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Founder Institute Mentors

Waterloo - Toronto Spring 2025

Founder Institute Mentors join weekly feedback sessions, host office hours, and in general provide you feedback every step of the way. In addition, through our Equity Collective, Mentors are invested in the success of your company both during and after the program.

See the list of current and past mentors for the Waterloo program below.

Mentors

Aaron

Aaron Baer

Partner, Renno & Co
Aaron

Aaron Albert

CEO and Co-Founder, Mine'd
Abdel

Abdel Ali

Investment Analyst, Relay Ventures and Alate Partners
Abdellah

Abdellah Aouf

Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Adam

Adam Spector

CEO & Founder, levy
Adeo

Adeo Ressi

CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
Alan

Alan Trieu

Senior Director, Sales , Cinchy
Alexander

Alexander Rink

CEO, Rink Ventures
Alexander

Alexander Mc Isaac

Principal, Strategic Investments and Women in Tech, BDC Venture Capital
Alexander

Alexander Jager

Founding Partner, Amplifier Advisors
Alexander

Alexander Morsink

Managing Director, Equivesto
Ali

Ali Nawab

Founder and CEO, Kiwi Wearables
Ali

Ali Ghassemi

CEO, Weaver and Loom
Ali

Ali Abbas

Founder & CEO , SEO Button
Amber

Amber Mac

President, Konnekt
Ambles

Ambles Kwok

Head of Engineering (Toronto) / Co-Founder, Thumbtack / Therapia
Amir

Amir Alikhanzadeh

CEO and Co-Founder, Madlipz
Andrei

Andrei Poliakov

CEO, APX Lending
Andrew

Andrew D'Souza

Founder and CEO, Sfoundation
Andrew

Andrew Hendry

Co-Founder, REALQualified
Anes

Anes Rachid

Manager, Innovation , City of Brampton
Anik

Anik Ghosh

CPO, Phaze
Anna

Anna Hu

CEO and Co-Founder, Brizi
Aran

Aran Hamilton

President & Co-Founder, Vantage
Arcui

Arcui Usoara

Founder/CEO, Iaculus
Ashley

Ashley Martis

Co-Founder & CEO, StartupFuel
Ashley

Ashley Hahn

Head of Startup Developer Ecosystem, Canada, Google
Ashok Prabhu

Ashok Prabhu Masilamani

CTO & Founder, Stratuscent
Aurelie

Aurelie Guerrieri

CMO, Open Systems
Aurélio

Aurélio Araújo

CEO, Leadfy
Axel

Axel Villamil

CEO, StageKeep
Ayhan K.

Ayhan K. Isaacs

Head of Global Growth, Founder Institute
Balaji

Balaji Gopalan

Co-Founder and CEO, MedStack
Barnabe

Barnabe Geis

Executive Director, Centre for Social Innovation, Climate Ventures
Barry

Barry Hillier

Founder & CEO, eQuo/ DOS
Ben

Ben Stacey

CEO, Pitchverk
Ben

Ben Sanders

CEO and Co-Founder, Davispier.ca
Ben

Ben Baldwin

Founder, Upteaming.com
Ben Zion

Ben Zion Benkhin

CEO, WOMBO.ai
Bernie

Bernie Li

Board Member and Investor, Antler
Bilal

Bilal Tariq

Technical Talent Connoisseur , GuruLink
Bill

Bill Jouni

Partner, NGO
Bob

Bob Embleton

CEO, Perigee Convergent Solutions Inc
Bob

Bob Kyryliuk (CEO-P2P)

CEO & Founder, CEO-P2P.com
Brad

Brad Poulos

Mr., Ryerson University
Braedon

Braedon Hinde

Co-Founder, Purpose Equities
Brett

Brett Reed

Director, Global Talent and People, Localised
Brice

Brice Scheschuk

CEO, Globalive Capital
Bruce

Bruce Hodges

Founder & CEO, Parachute (White Hat Financial)
Bryan

Bryan Gold

Co-Founder and CEO, #paid
Bryan

Bryan Smith

Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkData Works Inc.
Bryan

Bryan Duarte

Managing Partner, BlackTech Capital
Callum

Callum Travaglini

Strategy & Program Manager, Office of the CEO, Wealthsimple
Cameron

Cameron Rowe

CEO, Hover
Caren

Caren Carrasco

Managing Partner, Benjamin David Group
Casey

Casey Lau

Co-Host, Rise Conference (Web Summit)
Cerys

Cerys Goodall

COO, Vetster
Chad

Chad Ford

Vice President Innovation, Communica and Partner, Pactech Ventures, Director, Western Canada Founder Institute
Chevonae

