Velocity looking ahead to its tenth anniversary

Ten years ago, Velocity began as a simple experiment to bring students interested in entrepreneurship together. Since then, it has helped shape the creation of hundreds of companies that would play a major role in Waterloo region’s startup ecosystem and beyond.

Today, Velocity has worked with more than 300 startups, employing 2,250+ people and raising more than $750 million in funding to develop exciting technologies.

But to appreciate how far Velocity’s come, we have to go back to 2008 when the beginnings of Velocity were nothing more than a student dorm, the brain child of Sean Van Koughnett, Waterloo’s then Director of graphics (who became the Founding Director of Velocity) and Bud Walker, formerly director of university business operations (who became Waterloo’s Associate Provost of Students).

Former director Mike Kirkup, Sean Van Koughnett, and Bud Walker.

Left to right: Mike Kirkup (former Director of Velocity), Bud Walker, and Sean Van Koughnett.

“Sean came to me [in the summer of 2007] and said: ‘in researching all of these student needs, there’s this untapped, unsupported groundswell of students that are developing things on computing equipment and cellphones, and we don’t really have the mechanism to support it,” said Walker. “Why don’t we establish one of our learning communities for entrepreneurship?”

And that’s exactly what they did.

For ten years, the Velocity Residence has offered a unique opportunity for University of Waterloo students to live in an innovative and entrepreneurial environment on campus. Each term sees up to 70 students working on projects, and the opportunity to learn from a great network of entrepreneurs through guest speakers.

“If you look at the history of innovation it’s people working together, sharing ideas, learning together, identifying problems,” said Van Koughnett. “Coming up with ideas is a very social act, and there’s no more socially intense environment than a residence.”

Velocity Garage

Fast-forward a few years later and Velocity continued to grow at an exponential rate. First in 2010, by opening the Velocity Garage, a 1,500 sq. ft. working space secured through a new partnership with Communitech. The next milestone happened in 2011, with the creation of the Velocity Fund, a pitch competition that awards nearly $400,000 in funding across 24 teams annually in $25,000 and $5,000 grants.

Jay Shah Current Velocity Director

Jay Shah, Director of Velocity

“The [Velocity Fund] allows students who have great work experience via co-op, with the capacity to smoothly transition their ideas to a startup, and enables them to pitch something of commercial value,” said Jay Shah, director of Velocity. “And because of our donors, thankfully, we’re actually able to fund that, so it’s not just about the hype. It’s about saying go and build a globally competitive company.”

In the years since 2010, the Velocity Garage startup incubator has expanded to more than 37,000 sq. ft, offering workspace for 80 companies, and offering high-tech facilities like a science lab thanks to a $500,000 donation from the City of Kitchener, as well as an assembly space, workshop and prototyping lab. Velocity’s other programming has grown to include Velocity Science, a campus-based science lab for students interested in initiating a science venture, as well as Velocity Start, which offers weekly entrepreneurship workshops and startup coaching.

“The Velocity program has contributed immensely to the success of our regional innovation ecosystem,” said Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener. “As a proud supporter, the City of Kitchener’s partnership with the University of Waterloo continues to drive innovation by connecting emerging talent and next-generation entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to accelerate new ideas and technologies to the marketplace, driving our local, regional and national economies.”

Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener

A lot has happened in the ten years since Velocity’s conception, and there’s still much more to come. For a full look back, read Velocity’s ten-year anniversary blog.

Join us Friday, September 28 for the official celebration of Velocity’s tenth anniversary. More details will be presented on the Velocity events calendar in the coming weeks.