Emmanuelle (Manue) is passionate about new technologies and the ability of startups to improve society. She mentors and sits on the advisory boards of different early-stage startups. Manue is also a community leader. She built the Canadian chapter and has been the Ambassador for Canada of Women in AI (WAI), a non-profit do-tank whose mission is to increase female representation and participation in AI. She spent the last 2+ years at Next AI Montreal as the Director of Ventures, mainly in charge of co-building the program from scratch, startups recruitment, portfolio management, and founders growth. Before that, she founded a travel accessories brand that she ran for 8 years and a non-profit to help promote blood platelets donation towards students. Manue holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School (Paris) and started her career in auditing in France, followed by 3 years in investment banking in Australia. As Managing Director of Front Row Ventures, she will practice her demonstrated passion for mentoring, community building, and venture investments. Manue’s vision for FRV is to make it THE foundational platform to build the next generation of Canadian tech talent. When she’s not pitching to investors or mentoring Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs and investors, Manue loves to spend some time with her friends & family, travel, cook, and build DIY furniture.

Raphaël is Co-Founder of Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. He’s a product geek that is first and foremost passionate about creating outstanding technologies that enhance people’s lives, especially consumer-centric ones.

Coming from a jack-of-all-trades-entrepreneurial background combined with a software engineering undergrad, he has always been an entrepreneur. As a teenager, he went from owning a car garage to a window-cleaning business to a tech startup. Motivated and inspired by entrepreneurship, he has been involved in organizing numerous events including Startup Weekends, and countless hackathons and educational events.

Prior to FRV, he spent two years working as a Product Manager and developing Volume7, a digital product agency that partners with forward-thinking startups and companies. He’s now also working on the early-stage team at Real Ventures, Canada’s most active seed venture capital fund. The firm invests throughout the life-cycle of early-stage companies and provides stage-appropriate capital and support for the founders it backs.

When he’s not working on building startups or the tech ecosystem, Raph can be found skiing, snowboarding or coding his newest product idea.

With a bachelor in accounting, Éléonore contemplated a career in corporate finance. Her summer studying tech entrepreneurship at Stanford made her choose a totally different path: venture capital.

She joined Pléiade Capital, a VC student club, and started a Master’s in Financial Accounting. Her combined efforts paid off, Brightspark Ventures poaching her from EY less than a year later.

Helping out rising entrepreneurs, our VC brain is also dedicated to women in tech with Technovation Montreal.

Studying International Studies, Nicolas always seeks to empower communities here and abroad.

Responsible of business development at La Gare last year, he discovered Montreal’s dynamic startup community and its undeniable impact on the metropolis.

Front Row Ventures’ poet and community builder now dreams of helping Sub-Saharan African communities build their own ecosystems as a viable solution to current failing models of development.

Cameron is entering his third year of a Biomedical and Chemical Engineering degree at McMaster University. He has a background in medical research, and is working hard to translate that unique perspective to the startups that he works with. Cameron has a passion for health technology and student entrepreneurship.

Gabriel is a software engineering student at Polytechnique, Montréal. Gabriel is passionate about technology, innovation and helping student entrepreneurs get the support and funding they need to grow their businesses from conception into thriving companies.

Prior to FRV, while still in CEGEP, Gabriel started his own marketing agency where he created websites and managed social media sites for SMEs. More recently, Gabriel has invested his time as the President of Poly Entrepreneuriat, a student committee at Polytechnique, where he has had the opportunity to build a passionate team committed to providing student entrepreneurs with invaluable resources and experiences.

As part of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures, Gabriel welcomes the opportunity to cultivate and expand the entrepreneurial spirit within the university campus and to help student entrepreneurs.

In his spare time, you can find Gabriel enjoying nature in all its forms. He loves skiing, hiking and camping.

Jonathan is enrolled in the Science and Business co-op program at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Biochemistry. He has completed co-op terms as a Business Analyst at BMO and Consultant at CIBC and has an upcoming position on the Risk Advisory team at EY. His passion for entrepreneurship started when he assumed the role of President of the Enactus Waterloo chapter. He aims to shift capital in the hands of ambitious entrepreneurs that have a focus on improving the world. Jonathan is most passionate about sustainable energy sources, youth empowerment and education.

Aside from academics and extra-curriculars, Jonathan enjoys playing sports (specifically basketball), reading and chess. Having studied abroad for a term in Singapore, Jonathan loves connecting with diverse individuals with different mindsets. He documents these conversations on his podcast titled “Broaden Your Perspective”.

Robert loves poutine and tech. Always with the latest phone in hand, he loves going out in the world meeting new startups and helping as much as he can. Inhabited by an unusual dynamism and a formidable power of persuasion, Robert knows how to mobilize people around a cause he believes in to achieve results that no one would have thought possible.

During his studies in Law at Sherbrooke University, he distinguished himself by his sense of initiative and his involvement in several groups and associations, which allowed him to acquire a sense of management and problem solving.