Chevonae Walcott

Associate, Relay Ventures
Chintan

Chintan Oza

Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
Chris

Chris Ye

Co-Founder, Uken Games
Chris

Chris Hobbs

President, TTT Studios
Chris

Chris Adams

Founder and Managing Partner, Adams Hamilton
Chris

Chris Anderson

General Partner, A2Z Ventures
Christopher

Christopher Leacock

Founder , Jillionaire LLC
Corey

Corey Gross

CEO, Sensibill
Cory

Cory York

CEO and co-Founder, PowerStores
Craig

Craig Asano

CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
Craig

Craig Zingerline

Founder and CEO , Growth University
Dan

Dan De Mers

CEO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
Daniel

Daniel Bishun

Economic Development Officer , City of Brampton
Danielle

Danielle Brewin Graham

Co-Founder, The Firehood
David

David Winterstein

CEO, Velocia
David

David Jorjani

VP of Product and Engineering, Sayge
Denise

Denise Mc Clure

Senior Manage of Economic Development, City of Brampton
Derrick

Derrick Fung

CEO, Drop
Devin

Devin Tu

Founder and CEO, Map Your Property
Devin

Devin Ramphal

Innovation and Technology Sector manager-City of Brampton, City of Brampton
Diana

Diana Goodwin

CEO and Founder, MarketBox & AquaMobile
Dickson

Dickson Nsofor

Founder and CEO, Korapay (Techstars 2019)
Dinah

Dinah Davis

Founder, Code Like A Girl
Don

Don Samoil

Managing Partner, Trusted Scale
Drew

Drew Lindsay

Co-Founder, GuruLink
Duncan

Duncan Brown

Partner, Penrose Partners
Dustin

Dustin Betz

Director of Operations, White Rose Ventures
Ebin

Ebin Elavathingal

Director, MERSTRA Foundation / Next Market
Edmundas

Edmundas Balčikonis

CEO and Co-Founder, Eddy Travels Inc.
Eileen

Eileen Brewer

Director, Takween Accelerator
Elaine

Elaine Ann

Founder/CEO, Kaizor Innovation
Erich

Erich Ko

CEO, Hop In Technologies
Ernest

Ernest Yap

Carbon Markets and Renewable Energy Lead, SWTCH Energy
Eropa

Eropa Stein

CEO, Hyre
Evgeny

Evgeny Lazarenko

Senior Product Manager (L7 / Group PM level), Unity
Favour

Favour Ori

Founder, CEO, Payday
Fion

Fion Lee-Madan

Technical Co-Founder, COO and Customer Success, Fairly AI Inc.
Francois

Francois Le Roux

CEO, Terrene Technologies Inc & BountyBoard
Franklin

Franklin Kamnang Ngansop

Cofounder , Vitamin C&S Coaching
Frederic

Frederic Voyer

Senior Strategy & Execution Advisor, Post-Exit Entrepreneur (multiple: SWAAAP, BVI & HR Inc.)
Gabriel

Gabriel Purificati Weedon

National Account Manager, Calculated Hire
Gabrielle

Gabrielle Rudd

Senior Program/Ops Associate, Techstars Chicago
Garth

Garth Smith

FI Mentor
George

George Bordianu

Co-founder & CEO, Balance
Gilberto

Gilberto Gandra

Founder, Gandra & Co
Giovanni

Giovanni Gerbolini

Entrepreneur, Board Member, Startup Advisor, Djot, Loyal VC, MaRS Discovery District, Independent, Covenant House
Graeme

