Entrepreneurial spirit - Year in review 2022

The year 2022 meant a migration back to in-person for our students as well as an opportunity to connect with thought leaders, students, alums and friends of the SAF.

Reflecting on the year past, the stories we’ve told of the successes of our alums, accomplishments of our thought leaders, and achievements of our students, have been a celebration of their leadership, adaptability, and courage. Each of the stories told are an inspiration and demonstration of the resiliency of human nature and what can be done when you’re given the right tools, opportunities, and education to meet and surpass uncertainties and challenges head-on.

I invite you to peruse the 2022 SAF Story Series to find insight and your inspiration to make a positive impact, regardless of how small or big, for yourself, your team, and your organization.
 

Patty Mah
Associate Director, Communications & External Relations

SAF alum cooks up a gourmet startup alongside a Michelin-trained chef

Seasoned entrepreneur Ian Weng (MAcc ’13) began his career at KPMG in audit and advisory services after graduating from the Master of Accounting program. While at KPMG he gained a breadth of knowledge and obtained his CPA, CA designation. Like many University of Waterloo alums, however, he caught the entrepreneurship bug and wanted to create something⁠—so he ended up leaving KPMG to start his first tech startup called ChopChop.

The serendipity of the Student Venture Fund

We all know that it’s impossible to foresee everything. In some courses here at the University of Waterloo, you’ll learn about something called risk—the effect of uncertainty on desired outcomes. Admittedly, the Student Venture Fund (SVF) is one of those courses where you really should care about the negatives of risk. However, the Fund itself very much represented the opposite for me.

How this alum is putting his passions into practice

When Pratik Shah (MAcc ’09) came across the CFO role for the neo-biotech company Cyclica on a MaRS job board, it took him right back to his undergrad at the University of Waterloo. As a Biotech/CPA student, his long-term career goal was to work for high-growth startups making a social impact. Better yet, Shah wanted to leverage his scientific background, which aligned well with Cyclica’s bold mission to build the biotech pipeline of the future.