Highly involved in the community, he strongly believes in FRV’s mission to empower student-entrepreneurs across Canada with both financial power and human capital. His desire to make a bigger impact attracted him to entrepreneurship.

Saud is a member of the Business Development Team at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. Currently studying Economics at McGill University, he’s passionate about people, strategy, and innovative tech.

Coming from a diverse background, Saud has lived all around the world and has a desire to help build the community around him. Having worked at two startups, he finds great joy in taking on the challenges that arise from fast-paced environments. This passion for innovation and business is also emphasized in his work as Senior Consultant at McGill Design Consultancy, and Vice President at McGill’s Speak to Lead.

Prior to FRV, Saud has worked in strategy roles ranging from investor and business development at an augmented reality startup, to overseeing the Montreal expansion for 1st Gen – a record label.

When he’s not working, you can find Saud rooting for his favorite basketball team and listening to podcasts.

Tim is a third year Industrial Engineering student at the University of Toronto minoring in Engineering Business and Artificial Intelligence Engineering. He is excited to be working on the Front Row Venture Platform Team, because it presents a unique opportunity to assist FRV’s portfolio of Canadian tech-sphere startups. Tim’s future goals are to work as a management consultant. He has previous consulting experience at 180 Degrees Consulting, and the University of Toronto Consulting Association, as an Associate Consultant working with nonprofits and early stage startups. He also has experience working in early to mid-stage startups in the health technology and construction goods industries. Tim also founded UT BIOME (the University of Toronto Biomedical Engineering Design Team) in 2018 and holds the position of Managing Director – responsible for, overseeing design projects with clients and competition, as well as biomedical engineering focused lecture/networking events.

Alexandre is an Economics student at Université de Montréal. He is passionate about exploring new ways of disrupting industries and helping entrepreneurs build prosperous ventures that have a significant impact on society. Alexandre is very eager to learn more about how to transform a big ambitious idea into a successful business and is excited to be in a position to help entrepreneurs make their mark on the ecosystem. 

Leading up to FRV, Alexandre developed a curiosity for entrepreneurship through his past work experiences and by fraternizing with like-minded entrepreneurial spirits. While working at Stikeman Elliott, Alexandre first encountered Startupfest and instantly fell in love with the energy, curiosity and intellectual stimulation that the startup ecosystem radiates. Since then, he has actively tried to make his own way into the ecosystem by acting as Treasurer of UdeM Entreprend, a student committee working to promote entrepreneurship and provide resources to entrepreneurs on campus. 

With FRV, Alexandre hopes to help grow the Canadian ecosystem by supporting entrepreneurs and being an active ambassador within his university. 

In his free time, Alexandre enjoys snowboarding, golf, running, a lot of cooking and spending quality time with friends and family. 

Antoine is an investment associate at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. He is a student at Laval University in Finance. Trying to improve his technical skills, he is also pursuing a certificate in computer science. Antoine is passionate about innovation, especially in the financial sector. 

Antoine previously worked at Petal, a software company developing solutions to facilitate and accelerate the healthcare process, as an accounting intern. This opportunity gave him exposure regarding technological sectors and entrepreneurship ecosystems, which sparked the desire to help the next generation of entrepreneurs. Antoine is also involved at Laval University as the Vice-President of finances for the REPFUL, a student association emphasizing financial planning.

In his spare time, you can find Antoine trying to push his physical limits by either running trails or climbing new tough routes.

Brian is a third-year student at McGill University studying in the Honours in Investment Management program. He is excited to combine his passion for start-ups, technology, and social impact to help student entrepreneurs transform their ideas into flourishing businesses.

Prior to FRV, Brian built his investment experience through Desautels Capital Management, where he was a member of the TMT sector and as a group managed $3 million. Brian’s interest in startups originated from case competitions like McGill’s International Case Competition and the Retail Innovation Challenge, where he got to work with Montreal start-ups to grow and overcome various challenges. Blown away by the founders’ excitement, he quickly grew passionate about start-ups.

Outside of work, Brian loves to play basketball and racket sports, cook and bake, and listen to new music and interesting podcasts.  

Frédérique is currently majoring in accounting at Sherbrooke University and a member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures.

Always passionate for innovation and business, Frédérique is very eager to learn more about how to support startups in their growth. She is dedicated to helping students tackle the challenges of founding a business. 

Prior to FRV, Frédérique has always made it a goal of hers to get involved in business. Through her school classes and research she has developed a deep interest in technology and how it impacts society. She is now interested in the development of the Canadian tech ecosystem. 

More recently Frédérique has invested in real estate to start building a capital base. As she would eventually like to be part of the process of helping passionate entrepreneurs an even bigger way. 

In her spare time Frédérique is always looking for new challenges through her passion for skiing, horseback riding, mountain biking, climbing or hiking. You can usually find her out searching for new places to discover.

