BELIEVING IN YOU
FROM DAY ONE.
HQ
Emmanuelle Coppinger
Managing Director
2021-
Managing Director
2021-
Emmanuelle Coppinger
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.
Raphael Christian-Roy
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2017-
Polytechnique Montréal
National Managing Director @ Real Ventures
2016–
Polytechnique Montréal
Raphael Christian-Roy
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.
Eléonore Jarry Ferron
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2017-
HEC Montréal
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2016–
HEC Montréal
Éléonore Jarry Ferron
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.
Nicolas Synnott
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2017-
Université de Montréal
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2016–
Université de Montréal
Nicolas Synnott
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.
Management Team
Cameron Macdonald
Director of Impact Teams
2020-
McMaster University
Director of Impact Teams
2020-
McMaster University
Cameron Macdonald
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 Dannenbaum
Director of QC Investment Team
2020-
Polytechnique Montréal
Investment Associate
2020-
Polytechnique Montréal
Gabriel Dannenbaum
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 (Jonny) Hsu
Director of ON Investment Team
2019-
University of Waterloo
Investment Associate
2019-
University of Waterloo
Jonathan (Jonny) Hsu
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-Eduard Tizu
Director of Legal Affairs
2021-
Université de Sherbrooke
Director of Legal Affairs
2021-
Université de Sherbrooke
Robert-Eduard Tizu
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 Pirzadah
Director of Business Development Team
2020-
McGill University
Director of Business Development Team
2020-
McGill University
Saud Pirzadah
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 Samson
Director of Portfolio Support Team
2020-
University of Toronto
Platform Associate
2020-
University of Toronto
Tim Samson
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.
Quebec Investment Team
Alexandre Stein
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Université de Montréal
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Université de Montréal
Alexandre Stein
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 Gonthier
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Unversité de Laval
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Unversité de Laval
Antoine Gonthier
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 Spivak
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Brian Spivak
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 Decelles
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Sherbrooke University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Sherbrooke University
Frédérique Decelles
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 Wang
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Jason Wang
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 Bonelli
QC Investment Associate
2020-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2020-
McGill University
Jaya Bonelli
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 Jeanne-Julien
QC Investment Associate
2021-
HEC Montréal
QC Investment Associate
2021-
HEC Montréal
Marc Jeanne-Julien
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 Frances
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Concordia University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
Concordia University
Matthew Frances
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 Kunze–Roelens
QC Investment Associate
2020-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2020-
McGill University
Minalou Kunze–Roelens
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 Bardot-Rabello
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Philippe Bardot-Rabello
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 Nadeau-Labadie
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Pier-Luc Nadeau-Labadie
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 Kirouac-Marcassa
QC Investment Associate
2020-
ESG UQAM
QC Investment Associate
2020-
ESG UQAM
Thierry Kirouac-Marcassa
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 Leone
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Thomas Leone
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 Molina
QC Investment Associate
2021-
University of Montreal
QC Investment Associate
2021-
University of Montreal
Thomas Molina
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 Schmilovich
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
QC Investment Associate
2021-
McGill University
Zoe Schmilovich
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.
Ontario Investment Team
Alex Gouchtchina
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
Alex Gouchtchina
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 Fathollahi
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Western University
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Western University
Ali Fathollahi
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.
Andrew (Doren) Singh
ON Investissement Associate
2021-
McMaster University
ON Investissement Associate
2021-
McMaster University
Andrew (Doren) Singh
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 Abouchacra
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Queen’s University
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Queen’s University
Ashraf Abouchacra
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 Imran
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Fariha Imran
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
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
Jaclyn Chan
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 Zhang
ON Investment Associate
2020-2021
Western University
Partnerships Associate
2020-2021
Western University
Jennifer Zhang
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 Tu
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
Julia Tu
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 Singal
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Queen’s University
ON Investment Associate
2021-
Queen’s University
Patrick Singal
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 Waines
ON Investment Associate
2021-
York University
ON Investment Associate
2021-
York University
Richard Waines
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.