Graeme Millen

Director, Technology Banking, Silicon Valley Bank
Gurjot

Gurjot Narwal

CEO and Co-Founder, Gini Health
Gurpartap

Gurpartap Singh Toor

Council Member, City of Brampton
Hamid

Hamid Akbari

CEO, BlancLink
Hamoun

Hamoun Karami

CEO and Co-Founder, Smartbin.io
Haoyang

Haoyang Liang

Director of Product Development, Orbiseed
Harnoor

Harnoor Singh

FI Mentor
Harnoor

Harnoor Singh

Founder , Marketing artistry
Harsh

Harsh Pujara

Co-Founder, Actuality
Helen

Helen Platis

Managing Director, A Poke in the Brain Consulting
Hooman

Hooman Aksari

CTO and Co-Founder , Artboard Studio (Techstars 2020)
Hussam

Hussam Ayyad

Chief Accelerator Officer , Highline Beta
Idowu

Idowu Akinde

Founder, Impact Hub Lagos
Ignacio

Ignacio Castro

Managing Partner, 128vc
Ilya

Ilya Brotzky

Founder and CEO, VanHack
Isabel

Isabel Starck

Founder/Co-Founder, Starck Coaching, SportsCarBoutique
Jack

Jack Liu

CEO and Co-Founder, Orbiseed (Techstars 2020)
Jaden

Jaden Pereira

FI Mentor
Jafar

Jafar Owainati

Co-Founder, Loopio
James

James Meier

CTO, Synervoz Communications
Jason

Jason Atkins

General Partner, 360insights
Jay

Jay Krishnan

CEO, Accelerator Centre
Jeff

Jeff Hohner

President, Tecumseh Capital Ltd.
Jeffery

Jeffery Potvin

Founder, Open People Network
Jelmer

Jelmer Stegink

Program Director, DMZ Innisfil
Jennifer

Jennifer Turliuk

CEO and Founder, MakerKids
Jeremy

Jeremy Potvin

Founder, World of Angus
Jeremy

Jeremy Glassenberg

Product Management, APIs, Developer Experiences, Marketplaces, API Strategist
Jeremy

Jeremy Bell

CEO and Co-Founder, Mayday (Techstars 2020)
Jeremy

Jeremy Potvin

FI Mentor
Jeremy

Jeremy Kuo

CEO, Ever
Jesse

Jesse Shapins

Director of Public Realm, Sidewalk Labs
Joe

Joe Parenteau

CEO and Co-Founder, Fable (Techstars 2020)
Jon

Jon Prentice

Investment Director (Canada) , Lighter Capital
Jonah

Jonah Midanik

COO & General Partner, Forum Ventures
Jonathan

Jonathan Ip

Founder, Iterative Law
Jordan

Jordan Jocius

Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Founder Institute
Joseph

Joseph Dales

Co-Founder & Director, RHA Partners
Juanita

Juanita Lee Garcia

Executive Director, The Upside Foundation of Canada
June W

June W Choi

Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
Jyoti

Jyoti Singh

FI Mentor
Karanjot

Karanjot Jaswal

CTO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
Karen

Karen Greve Young

CEO, Futurpreneur Canada
Kayla

Kayla Isabelle

Executive Director, Startup Canada
Kesem

Kesem Frank

Founder, Mavennet and AION
Kevin

Kevin Gervais

CTO @ Touchless, Co-Founder @ Auto Genius, Statflo, Touchless
Konata

Konata Lake

FI Mentor
Kristine

Kristine Beese

FI Mentor
Kumar

Kumar Abhishek

Head of Growth, Happay
Kweku

Kweku Essien

FI Mentor
Kyle

Kyle Collier

Co-founder and CEO, Phaze
Laith

Laith Shukri

Sr. Market Development Manager, Silicon Valley Bank
Lance

Lance Cottrell

Founder, Feel the Boot
Laura

Laura Bryce

Co-Founder & CMO, loopt
Leandro

Leandro Faria

CEO, Starbem
Leena

Leena Dixit

Founder and Mentor, Nativ Chefs and InFED
Leonidas

Leonidas Papadopoulos

CEO, Viable
Lidia

Lidia Bit Yunan

Co-founder, Set Scouter
Lorraine

Lorraine Wiseman

Vistage Chair/ President and CEO , Vistage Worldwide, Inc./ Leading the Wise Way Inc.
Lucas

