Entrepreneurship

NERv Technology, which is based out of the Velocity Garage in downtown Kitchener, won the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) following a startup boot camp and several rounds of competition in Riyadh.

Launched by alumni Youssef Helwa (BASc ’15, nanotechnology engineering, MASc ’17, electrical engineering) and Amr Abdelgawad (BASc ’16, nanotechnology engineering, MBET ’17), the company is developing a device to proactively detect leakage of gastrointestinal fluid into the abdominal cavity after surgery.

Two Capstone Design teams earned a significant financial boost as winners of this year’s Palihapitiya Venture Creation Fund competition created to help transform projects into successful startups post-graduation.  

When it came to launching a successful business, Cam Mills didn’t always do things by the book. The co-founder and COO of Terrene charted his own path as he built, scrapped and rebuilt his growing company.

After a full career with IBM, Brian Hyodo (BASc ’74) retired at the age of 55.

“Then I found out that I hated retirement,” he explains. “I sat at home thinking, ‘I have got to do something.’”

Five years later, he began an unexpected second career as a farrier, placing shoes on horses and donkeys and helping to straighten their crooked legs. It’s a rewarding career move that also tapped into his engineering background.

After a full career with IBM, Brian Hyodo (BASc ’74) retired at the age of 55.

“Then I found out that I hated retirement,” he explains. “I sat at home thinking, ‘I have got to do something.’”

Five years later, he began an unexpected second career as a farrier, placing shoes on horses and donkeys and helping to straighten their crooked legs. It’s a rewarding career move that also tapped into his engineering background.

Taking things to an extreme is something that I have always enjoyed.

Before heading to university, I spent a year learning basic stunts, jumping out of four-story buildings, and learning how to skydive, all well before YouTube was popular. While spinning through the air is entertaining, as a performer I was going to need to learn much more. I enrolled at the University of Waterloo as my career seemed to have no real path unless it was directed by gravity. 

We often hear from entrepreneurial alumni who cite their communities and networks as an important component of their journey, whether that community was found in the Velocity program or elsewhere. Below, you’ll find four great examples of entrepreneurs who benefitted from Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community and Velocity program, and see how they give back through the Startup Pledge.

Marc Lafleur (BSc ’14) can’t tell you how he went from earning a degree in Health Studies to founding a successful meat subscription business.

Even though Martin Basiri (MASc ’13) had a bachelor’s degree in engineering and held a couple of patents, coming to Canada for his master’s degree was a difficult task.

Finding and applying to the right school took him a more than a year and a half. Finally, in 2010, he came to the University of Waterloo as an international student studying mechatronics engineering. Luckily, he landed a research assistantship, giving him the financial assistance he needed.

Velocity decided it was time to reach for a new speed.

For the first time in the history of its marquee pitch competition – one that has helped shape dozens of winners whose combined value now exceeds $1 billion — leaders of the University of Waterloo’s flagship entrepreneurship program brought the event to Toronto.