Jason is an Investment Team Associate at FRV and a second-year Honours Finance and Economic student from McGill University. He is excited to create impact for the FRV team, learn more about Venture Capital Investing, and support student founders in the Canadian VC ecosystem.

Having grown up in China, lived in the US, and then immigrated to Canada, Jason has developed multicultural and multinational perspectives in his working ethics and human character. He always looks beyond his studies and adapts to different ideas. Before FRV, He became excited about VC and Blockchain through an internship at a Shenzhen-based VC for Web3 Investments. Working at TESLA, Jason also developed some knowledge in the EV space and Automotives in general. Combining well-rounded coursework and varied working experience, Jason maintains both theoretical and practical curiosities.

On-Campus, Jason is involved with a diverse set of organizations. From managing impactful consulting projects at TAMID Group, reaching out to organizations for JHKCBA, to organizing fitness events at Fit for a cause, he has put himself in a spectrum of learning opportunities.

Outside of school and work, you can find Jason listening to electronic music and setting up a DJ gig with his friends. Jason also enjoys Basketball, Playing Guitar, Road Trips, and eating lots of Dim Sum.

Jaya is part of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures. She studies Math, Philosophy and Computer Science at McGill University, and is super interested in allying entrepreneurship and ethics, startups and social good.

She originally thought she’d later go into research, either in Math or AI. But she soon realized that what she wanted to help breed innovation at a larger scale, and in a more radical and direct way. That’s why she turned towards entrepreneurship and the startup world, and after interning at a venture capital firm in Paris over the summer, she decided to join FRV’s investment team in March 2020. It’s atypical ways of thinking that draw her in, and she really likes startups that demonstrate out-of-the-box creativity.

Otherwise, in her free time, Jaya enjoys anything art/cinema/music-related, bouldering, going on adventures in Montreal, and sipping sangria on terraces!

Marc is a member of the investment team at Front Row Ventures and currently studying business intelligence at HEC Montréal. 

Passionate about technology and innovation, Marc is dedicated to making a positive impact on the canadian startup ecosystem by helping ambitious and driven students tackle issues with their startups. As the co-founder of Kernel, a fintech startup, he has been experiencing some of the challenges met by student founders and is excited to share his insights to help others innovate. 

Always eager to learn, Marc is constantly working to have a more precise understanding of the tech ecosystem by approaching it from different angles. His time working at Scale AI and volunteering at the Creative Destruction Lab in Montreal allowed him to gather knowledge which will be valuable for his work at FRV. 

At HEC, he has been involved in multiple clubs to organize academic and entrepreneurial competitions as well as conferences. Most recently, he wrote the Entre-preneurs series for the entrepreneurship club and met 29 entrepreneurs from various fields to share their experiences and mindset with the student community.

Marc is passionate about playing and listening to music and is always looking for playlist recommendations!

Matthew is a Software Engineering student at Montreal’s Concordia University. He is passionate about using technology to solve people’s day to day pain points and helping ambitious students get the education and resources they need to launch their ideas.

Prior to joining FRV, Matthew co-founded and led GCES, a student association on a mission to grow Concordia’s entrepreneurial community for Engineering and Computer Science students. He also worked at both startups and large-sized ventures in full stack web and mobile development, where he learned the stages of building a product from MVP to production.

At FRV, he is eager to connect student entrepreneurs with the best resources available to them while continuing to grow the entrepreneurial community within universities.

In his free time, you can find Matthew skateboarding, running or building out his most recent tech idea.

Minalou is an Investment Team Associate at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. As a Managing for Sustainability, Finance and Data Analytics undergraduate student at McGill, she is committed to driving innovation forward, pushing industry boundaries and challenging the status quo.

Eternally curious and hungry for new experiences, Minalou took two gap years before starting her undergraduate degree, working and studying in the Dominican Republic and China. Today, she feeds that same curiosity through her involvement at the student level, working on enabling diverse student initiatives, and surrounding herself with creative, ambitious minds. Combined with her time spent at fintech start-up, Moka, and interest in Impact Investing, her interest in the VC world grew, driving her to join the Front Row Ventures team.

In her free time, Minalou can be found scavenging Montreal to uncover its best secrets, in the form of art galleries, cafes and restaurants.

Philippe is a finance student at McGill Universityand a current member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures

Philippe was raised both in France and Brazil assimilating the two countries’ cultures and having the opportunity to understand the dynamics of both emerging and developed markets. Philippe’s experiences range from entrepreneurship and startup acceleration, to working in trading and equity research. Philippe is specifically passionate about the intersection of entrepreneurship and finance which naturally led him to venture capital. 

As part of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures, Philippe welcomes the opportunity to discover a new entrepreneurial ecosystem and finding the next companies that will not only change Canada but the whole world. 

In his spare time, you can find Philippe playing soccer with friends or reading french literature.

Pier-Luc is studying Surgical Innovation with a focus in entrepreneurship at McGill University.  He has a background in biomedical engineering. He was drawn to Front Row Ventures (FRV) to have the opportunity to help student founders to propel their ideas and see how their solution would help impact the lives of their intended users. 

