Biting into a rich meat pie sent Megan Tong (MAcc ’09) on a journey that would change her life.
Megan Tong (MAcc ’09) is co-founder of Kanga, Toronto’s first Australian-style meat pie shop offering ready-to-go, hand-made flakey all-butter pastries with gravy fillings that Chatelaine magazine calls “comfort to go.”
Megan came up with the idea for Kanga during a KPMG work secondment to Australia, where she fell in love with the savoury delights. What started as an idea for a pop-up quickly grew into a successful chain of restaurants.
Prior to founding Kanga, she worked at the MasterCard Foundation, managing partnerships with NGOs at the front lines of education and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Megan has been an avid champion of entrepreneurship through her involvement with JuniorAchievement and Futurpreneur.
Alumni Relations caught up with Megan to ask her about life after Waterloo.
Name: Megan Tong
Profession: Entrepreneur
The first thing I look at when I wake up is: My phone
The last thing I Googled was: Personal finance blogs
If I were to change professions, I would: Be a motivational speaker or a comedian!
The most challenging aspect of my career is: Persevering through uncertainty. When I’m doing something that hasn’t been done before, I don’t know for sure that the work I’m doing at any given moment is going to lead me to my endgame. I have to have some amount of faith that I’ll eventually get there.
The thing I remember most about my time at Waterloo is: Late nights working on group projects with my friends.
One piece of advice I'd give young alumni is: Take matters into your own hands. If you want that promotion, or you want to start something, ask yourself: what are the real-life actions I can take to get there? (Thinking about things doesn’t count). Sometimes I imagine I have a boss I have to report to, and I’m going to have to tell her on Monday morning what I actually did that week to move my goals forward.
If I could have dinner with anyone in the world deceased or alive it would be: Tony Robbins
The last book I read was: Principles by Ray Dalio
The best part of my career is: Making an idea come to life.
My favourite books are: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree (I really recommend this book for anyone starting a business!).
My first job after graduation was: A consultant in Advisory at KPMG.
What I hope to be doing when I retire is: Working in some capacity to make the world a more equitable place.