Ridhdi Dave
ON Investissement Associate
2021-
McMaster University
ON Investissement Associate
2021-
McMaster University
Ridhdi Dave
Ridhdhi is currently a Chemical Engineering PhD student at McMaster University. She has a background in Chemical and Bioengineering with a special interest in entrepreneurship and health tech. She is recently working as a Market Access Intern at 20/20 OptimEyes Technologies, a biotechnology start-up originated at McMaster University developing a transformative drug delivery platform for ocular diseases.
Ridhdhi has also completed various commercialization and entrepreneurship programs including Lab2Market-Health, one of Canada’s leading health innovation accelerators launched to accelerate health innovation and support researchers who are addressing pressing problems in the healthcare industry.
In her free time, Ridhdhi enjoys running, hiking, camping, and traveling. Ridhdhi is excited to be a part of the Front Row Ventures team and help support Canadian student entrepreneurs!
Sachin Davis
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Sachin Davis
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.
Valerie Chiu
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Valerie Chiu
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 Siddiqui
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
ON Investment Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Vaneezeh Siddiqui
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.
Founders Support Team
Farhan Khan
Founders Support Associate
2020-
York University
Platform Associate
2020-
York University
Farhan Khan
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 Chodha
Founders Support Associate
2020-
York University
Investment Associate
2020-
York University
Sajal Chodha
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 Wu
Portfolio Support Associate
2021-
University of Western Ontario
Portfolio Support Associate
2021-
University of Western Ontario
Shawn Wu
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.
Businesses Development Team
Enzo Simier
Business Development Associate
2021-
HEC Montreal
Business Development Associate
2021-
HEC Montreal
Enzo Simier
Enzo is a Revenue Associate in Quebec and a first year student at HEC Montreal pursuing a degree in Finance and Economics. He is passionate about biotech, finance, politics, the media industry and entrepreneurship.
He is originally from France, where he joined one of the first student backed and operated fund. He is also involved in politics and news reporting at a national level.
Enzo’s entrepreneurship passion is fuelled by a desire to bring the Canadian and European ecosystem to another level.
Gauthier Daridon
Business Development Associate
2021-
McGill University
Business Development Associate
2021-
McGill University
Gauthier Daridon
Gauthier is a Revenue Associate in Quebec and a fourth-year student at McGill University seeking a degree in Materials Engineering. He is very excited in learning more about the Canadian venture capital ecosystem to make a real impact that will help students launch the start-up of their dreams.
Originally being from France, Gauthier has lived in numerous countries such as Japan, Germany and the United States. These experiences forged Gauthier to become the person he is now: easily adaptable and knowledge thirsty. Currently working on a few side start-up projects with friends, Gauthier truly understands the needs of young entrepreneurs and wants to help them achieve their goals.
Outside of FRV, Gauthier is actively involved in club activities. From being Co-President of the National Organization for Business and Engineering (NOBE), to being VP logistics of the biggest engineering career fair at McGill (TechFair), Gauthier loves the challenges these positions bring and tackles them day by day. In addition to that, Gauthier loves playing sports such as soccer, tennis or lacrosse with his friends to free his mind.
Do not hesitate to reach out to Gauthier as he is always motivated and interested in listening to new business opportunities.
Godwin Chan
Business Development Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Business Development Associate
2021-
University of Toronto
Godwin Chan
Godwin is a PharmD Candidate at the University of Toronto and a Revenue Associate at Front Row Ventures. He has a passion for all things healthcare, content creation, and entrepreneurship. Godwin’s future goal is to build and invest in health tech companies.
Aside from these roles, he is the Marketing & QA Lead for PharmAssess, a pharmacy tech startup that empowers pharmacists to execute advanced clinical services with ease and confidence. Godwin also hosts his own podcast called Digital Introverts, a show where introverts share their success and failure stories and discuss how they thrive in the digital age. Additionally, he is participating in the On Deck Health Fellowship, a continuous remote program for founders, operators, and investors in health tech to learn, network, and grow together.
