Playing competitive online poker was so lucrative for Prem Kalevar (BASc ’12, Mechatronics) — earning him more than $400,000 in his last year of university alone — he considered turning his serious sideline into a full-time career.
But after watching classmates succeed as entrepreneurs and pursuing several business interests himself, including a student rental property and two technology startups, he opted to aim higher instead.
“I didn’t want to make my life about a card game,” he says.
Helping companies compete globally
Six years later, Kalevar is working to help turn the Toronto-Waterloo technology corridor into a world powerhouse as co-founder of an organization that brings together early-stage startups and angel investors with ties to the University of Waterloo.
Waterloo Alumni Angels held its first pitch event about 18 months ago and has already facilitated seed funding for several fledgling companies by successful graduates.
“They’re essentially marketplaces where we connect the right kinds of startups with the right kinds of investors,” says Kalevar, who spent about four years at startup Whirlscape. “It’s all about matching supply and demand.”
He only plays poker for fun now while investing in the stock market and doing his part through the volunteer angel group to prepare Canada for the future by diversifying its traditional, resource-based economy.
“This is how I can make my dent — by accelerating this transition so more tech companies and more players in this ecosystem can compete on the world stage,” Kalevar says.
