During a visit to Ivey today, Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade, got a glimpse of some of the innovative student and alumni-led startups that are hoping to contribute to Canada’s economy.
Fedeli toured Ivey as part of a swing through London, Ontario and met with the young entrepreneurs from Western and Ivey that are participating in the Western Accelerator from the Western Morrissette Institute Powered by Ivey. He also got a sneak peek of the Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation that is currently under construction.
An entrepreneur himself who founded the first ad agency north of Toronto, Fedeli said he was excited to meet the students and alumni, see their products, and hear about their entrepreneurial journeys.
“I’ve never really worked for anybody else. I’m a lifelong entrepreneur so I share the passion that I see here,” he said.
Meeting the entrepreneurs of tomorrow
Students and alumni from nine ventures, ranging from a zero-waste custom-made bra manufacturer to a matchmaking app aimed at Canada’s immigrant population, met with Fedeli and shared their stories. The ventures included:
- Colors Matchmaking Inc. – A matchmaking app for the immigrant population created by Shivali Barot, Ben Oyajumo, and Sujay Nair, all MBA ’23 candidates;
- Doubl Manufacturing Ltd. – A custom-made bra manufacturer co-founded by Bryn Davis Williams, HBA ’18, and Jess Bosman, HBA ’17;
- Nock.AI – An artificial intelligence-based mentor matching service created by Michael Rychlewski, an MBA ’23 candidate;
- Passen Inc. – A digital fitting platform that delivers clothing fit to online shoppers from Stuart Campbell, HBA ’13;
- Seashore.AI – An artificial intelligence chatbox platform from Isaiah Ballah, Josh Bildy, and Jacob Redgrift;
- SipSomeCoffee – A coffee matching platform from Maksym Savchyn and Samuel Osho, both MBA ’23 candidates;
- Staccato – An artificial intelligence music assistant from Jeff Lupker and Jason Kowalczyk, HBA ’14;
- Wheel Easy Inc. – A marketplace platform that allows customers to book automotive services from a variety of mobile service providers created by Dennis Ho, HBA ’22; and,
- WutUp Inc. – A social hangout app from Matthew Travis.
Victor Fedeli meeting Entrepreneurship Advisor Nicole Barnowski, MSc '21, founder of Hairstrong.
A discussion of economic development initiatives
Fedeli also visited several MBA classes and spoke with students about efforts to rejuvenate Ontario, including getting the five major automakers to make investments. Most recently, Volkswagen announced it will be building a new electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas. Fedeli discussed how the plant will create jobs, not only in St. Thomas, but also through the creation of lithium mines in northern Ontario.
Victor Fedeli with a class of MBA students.
