Entrepreneurship

The University of Waterloo will host the Velocity Fund Finals next week, where Waterloo students and alumni will pitch their innovative startups for the chance to win funding to grow their businesses, and entry into the Velocity Garage, the largest free startup incubator in the world. Velocity is a comprehensive entrepreneurship program at Waterloo.

Making photocopies wasn’t part of Jordan Grant’s job description. Neither were taking minutes, writing reports or any of the run-of-the-mill duties you’d expect to encounter in your first-year work term.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, president of the University of Waterloo, and Jordan Grant, recipient of Waterloo Engineering’s co-op student of the year 2015 award for his Deloitte Tech Exchange competition.

Richard Yim grew up in Cambodia where the fear of stepping on landmines was part of every child’s life. As a young boy, Yim dreamed of inventing technology that would put an end to landmine casualties around the world.

“After war, when peace comes and bullets stop flying, landmines are still in the ground,” says Yim, a new graduate of Waterloo Engineering. “Children shouldn’t have to be afraid to step off the beaten path. They should be able to walk to school and hike and explore their world without fear.”

The leap from engineer to entrepreneur was a logical one for Karen Tsoi (BASc 2009, Electrical; MMSc 2014, Management of Technology), owner of Pastel Dress Party, an online custom bridal party outfitting business. “Entrepreneurs, like engineers, are all about solving problems,” says Tsoi. “Every day I wake up and think about each business problem with an analytical mind, just like the engineer I am. It’s the same approach.”

The University of Waterloo is partnering with a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm to provide a new entrepreneurship program for students that includes access to a $2 million venture capital fund and expertise from the world’s leading startup ecosystem.

Starting this June the Waterloo Engineering | Spectrum 28 Student Venture Program will provide senior students with early-stage venture support through pop up classes and expert mentorship in addition to the opportunity to compete for funding.

The University of Waterloo is partnering with a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm to provide a new entrepreneurship program for students that includes access to a $2 million venture capital fund and expertise from the world’s leading startup ecosystem.

Starting this June the Waterloo Engineering | Spectrum 28 Student Venture Program will provide senior students with early-stage venture support through pop up classes and expert mentorship in addition to the opportunity to compete for funding.

Sonya Wach has always been fascinated with how nanotechnology is used to make things better.

As part of a Nanotechnology Engineering fourth-year project at the University of Waterloo, she investigated how to apply that principle to agriculture and LeafGenius, a revolutionary plant care solution employing nanotechnology, was born.

If you ask the Governor General of Canada if he has any advice for young entrepreneurs, he will tell you this: “Minds, like parachutes, work best when open.”

A critical partner in Waterloo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem marks 10 years of startup support on May 17 and 18, with an open house and gala.

Located on the University of Waterloo’s north campus, the Accelerator Centre opened its doors on May 18, 2006. Originally launched by the University, federal, provincial, regional and city governments, the centre now counts Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College, University of Guelph and several economic development and technology organizations as partners.