The first 2026 Winter Founder Fundamentals session was led by Benjamin N'Goran, a bilingual entrepreneurship coach with over a decade of experience supporting founders across Canada and Africa. The session focused on how founders can translate ideas into clear, actionable business plans that support real decision-making, growth, and long-term sustainability. Drawing from years of one-on-one […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session unpacked one of the least glamorous, but absolutely essential, pillars of building a resilient startup: understanding risk and getting the right insurance. Led by Jonathan Pereira, Vice President of Private Equity & Mergers & Acquisitions at Gallagher, the session provided a clear, founder-friendly breakdown of what risk actually looks like […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session demystified one of the most misunderstood, yet mission-critical parts of building a startup: accessing non-dilutive funding. Led by Jackson Lai, Partner at BDO and an expert with 15+ years of product development experience across biomedical devices, life sciences, IT, and consumer electronics, the session broke down what every founder needs […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session unpacked one of the most powerful yet overlooked drivers of startup success: understanding why customers behave the way they do. The session, Customer Psychology: Why People Buy, Stay & Pay, was led by Talitha McCloskey — Senior Manager of Impact Partnerships & Government Relations at GrowClass, co-founder of RaiseHER, community […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session explored the vital connection between two core engines of startup growth, sales and marketing. The session, Sales & Marketing in Sync: A RevOps Playbook, was led by Rob Manne, Founder of Inflectiv, who brought decades of experience in marketing communications, sales strategy, and revenue operations to the virtual room. Through […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session took a deep dive into one of the most important yet intimidating topics for startups—taxes. The session, Tax 101 for Startups, was led by Junaid Usmani, Co-Founder & Partner at SRJ Chartered Professional Accountants, and Arif Amjad, Tax Partner at SRJ Chartered Professional Accountants, who together brought decades of financial […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session explored financial modelling for startups, featuring Irene de Gooyer-Collins, CFO and COO at Growth Partners. Irene is a seasoned finance executive with deep expertise in financial management, M&A, and operational improvement across the CPG, manufacturing, and software sectors. Through her session, participants learned how to demystify financial modelling, strengthen their […]
This week’s Founder Fundamentals session explored operational excellence for startups, featuring Candice Ooi, Fractional Chief of Staff and COO. Candice works closely with visionary founders and executives to build clarity, alignment, and strategic execution across their businesses. With deep expertise in strategy and operations, she bridges high-level vision with hands-on implementation—helping early-stage leaders turn ambiguity […]
In entrepreneurship, a strong idea must be supported by a strong legal foundation. That was the focus of the third session of the 2025 Fall Founder Fundamentals series, led by Suresh Sriskandarajah, technology and business lawyer, engineer, and entrepreneur. As Co-Director of the UOttawa Startup Law Clinic and lecturer at the Lincoln Alexander School of […]
Turning an idea into a thriving venture requires more than passion—it requires a roadmap. That was the focus of the second session of the 2025 Fall Founder Fundamentals, led by Golden Johnson, global branding expert and founder of House of Gold. With years of experience guiding early-stage to Series B entrepreneurs, Golden offered a practical […]