Outside of school and work, Godwin enjoys reading, writing, chess, poker, Kpop, basketball, and travelling.
Juliana Whamond
Business Development Associate
2021-
Concordia University
Business Development Associate
2021-
Concordia University
Juliana Whamond
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 Gaudioso
Business Development Associate
2021-
McGill University
Business Development Associate
2021-
McGill University
Michael Gaudioso
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 Maheshwari
Business Development Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
Business Development Associate
2021-
University of Waterloo
Tanishq Maheshwari
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.
Impact Team
Adrian Yip
Strategy Associate
2021-
Western University
Strategy Associate
2021-
Western University
Adrian Yip
Adrian is a third-year student in the Honors Business Administration program at the Ivey Business School. Last summer, Adrian completed an internship at Auxo Management where he analyzed different private investment, acquisition and portfolio company expansion opportunities. During the school year, Adrian is a part of Mustang Capital, a student-run hedge fund that manages internally raised capital. There, he witnesses the strength of passionate students united under a goal and has grown to enjoy the collaborative nature of these student-led initiatives similar to FRV.
In his free time, Adrian enjoys practising magic tricks (card tricks/general sleight of hands), playing chess, brainstorming new culinary recipes and discussing legal/political topics with his friends.
Amay Shenoy
Operations Associate
2021–
Western University
Operations Associate
2021–
Western University
Amay Shenoy
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 Vu
Operations Associate
2021–
Western University
Operations Associate
2021–
Western University
Amelia Vu
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.
James Xu
Data Associate
2021-
Duke University
Data Associate
2021-
Duke University
James Xu
James is a Data Associate at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-let venture capital fund. He was born in Palo Alto and raised in Singapore, where he lived for 10 years before moving to Canada.
James is currently a sophomore at Duke University studying economics and computer science. At Duke, he is a member of the Software Engineering team at Duke Applied Machine Learning and is interested in using technology to solve real world problems.
With Front Row, James aims to support the Canadian startup ecosystem through the lens of data analysis. In his free time, James enjoys reading, food, and keeping up with the latest news.
Jasmeen Raghubans
Operations Manager
2021–
York University
Operations Manager
2021–
York University
Jasmeen Raghubans
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 Bicong Ge
Strategy Associate
2020-
Ryerson University
Strategy Associate
2020-
Ryerson University
Jenny Bicong Ge
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 Ogilvie
Strategy Associate
2021-
University of Guelph
Strategy Associate
2021-
University of Guelph
Leslie Ogilvie
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.
Roy Eyono
Data Associate
2021-
McGill University
Data Associate
2021-
McGill University
Roy Eyono
Roy is a Data Associate in Quebec and a PhD Candidate at McGill University and the Quebec Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). He is passionate about advancing human progress through artificial intelligence and championing the FRV mindset across the Canadian startup ecosystem.
He is originally from South Africa and Cameroon, where he realized his calling was to help tackle social problems on the African continent. These experiences help fuel his passion for disruptive technologies and startups.
Beyond FRV, he hosts workshops in Cameroon where they engage in conversation regarding the potential impact of AI technologies in Africa. When not doing research or engaging in the startup ecosystem, he thoroughly enjoys working on voice-over projects and mixing it up on his DJ controller!
Simon Martel
Data Associate
2021-
Bishop’s University
Data Associate
2021-
Bishop’s University
Simon Martel
Simon is currently in his 4th year at Bishop’s University, completing a Finance major with a minor in Computer Science. He believes that financial education is paramount to a successful life and that innovation through technology should be used to give access to the financial world to more people.
At Bishop’s, Simon is involved as VP Relations for the Bishop’s University Commerce Society. He makes it his mission to connect with new people and to build meaningful relationships, all with the purpose of enriching the business student experience at BU.