Before joining FRV, while in his undergrad, Pier-Luc was heavily involved in student clubs and societies, like his engineering society and being on the Board of the Ontario Engineering Competition, to improve the student experience of his peers. After graduating, he started a surgical improvement system for a minimally-invasive heart valve replacement. Having loved the enthusiasm and potential of the founders within the start-up ecosystem he knew that this environment was where he wanted to be. 

Now as a member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures, Pier-Luc is excited to find promising student founders and inspire them to think bigger and push the limits of their idea, while motivating students to become entrepreneurs.  

When not working, Pier-Luc plays rugby, hockey, or tennis depending on the season. He is also a big fan of reading in parks or local coffee shops. 

Thierry is pursuing a bachelor degree in accounting at ESG UQAM. He is passionate about technology, startup and venture capital. He was part of the national cycling team for two years and raced internationally at a high level. He competed at the world championships in Qatar and Pan American championships in Mexico. Been part of this environment helped him develop team spirit skills and a highly competitive mindset.

As part of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures, his goal is to help entrepreneurs students to grow their businesses. He believes in the mission of FRV which is to find and support student entrepreneurs. He also wants to grow the startup culture on campus. In his free time you can find Thierry on his bike or at a tech event.

Thomas is a member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures. As an Economics, Statistics, and Computer Science student at McGill University, his love for technology and entrepreneurship drives him to help further develop the Canadian tech ecosystem. 

Prior to FRV, Thomas had developed an interest in Venture Capital through his studies and internship experiences. He has working experience as a Social Media Marketing Intern at a VC networking/fundraising event, as well as experience as an Investor Relations & Finance intern at an early stage startup. His varied course load and experience reflects his desire to be constantly learning and well-rounded. 

At McGill, Thomas is an active member of multiple student organizations on campus. He has served as VP Events & Sponsorship for the McGill Students’ Trading Society, and is the Founder/President of the McGill Golf Association.

Outside school and work, Thomas is an avid skier, golfer, intramural hockey player, and NFL/NHL fanatic. 

Thomas is part of the Investment Team at Front Row Venture (FRV). By working in a research laboratory, he faced the importance of start-ups in his field. Then he joined FRV to find out the new tech-companies which will participate in building a better world. 

Before FRV, Thomas has always been interested in investment. In fact, he used to invest into start-ups and real estate on his own through crowdfunding platform, in France. But what really got him into the entrepreneurship and start-ups ecosystem was a program provided by FRQS and called QcSE (Quebec scientific entrepreneurship program). Thomas also works as a PhD student in biology and aims to understand a muscular disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in order to find an effective treatment. Thus, with his knowledge concerning the research field and his passion for investment, he decided to merge both of them in order to ease the rise of new viable biotech companies and joined FRV.

At the UdeM Thomas assists professors for teaching Physiology to master students. At the CHU Sainte-Justine, Thomas is part of the student committee and is plainly implicated in the research center life.

Zoe is a Human Genetics Ph.D candidate within McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine. Her research focuses on the use of large-scale genetic and clinical data to better understand the genetic architecture underlying risk for psychiatric disorders.

Zoe is passionate about bringing innovative ideas to market. Joining Front Row Ventures from an academic background, she knows first-hand the wealth of untapped potential that exists on university campuses.  

Prior to joining Front Row Ventures, Zoe served as the Director of Communications for McGill’s Graduate Management Consulting Association, which provides graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with the skills and training to excel in management consulting. Her experience as an Artificial Intelligence for Genomics Fellow at Concordia’s District 3 Innovation Centre ignited her eagerness to contribute to Quebec’s bustling innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. 

As part of the Investment Team, Zoe is excited to support student entrepreneurs and leverage her academic experience to translate lab ideas into business opportunities.

When she’s not working, you can find Zoe on a run, hiking, curating playlists, or making her way through the Criterion Collection.

Alay is a fourth-year BBA student at the Schulich School of Business, specializing in finance. He has completed internships in private equity, investment banking, and corporate strategy and M&A, focusing on a wide range of industries – from home healthcare to telecommunications. He is most passionate about value investing, technology, entrepreneurship, and education. Through FRV, Alay aims to help grow the startup space in Canada and motivate ambitious students to explore entrepreneurship. 

During his own time, Alay can be found learning magic tricks, playing the guitar, or watching basketball. 

Alex is a third year student at the University of Waterloo studying Financial Analysis and Risk Management. In her previous co-op terms at League and other Toronto-based startups Alex has explored multiple functions including finance, revenue operations, and strategy. In her upcoming role as an analyst at an early-stage digital healthtech fund she is excited to learn more about the healthcare landscape and work with incredible entrepreneurs. In the future Alex hopes to work in impact investing or help scale companies that are driving solutions and solving problems in healthcare, education and clean tech. 

