Introducing: The NEXT decade of entrepreneurs - Quarterly Publication - Ed. 01 - Flipbook - Page 5
Introducing: The NEXT decade of entrepreneurs
HENRY SHI BRINGS HIGH-PROFILE INVESTORS TO TORONTO
INTRODUCING:
The NEXT
Decade of
Entrepreneurs
The year 2020 just so happens to coincide with
the ten year anniversary of NEXT Canada —
that’s an entire decade of ambitious, awe-inspiring and undoubtedly passionate entrepreneurs.
As we look to the next ten, we’re reflecting back
on the impact, disruption, connections and milestones reached by our rockstar alumni. We hope
their grit, challenges and support for each other will set the tone for the next decade. Get a
glimpse into the triumphs of our 500+ alumni as
we celebrate a handful who are paving the way
for the #NEXTdecade of entrepreneurs.
2010
If we enable entrepreneurship, we
create optionality within exceptional
young people to pursue venture creation rather than a traditional career path.
In turn creating jobs and economic growth
for Canada.”
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Next 36
Next 36
‘11
Our first cohort launched so many
impactful founders. One in particular hits close to
home by making a substantial impact on future
founders. Nadeem Nathoo’s current venture with
Co-founder Navid Nathoo, The Knowledge Society, fosters STEM education in curious and ambitious teens who are passionate about changing
the world. If you’ve had the joy of hearing one
of the TKS innovators speak, you too would be
mind blown by the problems they are solving
and products being built. TKS was recently recognized by the World Economic Forum as one
of the “schools of the future” filling a huge gap in
accelerating the potential of young people. Their
mission for the next decade? To influence policy
regarding education, workforce readiness, and
closing the skill gap by scaling globally.
NEXT CANADA IS
BORN (THE NEXT 36)
We couldn’t look back at the past decade without giving an extremely grateful nod to the
entrepreneurs who launched the trajectory of
more than 500. Ten years ago, Co-founders Ajay
Agrawal, Claudia Hepburn, Tim Hodgson and
Reza Satchu put their minds together to launch
The Next 36. Their thesis:
“
NADEEM NATHOO
HELPS TEENS CHANGE
THE WORLD
‘13
MALLORIE BRODIE
& LAUREN LAKE
HELP REDEFINE
AN INDUSTRY
Next 36
Each having grown up
in the construction industry, Mallorie and Lauren saw an opportunity to continue the family
tradition — but with a revolutionary approach.
Their venture Bridgit Solutions makes construction less complicated by bringing modern
solutions to the construction industry. Since
launching, Mallorie and Lauren have grown
their team to over 64 employees, secured over
$10.2M in funding, made 2019’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list and won the Startup Canada Women
Entrepreneur Award. What’s next? The Waterloo team is set to open a Toronto office in 2020,
disrupting the next decade of construction in a
new market.
Henry Shi is quickly becoming a beacon of hope for startup founders looking to scale in Canada. In
2016, Henry and Co-founder Hussein Fazal launched SnapTravel looking to change the way travel
is booked. They make booking a hotel as simple as messaging a friend, powering millions of dollars
a month in hotel bookings for millions of users around the world. Since launching,
the team has raised $22.4M, sold over $100M and secured over 200M users all
while scaling in Toronto, impacting our local ecosystem with a global solution.
And to top that all off, they secured Steph Curry as an investor, bringing
international attention to Canadian entrepreneurship and innovation.
‘12
‘14
JACLYN LING & SHUMS KASSAM
MAKE TECH CAREERS MORE
ACCESSIBLE
‘15
MARIE CHEVRIER CHANGES THE
PRODUCT SAMPLING GAME
Next Founders
Next 36
Jaclyn and Shums came into Next 36 together in 2014, built Blynk Style together, sold to
Kik in 2015, led KiK’s product team together
and founded Hatchways in 2018… together.
Hatchways helps new grads, self-taught programmers, and career shifters get their first
job as a software engineer by evaluating their
skills, providing tailored feedback, and setting
up interviews with tech startups. After graduating from Y-Combinator, they launched in
Toronto and soon after placed 5 non-tech
workers into tech roles. Thanks for reducing
career gaps in the next decade, team.
After years of handing out physical samples as a brand ambassador, Marie noticed
a huge shortcoming. There was no way to
know if the samples were being handed to
the RIGHT hands, or if they were fulfilling
their destiny of being sampled at all. Taking to heart how wasteful the practice was,
Marie sought a solution. Enter Sampler,
helping the world’s most innovative consumer packaged goods brands get samples directly to their target audience. Since
launching, Sampler has raised $5.9M in
funding, made Elevates’s 50 top innovative
workplaces, and worked with high-profile
clients such as Clif Bar & Company, L’Oreal, Pepsi, Unilever and Kraft. Going into the
next decade, we forecast Marie continuing
to lead innovation in how brands interact
with consumers, bridging the gap between
digital and brick-and-mortar.
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