GRIT EDITION THREE - Flipbook - Page 31
20
20
STRONGEST TEAM
CLASS OF 2020
We see a Future
in your Future
ASCEND
Co-founded by Monty Ngan & Hannah Le; Next 36
As more people move into crowded
city centres, rent/housing prices go
up while plots of land continue to be
underutilized. Ascend helps real estate
developers, brokers and city planners
discover undervalued development
opportunities in less time.
Monty is a senior in the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania, anticipating a
double major in Economics and International Studies with concentrations in Business Analytics and Operations, Information and Decisions. He co-founded TalkED, an indigenous language preservation platform with the Philippine government, which won the 2015 Harvard
Igniting Innovation Competition. Hannah is currently an Engineering Science student and
among the top 20 International Scholar at the University of Toronto. She’s also a graduate
of The Knowledge Society and a medical physics researcher at Princess Margaret Hospital.
WHAT MAKES YOU A STRONG CO-FOUNDING TEAM? We have very different personalities but
share the same set of values: honesty, work ethic, and fast iteration. Our respective work streams
are complementary - Hannah leads the product development, while Monty leads sales and customer development. One of our greatest strengths is we can take customer feedback and respond
to it very fast. Every two weeks or so, we ship things that improve both customer satisfaction, and,
hence, retention!
DESCRIBE EACH OTHER IN A FEW WORDS
“Hannah’s one of the most thoughtful and self-aware people I know. She’s constantly working to
improve herself and really takes the time to learn from the people we meet.” - Monty
Work Experience
The future of work may be changing, but we know you have the
potential, the ambition and the power to impact the world around you.
That’s why we created RBC® Future Launch, a program that increases
your access to skill development, networking, work experience, mental
well-being supports and services.
Mental Well-Being
Empowering you for the jobs of tomorrow.
Skills Development
Networking
rbc.com/futurelaunch
“Monty is wonderful at connecting and helping people in an authentic way. He’s the extroverted
half that I need.” - Hannah
WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP? I (Monty) grew up in the Philippines, on the same lot where my
grandfather ran a small textile factory. He used to take me through the factory and explain how
the business was run. His work was so impactful to the people who worked with him. I knew from
then I wanted to start my own company.
30
GRIT
Empowering the youth of today for the jobs of tomorrow.
® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. VPS107447
119508 (07/2020)