Outside of her professional experience she loves to teach drama and work with students. You can find her in Waterloo and Toronto running workshops or directing collective creations. She will also never say no to a good cup of tea and is always ready to chat.

Alex is excited to join the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures to invest in Canada’s extraordinary student founders. 

Ali is an entrepreneurial minded student who is passionate in helping others by solving modern day problems. He is currently finishing his Medical Radiation Sciences degree at McMaster University. 

In the summer of 2018, with the help of his co-founders, Ali started his first business venture, an e-commerce fitness store. His team noticed the lack of affordable fitness apparel for students in the market and attempted to fix that problem by teaming up with high quality, affordable manufacturers overseas. Through this venture he found his passion for entrepreneurship. Since then he has started a digital consulting firm and is currently working on a software startup. 

Through FRV, Ali hopes to support fellow student entrepreneurs while learning more about the various aspects that go into a good startup. 

Outside of entrepreneurship and school, Ali greatly enjoys playing soccer and basketball. He is also a music fanatic and spends most of his free time as a music producer, producing R&B and rap beats for local artists. 

Doren holds a HBSc. (Human Kinetics) and MSc. (Food Science) from the University of Guelph and is currently a PhD. Candidate (Chemical Engineering) at McMaster University. His current research focuses on improving the efficacy of drug delivery vehicles to help treat cancer, ophthalmic diseases, and various other pathologies. Doren is particularly passionate about innovation and implementation in the life science and healthcare sectors. 

Doren has a strong background as a scientific researcher and ample experience as a consultant. As a result of a strong passion for helping others, Doren founded Pharmasonica Technologies, a biomedical start-up with the goal of improving the quality of treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy.

In his spare time, you can find him at the gym, playing sports, or cooking up a storm.

Ashraf is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Queen’s University pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Smith School of Business. Over the past few years, he’s had the opportunity to learn about different industries through various extracurricular activities and internships. He has completed internships at Deloitte and PayPal, and is currently interning with Convictional, an e-commerce startup.

As a Director at the Queen’s Social Investment Initiative, he helped grow Canada’s first university-based impact investing organization, where he provided pro-bono advisory to companies on the front-line of the impact investment industry. In his free time, Ashraf enjoys playing and watching soccer, and discovering new music. Ashraf is eager to learn more about venture capital and is excited to help Front Row Ventures reshape Canada’s tech and startup culture.

Fariha is an MBA student at the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management. She has over five years of experience in corporate and open innovation. She has had the privilege of running innovation projects for a wide range of clients, including Unilever, Rolls-Royce, Rabobank, Cargill and the Asian Development Bank. She also had the opportunity to source and coach hundreds of startups across the Asia Pacific region.

This experience gave her valuable insight into startup ecosystems and fueled her passion for startups. Fariha aims to use her passion, her experiences and her role at Front Row Ventures to connect startups to resources, grow startup communities and connect tech ecosystems in and outside Canada. 

Fariha graduated from the Singapore Management University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Sciences in Economics and a second major in Political Science. In her personal time, Fariha loves reading, walking, cooking and exploring new eateries. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and also enjoys learning other forms of dance.

Jaclyn Chan is a computer science and finance student at the University of Waterloo. She most recently worked at Coinbase on the Wallet team as a software engineer intern. She has previously completed co-op terms in Blockchain Software Engineering at Curvegrid, Quantitative Equity at CPP Investments and Robotics Engineering at nuTonomy. Jaclyn is passionate about increasing diversity and creating equitable access to opportunities in education, finance and healthcare. She loves traveling to different cities to compete in hackathons.

Aside from tech and finance, Jaclyn also finds the time to balance her artistic passions in dance, music and theatre. She was on the UW Cheerleading Team, in a competitive a cappella and UW Hip Hop Performance Team back when things were in-person on campus. Having grown up in Singapore and Hong Kong, Jaclyn loves connecting with and learning from people from diverse backgrounds. Jaclyn is excited to bring her passion for bridging the diversity gap in entrepreneurship & venture capital to the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures.

Jennifer is a second year student at Western University studying Computer Science. She’s passionate about all things related to tech startups, finance and social impact.

Throughout high school, she was heavily involved with startups and started two of her own. In the past year, she has been working on AcornTalent – a data science recruitment platform. On campus, she is the Director of Events at Western Artificial Intelligence Club and is working on a QR-code food truck ordering system with her partner as part of W5 Club’s Accelerator Program.

Jennifer’s past work experiences mainly consist of data science consulting at data science/AI startups. She’s hoping to take on more tech side projects and learn as much about venture capital and finance as she can. In her free time, she loves reading, travelling, going to music concerts, and fencing.

Julia studies Mathematics/Financial Analysis and Risk Management at the University of Waterloo. She has completed internships in a variety of different industries including at a non-profit, a technology consulting startup, the public sector and most recently in private investment risk. 