He is passionate about the power of data analytics and the knowledge waiting to be discovered. HIs role as data associate at FRV aims to support every decision with specific and useful data.
In his spare time, you can find Simon enjoying all that the Eastern Townships have to offer: golfing, biking and skiing are among his favorite activities.
Udichi Tomar
Strategy Associate
2021–
Wilfrid Laurier University
Strategy Associate
2021–
Wilfrid Laurier University
Udichi Tomar
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.
Growth Team
Cole Stotland
Content Associate
2021–
University of Toronto
Content Associate
2021–
University of Toronto
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.
Crystal Correa
Marketing Associate
2021-
York University
Marketing Associate
2021-
York University
Crystal Correa
Graduated from the University of Mumbai with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting & Finance along with acquiring the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA, UK) qualification.
Currently pursuing a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from York University School of Continuing Studies (graduating in April 2022).
~3 years of experience in the Early-stage Start-up, Venture Capital and Private Markets sector.
At Lead Angels Network, for the Western India Region, headed the processes of Deal Sourcing and Research, Deal Structuring and Implementation (preparation of term sheets, assistance in Due Diligence, finalization and negotiations of the Share Subscription and Shareholder Agreements) i.e. end to end process coordination.
Led fundraising of cumulatively ~CAD 620,000 for two early-stage consumer companies.
At The Rainmaker Group, assisted the team in Pre-Investment document creation (Pitch Decks, Data Analysis, Capitalization Tables, etc.), vetting of term-sheets and Post term-sheet legal documentation for funding rounds of ~CAD 35 Million on an average.
Joined an early-stage tech-backed marketing start-up – Wobb as their Growth Lead and played a key role in growing revenues over 10X within a year.
At Wobb, actively led tasks including but not limited to Sales, Client Retention, Market Research and participated in other tasks like Product Testing and Reviewing, Product Iteration ideas, Finance, HR and Investor Relations.
Katie Ko
Partnerships Associate
2021-
Western University
Partnerships Associate
2021-
Western University
Katie Ko
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.
Peter Zhang
Partnerships Associate
2021–
McMaster University
Partnerships Associate
2021–
McMaster University
Peter Zhang
Techie, foodie, everything in between. Passionate about disruptive technologies and fintech.
Tianshi Yuan
Content Associate
2020-
McGill University
Content Associate
2020-
McGill University
Tianshi Yuan
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
Content Associate
2021–
University of Toronto
Content Associate
2021–
University of Toronto
William Lloyd
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).
Alexandre Cardozo
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Université de Montréal
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Université de Montréal
Alexandre Cardozo
Arthur de Vaublanc
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Université du Québec à Montréal
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Université du Québec à Montréal
Arthur de Vaublanc
As a student majoring in International Business at ESG UQAM, Arthur is versatile in many subjects. With his pronounced interest towards entrepreneurship, he wants to pursue a master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Finance in Europe.
Always passionate about new technologies and tech companies, he wants to get more involved in the startup ecosystem of Montreal. He wants to become an entrepreneur, and he is motivated to help founders when the opportunity arises. Front Row Ventures is a concrete way to achieve his goal of being part of the startup ecosystem, improving his skills in venture capital, and providing help and advice to student-entrepreneurs.
Brenden Kumarasamy
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Concordia University
Brenden Kumarasamy
Brenden is obsessed for his love to help others and spreading positivity in the world. Whether it’s volunteering at a charity event or coaching business students on how to present in front of C-level executives, he invests everything he has into every single person he believes in.
He is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Accountancy and is an intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers, an accounting firm. He has also cracked hundreds of business cases and presented solutions in front of judges ranging from Fortune 500 executives to university professors and knows how to get a crowd excited about his ideas.
Front Row Ventures’ business savvy student partner is a TechCrunch addict who spends his days watching videos about technology and brings value to entrepreneurs and business minds alike through his research and acumen.