Lucas Porter-Bakker

Head of Product and Design, PDS
Luke

Luke Vigeant

CEO, Inkblot
Luke

Luke DeCoste

Entrepreneur in Residence, Davispier.ca
Maarij

Maarij Rehman

CEO, Envoi
Majdi

Majdi Alnabih

CEO, ZipLunch Inc
Manny

Manny Jassal

Founder, Defiant Regime & Extra Sauce Agency
Mara

Mara Rada

Chief Operations and Strategy, Loon (loonbio.com)
Marat

Marat Mukhamedyarov

Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
Marcello

Marcello Tommasi

Co-Founder & COO, Envoi
Marina

Marina Tran Vu

Founder & CEO , EQUO
Mark

Mark Smith

Canada Startup Ecosystem Lead, Amazon AWS
Mark

Mark Evans

Principle, Marketing Spark
Marty

Marty Finestone

Lawyer in Residence, Goodlawyer
Maryam

Maryam Nabavi

Founder and CEO, Babbly (Techstars 2020)
Matt

Matt O'Leary

CEO and Co-Founder, Treasure Financial
Matt

Matt Lee

Investor, Dr. Matt Lee Family Office
Matthew

Matthew Thurston

Chief Arctictect, Arctic Wolf
Mercedes

Mercedes Bankston

Founder, Funderstar LTD
Michael

Michael Young

CTO, Reuters News and Media
Michael

Michael Katchen

Founder & CEO, WealthSimple
Michael

Michael Kosic

Founding Partner, Loyal VC
Michael

Michael Collins

Founder | CEO, Periculum
Michele

Michele Romanow

Co-Founder, Sfoundation
Michelle

Michelle Pinchev

FI Mentor
Mike

Mike Suprovici

Head of Acceleration, VC Lab
Mike

Mike Hollinger

FI Mentor
Mike

Mike Apted

Principal Solutions Architect - Startups, AWS
Milad

Milad Zabihi

CEO & Cofounder, Peekage
Milanyila

Milanyila Vargas

Economic Diversification Strategist, FMWBEDT
Mitt

Mitt Korot

President & CEO, Toronto Technologies Inc.
Mitul

Mitul Shah

Senior Associate, Vertu Capital
Mohan

Mohan Markandaier

Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
Mohd

Mohd Shahnawaz

FI Mentor
Monish

Monish Sinthala

Mr, PYRAMIDIONS INC
Mucahit

Mucahit Gayiran

CEO and Co-Founder, Artboard Studio (Techstars 2020)
Muhammad

Muhammad Rashid

Director, Business Development, Finastra
Mustafa

Mustafa Saeed

Co-Founder, Luella
Mustansir

Mustansir Paliwala

Strategy & Business Development, EQUANS Services Inc.
Mykyta

Mykyta Ponomarenko

Sales, RealSage
Nabil

Nabil Fahel

Head of Partnerships and Community, Terminal, Inc.
Nadia

Nadia KANOUN

CEO, Senior Adviser, Trainer & Coach, IHSCEN for Startups
Nana

Nana Obeng

Fractional COO /Strategic Partner, Highpoint Consulting
Natalie

Natalie Smith

Senior Associate, Whitecap Venture Partners
Neerav

Neerav Sood

CEO, Simple AI
Neha

Neha Khera

Venture Partner, 500 Startups
Nicholas

Nicholas Sopuch

Talent Associate , Entrepreneur First
Nicole

Nicole Verkindt

Founder and CEO, OMX
Niket

Niket Shah

Co-Founder, Acceler8 Labs
Noah

Noah Dolgoy

CEO, Tread
Noah

Noah Wallach

Founder, Hope OS
Osamede

Osamede Arhunmwunde

CEO, GIGX Technologies
Pako

Pako Tshiamala

Founder & CEO, Blink Equity
Pamela

Pamela Draper

CEO, Bitvo
Pardeep

Pardeep Grewal

Fellow, OnDeck
Parvinder

Parvinder Shergill

CFO, Trust Bridge Consulting Inc.
Paul

Paul Parsons

Partner, Metaii
Peter

Peter Ma

Co-Founder, MixPose
Philippe

Philippe LeBlanc

CEO, Flixel Photos Inc
Phillip

Phillip Gales

CEO, inate.ai
Pooja

Pooja Viswanathan

CEO, Braze Mobility
Preet

Preet Singh

Founder, Designx
Rahul

Rahul George

Director Delivery, mDrift Technologies
Rain

Rain Takahashi

Founder and CEO, Jauntin
Ramya

Ramya Pingali

Founder + CEO, The Email Studio Inc
Ravin

Ravin Shah

Co-CEO & Founder, QuickTapSurvey
Raymond

Raymond Luk

CEO, Hockeystick
Reuven

Reuven Cohen

Managing Director, Alystic Holdings
Reza

Reza Farhani

CEO, Katalyze AI
Richard

Richard Hyatt

Co-founder, BlueCat Networks
Richard

Richard Cristina

Co-founder (MentorLabs), Founder (Bloom), Principal Director (Founder Institute)
Richard

