In 2009, Justin launched their career as the Founder of Spenz and a Project Manager at Salt & Pepper. That same year, Justin founded and served as President of The Canadian Association of Business Students, where they transformed the organization from a small team of 4 executives and 13 universities to a thriving network of 8 executives and 27 universities. Under their leadership, the association orchestrated four major national and provincial multi-university competitions and conferences annually.

In 2011, Justin joined TELUS, where they excelled in multiple roles, including Product Manager and Product Specialist for Wireless Device Acquisition, as well as participating in TELUS’ Leadership Development Program (LDP). By 2013, they stepped into the role of CTO at FR8nex.com, laying the groundwork for their next major endeavor. In 2015, Justin became the CEO and co-founder of Rose Rocket, a cutting-edge platform revolutionizing transportation and logistics.

Braden Ream is the CEO & Cofounder at Voiceflow.

Ben significantly contributed to Shopify for over a decade, culminating as Director of CX Product Engineering. His journey at Shopify was marked by his leadership in product development and team management. At Shopify, Ben not only scaled a modest team of three into a robust R&D organization comprising over 80 individuals across engineering, product, and UX but also spearheaded the delivery of Shopify’s first major AI product, the Help Assistant. Ben also worked as a research manager for three years at Ipsos, one of the largest market research companies focused on Public Opinion research. He received his bachelor's degree in politics from Queen’s University and was also on the election team for the 2011 federal election in Canada. 

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Nauman has a background in consulting, technology, and retail. Prior to NetNow, he has worked as a strategy consultant at Deloitte and BCG and held the role of Business Operations Lead at Shopify. At Voila.ca, he led a wholesale transformation for Canada’s second-largest grocer. As a founder, his previous company achieved $1.2M in GMV. Nauman holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University.

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Ben is a seasoned entrepreneur with a diverse background in technology and government. He has contributed to advanced projects at NASA, BlackBerry, and CERN. Ben's startup experience includes co-founding Presto (YC S10), Clearco (YC F15), and ProofGov (Techstars ‘19). His deep understanding of government operations and AI-driven technology positions him to lead Hyper in transforming public sector communications. Additionally, Ben has worked extensively in government policy, advancing initiatives within space agencies, the UN, and the Canadian government. This gives him a unique perspective on the intersection of technology and public service.

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Eunice is a member of NEXT 36’s cohort and co-founded Asepha in February 2023 with Can. She was a Pharmacy Assistant & Student at Shoppers Drug Mart for over 5 years, and was featured on news outlets such as Global News and CTV News for her past work as a co-founder of a COVID-relief initiative. Alongside Can, Eunice will be joining Techstars Toronto’s Summer Class of 2023.

University of British Columbia – Doctor of Pharmacy – PharmD (2023).

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Patrick is an ex-Googler and 3x CEO and Co-Founder of three venture-backed start-ups. He’s been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30, and twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Prior, Patrick was the CEO of Catalog, which raised $3.1M to help brands use software to seamlessly design and order visual content.Before, Patrick was at Google serving as a Global Product Lead focused on business strategy & social good. Within social good, Patrick was part of the Google for Nonprofits Marketing Team & the Billion Acts Team, where he worked with 13 Nobel Laureates to achieve 1 Billion Acts by 2019. The initiative has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times. Patrick started Kip Solutions, a social media-consulting firm for social causes, which was acquired in February 2013 by New York based firm Post+Beam. Patrick Ip has been featured on Forbes, Inc. Magazine, ABC, CBS, Star News Australia and many others. Patrick's start-up, Kip Solutions has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Most Innovative College Student-Run Companies by the Kairos Society and Inc. Magazine's Coolest College Start-ups 2012.

Awards: Forbes 30 Under 30, Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (2015, 2016), Google's Platinum Award (Highest honor for an employee at Google), Presidents Volunteer Service Award, Jefferson Award for "Outstanding Service for an American 25 and under".

Jamyang is the co-founder of Centro Commerce, a procurement assistant platform, and brings over six years of experience in strategy, business operations, and revenue growth. During his tenure at Shopify, he played a key role in building the monetization and commercial strategy team, leading major initiatives such as pricing research and go-to-market strategies. He also contributed significantly at BioRender, where he oversaw revenue operations and strategic planning. With a proven track record of leveraging data-driven insights and aligning teams for sustainable growth, Jamyang specializes in identifying and executing innovative business opportunities.

Ripple Ventures has been an extraordinary partner for Lula, providing support far beyond capital. Dom and Matt have been instrumental in helping us manage our board effectively, craft robust financial documents, and step in as FP&A when we needed it most. Their hands-on approach and deep operating expertise have made a real impact, enabling us to make smarter decisions and survive!

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Josh started his first company called Guelphbox in 2020, scaled it to over $820,000 in revenue in 2 years and sold the business in early 2022. Josh educated himself about the data infrastructure and has been instrumental in building the platform.

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Carleton University - Bachelor of International Business in Finance (2022).

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Reza is an accomplished entrepreneur with a robust background in AI and BioManufacturing. He is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Katalyze AI, driving the company’s vision to revolutionize BioManufacturing with AI-driven solutions. Previously, Reza co-founded WFHomie, an employee engagement and culture-building platform, which was acquired by Goco. His experience also includes roles as a Data Scientist Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Data Science Manager at TD. Reza holds a Master’s Degree in System Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Tyler brings over a decade of experience in the startup ecosystem, including leading a consultancy focused on helping early-stage businesses develop effective go-to-market strategies. He previously founded Entrepid Parnters, and was the former VP of Sales at WePay.