Dan Cohen
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Dan Cohen
Dan is currently working on his master’s in computational and visual neuroscience at McGill, but is most passionate about applying technology to problems in healthcare. He’s currently a co-founder at InVivo AI, where he and his team are using machine-learning to streamline the pharmaceutical drug development process.
Previously, Dan worked as an analyst at Lumira Capital where he sourced, analyzed, and performed due-diligence on early-stage companies in the biotherapeutics, medical device, and digital health sectors.
At Front Row Ventures, Dan wants to help student entrepreneurs get their healthcare and life-science ventures off the ground. If you’re doing something exciting in the space, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Eliot Mathieu-Proteau
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Université de Sherbrooke
Investment Associate
2018-2019
Université de Sherbrooke
Eliot Mathieu-Proteau
Eliot has a constant desire to help others and build a better world. Being creative and unifying, Éliot loves to get involved in the community to find new ways to improve society. Curious by nature, Éliot is particularly fond of learning by collaborating with others. Outside of work, you will find Éliot at a networking event, a gym or simply over a coffee with his friends.
Currently studying law and MBA, Éliot is passionate about business and technology. Involved as an intern in a startup raising major financing rounds, Éliot wants to share the knowledge acquired in this organization with student entrepreneurs in order to help them build a successful business.
Recognizing the significant challenges of student entrepreneurship, Éliot is motivated by Front Row Ventures’ mission to amplify the potential of student entrepreneurs to transform their bold ideas into cutting-edge startups.
Emily Yau
Community Associate
2019-2020
Western University
Community Associate
2019-
Western University
Emily Yau
Entering her fourth year, Emily is currently pursuing her Honors Business Administration degree at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. She’s passionate about all things entrepreneurship, from ideation to 10x growth.
Throughout her university career, she has been involved with multiple student-run organizations with the goal to inspire young people to pursue careers in tech and entrepreneurship. Her past work experience includes Business Development and Marketing roles in high-growth startups including Toronto-based social ordering app Ritual and fintech rewards app Drop. In her free time, you’ll find Emily writing for her fashion and lifestyle blog, binging TV shows, or working on her personal design and research projects.
Eva Terriault
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Polytechnique Montréal
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Polytechnique Montréal
Eva Terriault
Currently pursuing a bachelor in computer engineering at Polytechnique, Eva’s expertise lies in the technical world. Her various experiences as an intern and a student allowed her to explore and deepen her knowledge of robotics and embedded systems fields. Among other implications, she is the leader of a robotics student club developing an autonomous drone to participate in the International Aerial Robotics Competition every year.
It’s her desire to make a bigger impact that attracted her to the entrepreneurship and VC world. She hopes to help kickstart companies that will have a huge and positive impact on society.
Guillaume Chabot
Investment Associate
2018-2019
HEC Montréal
Investment Associate
2018-2019
HEC Montréal
Guillaume Chabot
Guillaume is a final year student at HEC Montréal pursuing a major in corporate finance and a minor in innovation management. Passionate about Fintech, he had the pleasure to pursue an incubation program at the District 3 Innovation Center to develop a Fintech proof of concept as well as interning in a consulting firm in the digital banking transformation team.
As a global citizen (Canadian, French, Vietnamese), Guillaume was fortunate to spend a semester in Hong Kong where he was involved in the Fintech community there. He is driven by meeting new people as well as talking about new ideas to which can change the way people use their banks.
In the near future, he hopes to work as a venture capitalist to help bright and crazy entrepreneurs willing to change the world with new ideas involving emerging technologies.
Ian Johnson
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Wilfrid Laurier University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Wilfrid Laurier University
Ian Johnson
Ian is currently finishing his undergraduate degree in Business with a concentration in Finance at Wilfrid Laurier University. He first became interested in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital when traveling to Israel in the summer of 2017. Ian’s past experiences include assisting clients with their marketing practices at a boutique management consulting firm and helping Waterloo-based startups grow their businesses with the Laurier Consulting Club.