Richard Findlay

Cleantech Specialist Advisor, RFCL Innovations Inc.
Robert

Robert Whiteside

Director, Founding Partner, Treemark Capital
Robin

Robin Lindner

Co-Founder, KWFamous
Rokham

Rokham Sadeghnezhadfard

Founder, TheRedPin.com
Ron

Ron Gentile

Founder, Moodfit
Ron

Ron Benegbi

CEO, Uplinq Financial Technologies
Roy

Roy Pereira

CEO and Founder, Zoom.ai
Russ

Russ Armstrong

Head of Business Development, Boast.AI (Boast Capital)
Russell

Russell Brand

CEO & Founder, Responsible Solutions Limited
Ryan

Ryan Micheletti

Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
Ryan

Ryan Perera

FI Mentor
Samarth

Samarth Chandola

Founder and CEO, Founder First Fund
Sameer

Sameer Sortur

Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Sameer

Sameer Khan

Sameer Ahmed Khan, Social Champ, Inc
Sami

Sami Dalati

Cofounder, Brizi
Sanjay

Sanjay Nediyara

FI Mentor
Sanjit

Sanjit Singh

COO, Various Companies
Sara

Sara Bentham

Director, Georgian College Entrepreneurship Centre
Sara

Sara Bingham

Associate Director, Laurier Women Entrepreneurship Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University
Sarah

Sarah Stockdale

CEO, Valkerie
Saroop

Saroop Bharwani

CEO and Co-Founder, Senso (Techstars 2018)
Sean

Sean Yo

Product Management Fellow, ISPMA
Sergey

Sergey Kalnish

CEO, SmartHire
Seun

Seun Sanni

COO, PayFi
Seymur

Seymur Rasulov

CEO and Co-Founder, Whelp
Sharf

Sharf Zafar

Director, RBC Royal Bank of Canada
Sharoon

Sharoon Thomas

CEO and Founder, Fulfil.io
Sheetal

Sheetal Jaitly

CEO, TribalScale
Sheikh Masud

Sheikh Masud Iftekher

Key Account Controller, Ericsson Indonesia
Shibin

Shibin Muhammed

Portfolio Manager, Techstars Canada
Shiju

Shiju Radhakrishnan

Founder, CEO, Unremot
Shiva

Shiva Bhardwaj

Founder, CEO, Pitstop
Slawek

Slawek Potasz

CEO, CarScanner
Sodruldeen

Sodruldeen Mustapha

Co-founder and CTO, Raenest
Steve

Steve Dixon

SMB Leader (Canada), Apple
Steve

Steve Brovchenko

Growth Lead, Amazon
Stjepan

Stjepan Zelic

CEO, Hypefy
Suhas

Suhas Ghante

Entrepreneur, SVEthos
Sunil

Sunil Sharma

Managing Director, Founder Institute Toronto
Tarun

Tarun Sachdeva

GM, Wattpad
Tasti

Tasti Zakarie

Head of Engineering, Social Capital
Tauseef

Tauseef Riaz

Cofounder ConsidraCare, Stock Target Advisor and Mashkraft, ConsidraCare.com
Test

Test Test

FI Mentor
Thomas

Thomas Park

Partner, BDC Deep Tech Fund
Todd

Todd Finch

FI Mentor
Tom

Tom Lowden

Head of Labs, US East and Canada, WeWork Labs
Tony

Tony Sabeta

Partner / Patent Agent, Aird & McBurney LP
Torrey

Torrey Smith

Co-Founder & CEO, Endiatx
Tovit

Tovit Neizer

Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
Tracy

Tracy Leparulo

Founder, Untraceable
Trevor

Trevor Longino

Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
Tugi

Tugi Günes

Programs Lead, DMZ
Tyler

Tyler Bryden

FI Mentor
Uchi

Uchi Uchibeke

FI Mentor
Vasily

Vasily Nikonov

Founder & CEO, Velvet.Capital
Vatsal

Vatsal Shah

Co-founder, CTO , Speak Ai
Victor

Victor Wong

Managing Director, Operations, Flipp
Vikas

Vikas Gupta

CEO, AVARA
Vladimir

Vladimir Pletyukhin

Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
Wade

Wade Larson

CEO and Co-Founder, EarthDaily Analytics
Will

Will Greenblatt

Co-Founder & Managing Director, OutLoud Speakers School
Will

Will Moore

Senior Manager, PR and Communications, 1Password
William

William Johnson

Writer and Publisher, Canadian Tech Journal
Yang

Yang Yu

CEO and Founder, KitchenMate
Yatin

Yatin Jain

Founder & Consulting Partner, Jivaso Technologies
Yehia

Yehia Elkhouly

Founder, Parachute | Director Partnerships and Business Solutions, StackAdapt
Yemi

Yemi Oluseun

Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
Zainab

Zainab Williams

FI Mentor

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