New Mentorship Program Connects Schulich Founders with Industry Alumni Veterans
The Schulich Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship added a new program to its portfolio of accelerator/incubator services this past month. The newly announced Schulich Startups Mentorship Program invited six Schulich Founders to receive four months of curated mentorship from veteran Founders and Investors, who are Schulich Alumni themselves.
The Mentorship Program is led by Entrepreneur in Residence Cherry Rose Tan and powered by MindFrame Connect, a national not-for-profit organization focused on upskilling Canadian entrepreneurs on the craft of mentorship through training, resources, and tools.
Schulich was selected as one of MindFrame’s 10 pilot sites last year with Brice Scheschuk, Managing Partner of Globalive Capital (and past Co-Founder of WIND Mobile), leading the training sessions for Schulich Mentors and Mentees.
“As we grow as an ecosystem, Schulich Alumni have been asking how they can help as more of our startups scale and fundraise,” said Cherry Rose Tan, Entrepreneur in Residence at the Schulich School of Business. “This Program is the way that we can scale and support each other as a community.”
In this inaugural launch, Schulich thanks its esteemed Mentors, which include:
- Jack Fraser (EMBA ‘13), Partner at BDC Capital
- Jeremy Vo (BBA ‘14), Co-Founder & CEO at LeapMotiv
- Joanna Track (MBA ‘95), VP of Media Platform & Content at Venturepark Voice
- Katherine Homuth (BBA ‘11), Founder & CEO at Sheertex
- Mudit Rawat (MBA ‘09), Chief Revenue Officer at PlanetCorp
- Snita Balsara (MBA ‘12), Investor at Graphite Ventures
“We are proud to take the next step in our evolution with a program that brings back Schulich Alumni to mentor the next generation of Schulich Founders,” said Chris Carder, Executive Director of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “Community has always been our guiding pillar at Schulich Startups.”
The Mentees receiving mentorship in the inaugural Program, who are accomplished in their own right, include:
- Arnab Dastidar (MBA ‘19), CEO at SoulRooms
- Daniel Warner (MBA ‘12), Co-Founder & CEO at KixCare
- Dimash Kunayev (MBA ‘21), Founder & CEO at Engamio
- Kavita Sharma (MMKG ‘21), Co-Founder at Evstry
- Myra Arshad (BBA ‘18), Co-Founder & CEO at ALT TEX
- Sophia Rondinone (BBA ‘21), Co-Founder at Imposta La Scena
Last year, KixCare closed $2M in seed funding, while ALT TEX closed $1.5M in pre-seed funding.
“It feels good to be going back to Schulich to keep the learning going,” said ALT TEX Co-Founder Myra Arshad. “The time with the Mentors is invaluable, given their depth of experience and the vast networks they have. It also really demonstrates how committed our senior Alumni are to the next generation of Schulich Founders.”