Her passion and interest in the startup ecosystem started from her involvement in pro-bono consulting work with various startup companies, as part of a student consulting group. Julia is interested in learning more about the ag tech/food tech space and is passionate about supporting startups to build a stronger tech ecosystem in Canada.

In her free time, Julia enjoys meeting new people, cooking new foods and going on walks. She is excited to be part of the Front Row Venture team to support Canadian student founders. 

Patrick is a member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures. A mechanical engineering student at Queen’s University, he is particularly interested in agro-tech, electric mobility, renewable energy, and other sustainable business applications of engineering design.

Prior to FRV, Patrick founded and managed the Queen’s Vertical Farming Team (QVFT), which is Canada’s first undergraduate design team of its kind. Since 2019, he has worked alongside a dedicated group of engineers and business students to design and finance a functional, software-automated vertical farm in Kingston, ON. Patrick also completed a previous mechanical internship with MCW Custom Energy Solutions in Toronto, ON.  

As part of the FRV investment team, Patrick welcomes the opportunity to connect with inspiring student entrepreneurs. He views his own technical background as a helpful asset for understanding founders’ ideas, needs, and goals. 

In his spare time, Patrick can be found playing cards, reading the news, and exploring the Great Outdoors. He likes playing baseball, fishing, and golfing.

Richard is a senior studying at the Schulich School of Business. He’s passionate about team dynamics and how simple leadership principles can have a wide impact. This interest developed throughout his experience in the infantry reserve, where he serves as an airborne section second-in-command. His experiences working at EY Private, and in Advisory at BDC have all been directed by his passion for the entrepreneur. He is  most curious about innovation in the Healthtech, Cleantech, and Agritech sectors.

Outside the office, he can be found outdoors: diving, mountaineering, canoeing, rock-climbing, and organizing longer group expeditions. He is now preparing for a summit of Mt. Shasta & Mt. Robson.

Sachin is an Associate on the Ontario Investment Team at FRV and a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto where he does research in DNA nanotechnology. In 2020, he graduated from McMaster University where he completed his senior thesis developing machine learning techniques to accelerate drug discovery. Sachin’s experience conducting research in no less than five academic labs has equipped him with a body of knowledge spanning such diverse topics as the microbiome, synthetic biology and machine learning.

Sachin’s other experiences include co-founding Flora Bioworks: an early stage biotechnology company based in Toronto, MacHacks (MLH Hackathon), and working at the Royal Ontario Museum (he nearly decided to major in archaeology). 

When he’s not working, Sachin can usually be found playing guitar, reading obscure wikipedia articles, or exploring the backcountry by canoe. 

Swarit is a 19-year-old tech and startup nerd in his second-year studying software engineering at Western University, interested in solving large problems that impact billions.

Swarit was previously one of TD Bank’s youngest employees, as a data science intern working in payments; is an alum of The Knowledge Society, a human-accelerator training teens to solve large problems through which he consulted on engagement with Walmart Canada and Wealthsimple Foundation; and has worked with various Toronto fintech startups through his involvement with The Ivey Fintech Club’s Pro-Bono Consulting Group.

At Front Row Ventures, Swarit works to grow the deal flow and talent coming out of Canadian campuses while elevating Front Row’s position as the primary partner for Canadian student startups.

Swarit is a competitive cyclist, improving triathlete and avid beach volleyball enthusiast. He likes to read, watch documentaries and action films and shares his thoughts through writing, at www.swarit.live.

Valerie is a member of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. She is currently pursuing a degree in Economics and Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto. 

She is passionate about sustainable development and enjoys exploring the multidisciplinary nature of sustainability. In particular, she became interested in impact investing and social finance ever since she was introduced to the concepts of ESG (environmental, social and governance) and SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) investing, during her first internship at an investment management firm in Hong Kong. The ideas of conscious capitalism and purposeful profit spoke to her as she witnessed the tremendous power of investments, not just in monetary terms, but also in transforming environmental, political, social and other aspects of society. 

In her free time, she likes playing and listening to music, skydiving, making and tasting coffee, discovering coffee shops, travelling, and pondering the meaning of life.

Vaneezeh is pursuing a major in statistics and double minors in computer science and business at the University of Toronto. She has completed multiple work terms at the Royal Bank of Canada, and will be joining RBC Ventures in the Fall as a data analyst co-op. Her excitement for entrepreneurship led her to FRV, where she looks forward to supporting student founders and their big, bold ideas. 

She is the founder of the Women in Science and Computing team on campus, and is passionate about building and leading cross-functional teams to tackle ambiguous challenges. She has shared her leadership experiences at events such as Ivy Hacks and the Impact Summit, and sits on the Advisory Board for Accelerate Her Future, a national career accelerator for Black, Indigenous, and women of colour pursuing careers in tech and business. 

She’s a fitness enthusiast, loves meeting new people, and drinks way too much coffee.

