson says. “That is something instilled from the original leaders of Velocity — when founders had a problem, they worked with us to solve it, no questions asked.”
Velocity’s institutional expertise helps students and founders navigate the nuances of entrepreneurship with experience and empathy. And those nuances are not always immediately obvious.
Akash Vaswani (BASc ‘14), Velocity Fund co-lead, is intimately familiar with the twists and turns of being a startup founder.
While living at Velocity residence, he won the $25,000 Velocity pitch competition in its first year and went on to co-found Crouton Labs, one of the first five Velocity companies.
Vaswani says that for founders at the starting point of their journey, the full picture of the path ahead is unclear.
“Having a place where there is a cohort of ex-founders who have done it before is crucial since they can look ahead at various opportunities and pitfalls and guide companies early on, potentially saving months of lost work,” Vaswani says. “That’s hard to do without having founder experience.”
And the potential pitfalls are many, right from the very start of the entrepreneurial journey.
Velocity has a rich presence on the University of Waterloo campus to help propel students’ ideas beyond initial phases.
For Krysta Traianovski (BSc ‘15, MBET ‘16), senior manager of Velocity Science, returning to work at Velocity is an opportunity to give back to students what she learned as co-founder of Velocity alumni company BrightGuide, which she originally pitched to Velocity during her studies.
A sudden interest in business and how it could be integrated with science was sparked during her co-op term. Back on campus, Velocity caught her attention and eventually opened her eyes to what being an entrepreneur means in practice.
“What [founders] are learning is not just specific knowledge, it’s also a personal development process — changing their mindset,” Traianovski says. “Being an entrepreneur is taking action, exposing your ideas to the real world.”
John Dick, director of Velocity campus and co-founder of Velocity alum Nicoya, participated in Velocity Science, one of three student creator spaces.
After leaving Nicoya, Velocity’s culture and a pull to remain a part of it stood at the forefront. “I reflected on what I enjoyed most about working in a startup and it was that early-phase,” Dick says. “Knowing how Velocity operates and its startup mentality and culture really spoke to me.”
He said among undergraduates there is a real desire to solve large problems that the world is facing and imagine a different future.
“There's a lot of energy in this newest group of undergraduate students wanting to do something for sustainability and clean technology,” Dick says. “I’m excited for the opportunity to work with these teams and flesh out their ideas to find the best vehicle to make a positive impact.”
The appetite for innovation shows no sign of stopping, Velocity continues to evolve
The strength of Velocity company products and services continues to skyrocket, especially as broader societal influences impact innovation.
“When I was at Velocity in 2009, when someone raised a fundraising round, it was a big deal, now it has become routine,” Robinson says. “The level of maturity and potential of Velocity companies has improved overall — I’m constantly impressed by the founders.”
Trends in research commercialization are influencing the quality of today’s startups as is a broader support for innovation beyond educational institutions.
“There’s a new shift towards problem-oriented research rather than curiosity-based, a change towards encouraging researchers to move towards entrepreneurship,” Khan says. “And there are also professional organizations, like physicians' groups, that are providing consultation services to early-stage startups with product development — that was rarely seen five years ago, and that shift will really help.”
These shifts in trends and research are advantageous to startups and our collective futures but the heavy lifting of innovation and the changes the world needs to see remains on the shoulders of founders.
And having a good idea is only the start.
“If you want to make a big impact you need to consider implementation,” Dick says. “Solving a problem includes figuring out how you will remain viable over the long term.”
Execution speed and mastering the complexities of running a business are crucial, so too is keeping an eye on the big picture.
“Day-to-day you’re solving small problems for a few people and iterating,” Robinson says. “But ultimately you have to understand what that bigger picture is, what type of company do you want to run — what is your footprint on the world going look like?”
And tapping into an ecosystem of like-minded thinkers can go a long way towards success.
“Being around other founders, like at Velocity, is a big asset because you can find someone who is or has been in a similar position and ask them questions,” Khan says. “That can really help propel startups forward.”
The impact of founders helping founders goes beyond accessing necessary practical advice, Traianovski says. “It’s incredibly meaningful to hear from someone who really understands what you are going through during the transition from student to entrepreneur, from the smallest day-to-day challenges to the experience of changing as a person.”