At Front Row Ventures, Ian wants to help student entrepreneurs pursue their passions and make an impact on their local and global communities. He is most passionate about businesses in the medical diagnostic and FinTech spaces.
Ian MacPherson
Director of Investments
2019-
Ryerson University
Director of Investments
2019-
Ryerson University
Ian MacPherson
Ian is a 3rd year computer science student at Ryerson University with several years of startup experience under his belt.
His first exposure to the tech industry came when he joined Joist, first in a sales position, then later in an IT role. Ian found mentors to foster his passion for programming, and later joined Tread, a construction technology company, as an early team member.
On his own time, Ian has been a software consultant on several projects, launched a mobile game, and has worked as an actor on several network television shows and independent films.
Iftekhar Iqbal
Community Associate
2018-2019
Concordia University
Community Associate
2018-2019
Concordia University
Iftekhar Iqbal
Iftee is a third-year undergraduate student at Concordia University, studying Marketing. He’s an international student from Bangladesh.
He had been part of a social enterprise, Footsteps Organization, back in Bangladesh where he was one of the Directors and Head of IT. He had worked in various social ventures and charity events to give back to the community. While at Concordia, Iftee is currently VP External of a non-profit student organization at school called CASA Cares.
Coming from a developing country, he always had the excitement to learn more about technology and the new tech advancements happening around the globe. He likes to read a lot of articles and watch videos on tech to enhance his knowledge about new inventions.
Beyond this, Iftee always had the passion of event planning and execution. He likes bringing people together to enjoy and have a good time, whether through social events or professional one’s.
Jack Morris
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Jack Morris
Jack is currently pursuing a degree in McGill’s Joint Honors Economics and Finance program with a minor in Computer Science. He has worked for his parents’ small cattle business in California his whole life, which has given him direct insight into both the challenges and benefits of running a business.
Growing up near the heart of Silicon Valley instilled in him a passion for innovative businesses addressing significant problems. Outside of his parents’ business, he has worked for law firms, political organizations, and is part of Canada’s first student-run venture capital firm.
James Quiambao
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Waterloo
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Waterloo
James Quiambao
James is a Computer Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. He worked on products at Top Hat, Human Capital (formerly Nav Talent), and SAP. James previously led the largest student run technology, Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference (CUTC). Leading a team of 25+ students from across the country, a $1xx,xxx budget, and over 300 attendees. James most recently took a semester off to focus on writing and reading. He writes everyday on his blog.
Janna Agustin
Community Associate
2018-2020
McGill University
Community Associate
2018-2020
McGill University
Janna Agustin
Janna is in her fourth year as an undergraduate student at McGill University, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Computer Science.
Like many, the interest she developed in tech and entrepreneurship happened somewhat accidentally. Having been drawn into the challenge of coding in her first year, she became involved in hackathons, learned more about entrepreneurship, and soon she discovered the rapidly growing startup scene in Montreal. She is grateful to have since learned from the abundant resources of talent and experience in this rapidly growing ecosystem.
Janna is especially interested in ventures that are driven by missions of social impact. She is a people person at heart, and loves to learn from those who are passionate about what they do. On her own time, she makes music and reads novels.
Jazna Rossi
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Jazna Rossi
Jazna has completed her double major, in Finance and International Business, at the John Molson School of Business. Having worked as Startup Journey Coordinator at District 3 Innovation Center for the past year, she has a deep understanding on the Startup’s Journey allowing her to develop and implement solutions to solve any problem that startups, coaches, and/or experts may have.
At FRV, Jazna is looking to connect people together and help make an impact in the community.
Joyce Shi
Community Associate
2019-2020
University of Waterloo
Community Associate
2019-
University of Waterloo
Joyce Shi
Currently, Joyce is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Last year she completed an internship as a Program Analyst with C100, a non-profit organization working to support, inspire and connect promising Canadian entrepreneurial leaders. Currently, she is working on honing her technical skillset by interning for a fintech startup as a Software Developer.