Farhan is a fourth-year student at the Schulich School of Business at York University specializing in strategic management and finance. Alongside business, he is minoring in philosophy. Over the past few years, he’s had the opportunity to learn about a variety of industries. Farhan executed experiential marketing plans for CPGs at Diamond Marketing, analyzed financial services & mining companies at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and is currently evaluating SaaS acquisition targets for Constellation Software. Across these experiences, he’s learned that his passion for business strategy knows no bounds and has no bias. Capitalizing on that with his long-time interest in technology and entrepreneurship, he has found himself on Front Row Venture’s Platform Team. Farhan helps FRV’s portfolio companies manage their business with confidence and reach their most pertinent milestones through a variety of tactics. Outside of school and work, Farhan volunteers at Woburn Collegiate Institute as a Mock Trial Coach and also enjoys building PCs.

Sajal is an FinTech enthusiast who is a third-year student pursuing his BBA (specializing in Finance, Economics, and Operations) at the Schulich School of Business – York University. Sajal is currently working as a Lead Developer at Kitty Savings, a FinTech startup improving business to bank to customer transfers. Alongside his role at Kitty, Sajal continues to lead PentaHacks, an organization focused on disrupting the recruitment process.

His passion for helping the community by building and supporting initiatives aimed at aiding those most vulnerable and inexperienced has brought him to FRV. Through FRV, Sajal looks forward to encouraging students of several institutions to explore the new age of entrepreneurship.

Shawn is an Accounting and Finance student at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON). Before that, he finished his undergrad in Health Sciences at McMaster University, and later finished his Graduate Diploma in Business at Queen’s University. After attending various university hackathons in his 2nd year undergrad, Shawn saw the passion and potential of student entrepreneurs in creating visionary solutions, and thus started his journey in the start-up ecosystem. His journey first started at HacktheCity (a Hamilton start-up accelerator) as a Program Development Officer, where he designed workshops and consulted student entrepreneurs in bringing their solution from ideas to market. He then co-founded a social initiative called The Human Book Collection – an organization focused on promoting empathy, dispelling bias and prejudices, and fostering meaningful connections, through storytelling. Soon after, he started helping a R&D biotech start-up as a business development associate, working in various capacities (e.g. marketing, fundraising, HR). As he progresses in his journey in the start-up space, Shawn would love to learn more about helping entrepreneurs advance from seed to series funding. In his free time, Shawn loves gaming with his friends, learning more about Buddhism, reading articles on Chinese metaphysics, and playing online poker.

Juliana is a member of the Revenue Team at Front Row Ventures and a third-year student at Concordia University, pursuing a double major in International Business and Finance with co-op. 

Juliana is committed to supporting startups in the Canadian ecosystem in their journey to achieving international expansion and success. Through FRV, she hopes to empower student entrepreneurs, bridging the gap between their ideas and funding. 

Outside of FRV, Juliana is Co-President of the John Molson International Business Association and has recently discovered the excitement of the world of case competitions. She loves all things art, music, and theatre, and is eager to continue to travel the world upon completing her undergraduate degree.

Michael is a Revenue Associate in Quebec and a fourth-year student at McGill University seeking a degree in Materials Engineering with co-op and a minor in Technological Entrepreneurship. He is passionate about advancing human progress through technology and furthering the FRV mission onto more Canadian university campuses. 

He is originally from the United States, where he thrice summer-interned for a data migration and IT startup, helping it grow from 20 employees – to – acquisition. This journey fuels his passion for startup culture, Venture Capital, and progress-related technologies.

Outside of FRV, he is a member of the McGill Baseball Team, where as a catcher and co-fundraising director he helped lead the team to a National Championship in 2018. He also has a passion for aerospace material development and manufacturing, exemplified by his research in aerospace composites at the National Research Council of Canada. 

Tanishq is a rising sophomore pursuing a Bachelor’s of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Most recently, he worked as a software developer at Mappedin, a company focused on improving accessibility of the indoors through digital mapping solutions. In the past he had the opportunity to work at a startup offering income share agreements to improve fair financing for post-secondary education and founded a startup aiming to remove implicit biases from hiring practices in the tech industry. 

Through Front Row Ventures, Tanishq hopes to improve accessibility and equity by increasing opportunities and financing available to student founders. As a member of the revenue team, he’s excited to develop new streams of revenue in order to scale Front Row Ventures to invest in a greater number of startups.

Amay is a second-year student at Western University studying economics. He has worked in a variety of industries and completed internships in private equity, investment banking and at a tech startup. 

Amay is passionate about entrepreneurship and venture capital due to its inherently disruptive nature and by working alongside student founders in the past, he has developed an interest in student entrepreneurship. Amay is eager to support the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurs through his role at Front Row Ventures. 

In his free time, Amay can be found juggling, listening to podcasts or going on long road trips.

Amelia is a fourth-year HBA student at the Ivey Business School. In her first two years at Western University, she majored in Financial Modelling.

Amelia’s initial exposure to entrepreneurship was in her first year of university, working as a Business and Marketing intern at Western Heads East – a social venture collaboration between Western University and their East African partners. 