Among his clients was Axiom Zen, where he worked with the team behind ZenHub—a tool originally created for internal use that gained significant organic traction and eventually evolved into a standalone business. Impressed by ZenHub’s rapid growth and dynamic leadership team, Tyler was invited to join the company as CEO.

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In Vit’s Masters thesis, he explored cost-effective retrofitting of Ontario homes to Passive House standards, showcasing his deep dive into sustainable construction's nuances. Later, at Urban Equation as a Sustainability Analyst, he specialized in energy and carbon for building projects, developing a keen proficiency in embodied carbon analysis. Recognizing technology's role in enhancing construction sustainability, he initiated Tuuli, a tool aimed at helping developers reduce carbon emissions effectively, underscoring his ongoing commitment to sustainable building practices. 

University of Toronto - Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (2018) & Ryerson University - Masters in Building Science (2021).

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Bruno has extensive experience in partnerships, having built successful programs at Unbabel and Oyster. At Unbabel, he was instrumental in leveraging partnerships to drive growth in the translation industry. At Oyster, he played a key role in establishing strategic HR tech partnerships. His deep understanding of partnership dynamics and vast network in the tech industry are crucial for OnePlusOne’s success.

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Ryan Austin is a serial entrepreneur who has spent over 10 years driving improvements in learning and development. In his current role as Founder & CEO at Cognota, Ryan is focused on developing innovative products to help learning teams increase productivity and automate operational processes to create impactful training at scale. Prior to Cognota, Ryan served as Senior Vice President for World Trade Group, an organization that offers live events, online products, and training courses. He also co-founded GoFish Cam, an underwater camera that sits on your fishing line, which exited in 2019. Ryan studied Sociology at York University; Business/Corporate Communications at Western University; and various entrepreneurship courses through DMZ, Surge Accelerator, StartEd Accelerator, Telluride Venture Accelerator, Capital Factory, and The Next Founders Program.

Shiva Bhardwaj is the Founder and CEO of Pitstop, a leading predictive maintenance platform transforming the automotive industry. A graduate of the University of Waterloo with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shiva gained valuable experience working at NVIDIA and Blackberry before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.

He began by inventing ShockLock, an innovative, cost-effective hardware solution for the automotive sector. In 2015, Shiva founded Pitstop, which has since secured funding from prominent investors such as Sensata, Verizon, Ripple Ventures, and BDC, and established partnerships with industry giants. Pitstop’s proprietary algorithm leverages a unique combination of embedded automotive expertise, time-series data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, enabling customers to reduce costs, minimize downtime, prevent recalls, and enhance safety.

Shiva’s contributions to the industry have earned him recognition as Vaughan’s Entrepreneur of the Year and a spot on SEMA’s 35 Under 35 list.

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Kaylan has worked as a Manager in Commercial Banking for five years at RBC and CIBC. He was also the Senior Account Manager at BDC, where he facilitated the loans and investment process for hundreds of technology companies. Kaylan has observed numerous capable businesses facing difficulties in securing financing throughout his career, where he noted that the challenges extend beyond the intricate loan application process to a significant shortage of software tools for managing active business loans.

Shreyas holds a Bachelor's of Health Sciences degree from McMaster University. Shreyas has been instrumental in driving strategic partnerships and managing growth and retention at MedX Insight given his background working at Trillium Health. He has successfully led the company through several incubators and accelerator programs, secured funding from prominent investors like Jason Calacanis from Launch.co, and built a strong user base through customer discovery and agile sprints. 

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Mike is a cybersecurity and compliance expert with deep experience across key frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST CSF, and GDPR. Before co-founding Mycroft, he led operations at DeepCove Cybersecurity, where he helped scale the business to $2.8M in revenue and spearheaded over 100 security and compliance audits. Mike's background in building security programs for startups and scale-ups uniquely positions him to tackle the governance, risk, and compliance challenges Mycroft aims to solve. His track record of integrating advanced AI-driven solutions into cybersecurity operations ensures a strong foundation for Mycroft's growth.

Anmol holds a Doctor of Law degree from the City University of New York School of Law and a background in International Studies from Baylor University. Anmol has over four years of experience as a Legal Analyst at Better.com, an online platform that facilitates mortgages and insurance for home buying, selling, and ownership. His decision to start the company was inspired by the operational challenges and regulatory hurdles he encountered while managing legal services at Better.com. His experience managing workflows and providing legal guidance emphasized the need for improved processes in regulated industries, prompting the creation of this venture.

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Aman is a skilled software engineer with a deep focus on machine learning infrastructure, which directly informs his work at DeepTrust. As CEO and Co-founder, Aman leverages his experience from Cruise, where he developed machine learning infrastructure and orchestration systems for autonomous vehicles—an environment that demanded both high precision and security. His time at Cruise helped him build expertise in managing complex technical infrastructures, which translates seamlessly into building scalable AI-powered defenses against deepfake and voice phishing attacks at DeepTrust. Aman’s ability to orchestrate secure, real-time systems is foundational to DeepTrust’s mission of securing communication channels against evolving AI-driven threats. 

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Ben currently serves as CTO and President of Omelas, a firm that tracks authoritarian influence online, as a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy and Analysis, and a Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. He has written over 100 pieces for the Center for European Policy and is the author of a chapter on the technical challenges of data summarization in the upcoming book Bad Data, published by O'Reilly. Ben speaks Arabic, French, Farsi, and Russian.