Joyce is passionate about all things tech-related; whether it’s well-built software, exciting venture opportunities or unexplored diversity initiatives. As she joins Front Row Ventures’ Community Team, she is looking forward to better understanding how we, as an industry, can foster a more inclusive community for underrepresented groups.
Kat Svikhnushin
Director of Community
2017-2018
McGill University
Director of Community
2017-2018
McGill University
Kat Svikhnushin
Laura Connolly
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Laura Connolly
Laura is a 21-year-old engineering student finishing up her fourth year of Electrical Engineering at Queen’s University with a specialisation in Biomedical engineering. She is passionate about giving students the opportunity and support to pursue new ventures and is particularly excited about looking for new ventures in medical technology and development.
Since May of 2018, Laura has been a student researcher at the Perk Lab on Queen’s campus where she has been closely involved in the development of data collection automation and machine learning projects. Laura is excited to bring her unique technical perspective to the FRV team and is looking forward to learning more about the business development side of venture capital.
Liat Fainman-Adelman
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Liat Fainman-Adelman
Liat is a fourth year student in the Queen’s Commerce program. Throughout high school she founded five different startups through various incubator programs, some of which have been featured on national news sites and catered to Fortune 500 customers. At Queen’s, Liat has been involved with the QUIC – a 30-person counsel with $1.4M AUM – and QTMA – a tech-focused product development and incubator program.
Work-wise, Liat spent her 2017 summer as the first Analyst Intern at iNovia Capital – a full-stack Montreal-based VC with $900M across three funds. Last summer, she was selected as one of 15 Canadian students to receive sponsorship for a work term in Asia through the SF-based Cansbridge Fellowship. After months of recruiting, she was hired as the first international intern at Grab – Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant and most successful startup ($10B valuation) – working on the company’s post-Uber acquisition strategy. This summer, Liat served as an Associate Consultant Intern at Bain. In her free time, Liat enjoys making dumplings, doing layout for Muse Magazine, and attending funk/r&b/techno concerts.
Loic Souetre
Investment Associate
2017-2018
HEC Montréal
Investment Associate
2017-2018
HEC Montréal
Loic Souetre
Loic holds a bachelor in Entrepreneurship and Finance from HEC Montreal and has been through Stanford in Tech Entrepreneurship.
He is the founder of Younity, a matchmaking platform for roommates based on human factors, targeting private and universities residences. Prior to joining FRV, he also co-founded YEP, the largest student entrepreneurship club in Montreal and was a TEDx speaker at the latest edition in Montreal.
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.
Lucas Sekkat
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Lucas Sekkat
As a student in Finance and Economics at John Molson School of Business, Lucas has been able to touch many essential subjects in the entrepreneurial field. Having a great interest in venture capital, he wants to continue his career towards this area.
Being passionate about FinTech, and new technologies Lucas wants to get more involved in the startup ecosystem of Montréal. He believes Front Row Ventures is a great and practical way to enter the startup ecosystem and to gain skills in venture capital.
Makoto Rheault-Kihara
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
McGill University
Makoto Rheault-Kihara
Makoto studies in International Business at McGill, but he is passionate about growth marketing. He’s currently Director of Marketing at Seahub, a new cruise booking site part of the Momentum Travel group, which includes sites like Flighthub and Justfly and has over 700 employees.
Makoto was previously at Busbud, the bus OTA with the largest coverage in the world. He worked in a two-person team focused on paid acquisition, helping Busbud reach hundreds of thousands of travelers every month.
As Front Row Ventures’ Partner at McGill, his goal is to help develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem at McGill and solidify Montreal’s position as a tech hub.