Last summer, Amelia completed an internship at Fintech Sandpit – a UK-based fintech start-up helping financial institutions scale their innovation efforts. As a Fintech Analyst, she conducted research on various fintech verticals across regions and helped seek funding opportunities alongside the company’s Founder and Strategic Advisor. There, she has cultivated an interest in the fintech space and further nurtured her curiosity for the Canadian tech and start-up ecosystem – the key factor driving her to FRV.

In her free time, Amelia enjoys reading, journaling, and exploring new music. When it’s sunny, she can be found jogging around while listening to her favorite podcasts.

Jasmeen is a third-year student in the Bachelors of Business Administration program at the Schulich School of Business. Last summer, Jasmeen interned in corporate development, was a financial analyst for IBM, and worked for a sustainability oriented startup. She oversaw two investment opportunities for potential acquisition, created financial reports, and took on many hats as a startup intern. During the school year, Jasmeen is a part of the Ripple Venture’s fellowship program. She deepens her understanding on how to create venture backable companies and be more involved in the venture capital ecosystem. 

In her free time, Jasmeen enjoys HIIT workouts, hiking, reading books, and watching The Office.

Jenny’s unique background blends policy analysis, business administration and academic science. After conducting research in fields as diverse as plant genetic engineering, animal physiology and climate change, Jenny developed a passion for science communication and education. Since 2016, she has worked to improve Ontario’s healthcare system at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and has advised decision-makers on the life sciences sector at the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Always curious about new fields, Jenny has been participating in hackathons since 2018 and loves to talk about science innovation, emerging digital technologies and entrepreneurship. Jenny is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration at Ryerson University in Toronto. She also holds an Honors BSc in Biology (Minor in French Studies) and an Honors Business Administration (HBA) degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

Leslie is a Strategy Associate at FRV. She holds an HBSc in Human Kinetics and is currently a second-year PhD candidate in human health science at the University of Guelph. She has extensive experience across several research disciplines and her current work focuses on the pathological effects of ovarian cancer on heart function. Leslie’s research experiences sparked her interest in gaining a better understanding of innovation and commercialization in the life sciences sector. Leslie is passionate about science communication and building valuable professional skills outside of the lab. She is excited to learn more about startup culture and Canada’s tech ecosystem through her experiences with FRV.

In her free time, you can find Leslie paddling, playing volleyball, or hitting the slopes on her snowboard.

Udichi is a Strategy Associate at FRV. She is currently in her final year of Economics and Financial Management at Wilfrid Laurier University. Udichi developed a great passion for finance and entrepreneurship which propels her to help develop the Canadian VC ecosystem. 

Prior to FVR Udichi expressed her interest in VC by taking entrepreneurship courses, getting involved with Laurier Venture Capital Club, and by being an analyst at Laurier Startup Fund. These experiences have provided her with some knowledge of the VC industry which she is excited to use to contribute to FRV and deepen her understanding of the industry. 

In her free time, Udichi loves to sketch, golf, play basketball with friends, and try new food trucks. 

Cole is a second year student at the University of Toronto studying Industrial Engineering. Cole has been passionate about technology his whole life, and loves to stay up to date with current tech trends. This passion is what lead Cole to the startup word, as he enjoys learning about fascinating new ideas provided by startups. In his free time, you will find Cole at the hockey rink, basketball court, or at home playing Rocket League. 

Katie is a second year student studying Management and Organisational Studies at Western University. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Katie embraces the startup scene given her affinity for fast-paced environments. Through her involvement in school clubs and internships, these experiences helped foster her interest in VC, entrepreneurship and technology. As the contact point of all external relations in Front Row Ventures, Katie takes pride in her ability to cultivate communities and bring people together. Katie hopes that through her efforts, she may inspire more students to consider VC and grow alongside like-minded individuals.

Techie, foodie, everything in between. Passionate about disruptive technologies and fintech.

Tianshi is a member of the Content Team at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. He currently studies Finance at McGill. While at McGill, he wants to explore the different channels that can bring value and impact to society.

Tianshi has a passion for entrepreneurship and social media. He started an Instagram page called @lurescout to learn the ins and outs of optimizing Instagram. He experimented with three different streams of automation and has practiced optimizing posts for more reach and engagement.

Furthermore, Tianshi values being proactive and involved on campus. He believes that students should learn equally as much outside the classroom as they do within.

When he is not working on social media, outreach or getting involved, you can find him at the gym, fishing, or reading a book.

William Lloyd is a second-year student at the University of Toronto.  He is double majoring in History and Peace, Conflict, and Justice studies, and is a member of the Varsity Rowing Team.  William is passionate about current affairs and politics, and has previously had his work published in a variety of outlets, including the Harvard International Review, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, the Princeton Diplomat, and the Oxford Political Review.  At U of T, he is an Opinion Columnist for The Varsity, the school newspaper, and previously served as Co-President of the Model UN Travel Team (UNSOC).