October 1, 2014
Waterloo startup: connecting students to employers
uIntuition is a startup that matches creative post-secondary students to employers who need everything from graphic design to photography
A Waterloo student has founded a company that is tackling every job-seekers Catch-22: employers want experience but you need a job first to get that experience.
Melissa Morgan, a Global Business and Digital Arts (GBDA) student co-founded uIntuition as a way for post-secondary students to build a portfolio, network and generate income while employers get professional work for a competitive price.
“I realized that there are so many talented students who are trying to pursue careers but are not getting the opportunities,” says Morgan, a third-year student. “They are often working part-time jobs unrelated to their field of study in order to pay for tuition.”
uIntuition offers an array of skills and services in both creative and academic fields: graphic designers, web designers, photographers and tutors then matches the talent to an employer in need of help.
The company accepts about 15 per cent of the students who reach out. “We only take the best of the best — that’s how we guarantee the high quality service without the high price to our clients” says Morgan. After working with Waterloo engineering student and co-founder Michal Ulman to develop the idea, Morgan and Ulman recruited Waterloo students, Aqsa Zubair and Nicole Papp.
Support from Waterloo’s Stratford campus
“We also received a lot of support from Waterloo’s Stratford Campus,” Morgan explains. “The GBDA program wants you to explore your own ideas. The program provides you with opportunities to learn from industry experts, attend conferences, and network with other startup ventures.”
uIntuition currently operates out of the Stratford Accelerator Centre, a network of facilities dedicated to accelerating growth and commercializing early-stage technology and digital media companies.
Students can focus on creativity
Chandan Vatish, the first student talent signed by uIntuition back in 2012, studies biology and is passionate about photography. “I've been freelancing for a long time, and many of the opportunities that I've gotten through uIntuition would never have found their way to me otherwise. I can focus on producing quality work rather than spend all of my time organizing resources and marketing myself.”
As for the future of uIntuition, Morgan hopes to enter into an official partnership with universities across Ontario. “I don’t see a visible end to it. As long are there are students, there will be uIntuition.”
This spring, Melissa’s leadership and business saavy was recognized when she received one of 30 Canada-wide International Business Scholarships from Export Development Canada (EDC).
Read more about Melissa Morgan and uIntution in The Globe & Mail and YouInc.