Matthew Dickinson
Investment Associate
2018-2020
McGill University
Investment Associate
2018-2020
McGill University
Matthew Dickinson
Matthew can be characterized by his love for computers, systems and software. Since he was young, he has always found himself tinkering and playing with various pieces of technology in his spare time, whether that be building computers, coding or looking for ways to improve his life, and the lives of those around him, with technological tools. As he grew up, his passion for technology only increased and was later joined by a love for business, inspired by entrepreneurs both from his personal life and those whose ideas have drastically changed the way we live and work around the globe.
Matthew is entering his 4th year as an undergraduate at McGill, studying Information Systems and Computer Science. He has spent the past few years searching for interesting ideas, people and experiences, including a semester at the National University of Singapore and working with various non-profits. In the future, he hopes to apply his technical knowledge and business education to build and work with industry shaping technology within the cybersecurity, productivity or business intelligence software spaces.
Nazuk (Naz) Thakkar
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Nazuk (Naz) Thakkar
Having lived in Singapore for 6 years, Naz brings a fresh perspective to the FRV team from her diverse experiences living in South East Asia. Having now completed her second year studying Commerce at Queen’s University, Naz is the youngest member on the Front Row team with a passion for learning and a growing interest in VC.
Last summer she worked as an associate with Trend Forward Capital, an American tech venture capital company in New York City. Having worked with Trend Forward at Las Vegas’ notorious Consumer Electronics Show in 2019, Naz has had experience working and meeting with various entrepreneurs and helping host the TFC Investment Pitch-Off Competition. Moreover, having worked with cybersecurity company Trend Micro, she also has experience with machine learning and IoT advances in this space.
With a long-running background in athletics, both playing and coaching soccer as well as powerlifting, Naz has a profound interest in bio-tech and sports technologies. Having also been a frosh representative for Queen’s Social Investment Initiative, the first university-based impact investing organization in Canada, Naz is interested in technology that attacks pressing developmental issues and provides social benefits for global sustainability.
Nicolas (Nic) Theriault
Strategy Associate
2019-2021
Western University
Strategy Associate
2019-2021
Western University
Nicolas (Nic) Theriault
Nicolas is a fourth-year student at Western University currently enrolled both in the HBA and MSc in Digital Management programs at the Ivey Business School. Named three times Academic All-Canadian, Nic is passionate about early stage ventures and their disruptive potential. Leveraging his experience working at Round13 Capital and Fidelity Investments, he is highly motivated about working with ambitious entrepreneurs challenging the status quo. He is fascinated by the growing Canadian tech scene in general but is most interested by the fintech space and AI.
When he is not working on FRV, Nic spends most of his time on the football field as the Team Captain of Western’s Varsity Football Team and a 2021 CFL Draft prospect. Over the last three years, he helped the Mustangs secure two provincial titles and win their first National Championship in 23 years.
Peter Fojtu
Investment Associate
2018-2019
McGill University
Investment Associate
2018-2019
McGill University
Peter Fojtu
Peter is currently in his last year at McGill University, pursuing a major in Finance and a concentration in Accounting. While at McGill, he has been apart of the largest for-profit student-run consulting club: JED. In addition, he has been co-president for the McGill Students Business Review over the past year and a half.
Over the past summer, he worked for a private equity firm in Montreal investing in SaaS companies across North America. Peter is looking to combine his experience with private equity, consulting, and a passion for startups to help invest and guide student companies across Quebec.
Qhalisa Khan
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Waterloo
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Waterloo
Qhalisa Khan
Qhalisa was born and raised in Africa – Kenya tell? She is passionate about creating impact, finding challenge, taking risks and believes that growth comes from “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable”. Qhalisa is a lover of laughter, learning, coffee and puns.
Qhalisa is currently in her final year at the University of Waterloo studying Accounting and Financial Management and has completed a total of four work terms (16 months of work experience) within diverse areas of knowledge: Audit at Ernst & Young, Investments at Manulife, Valuations at OTPP and finally to her true calling, Venture Capital at iGan Partners. This set of holistic experiences has given her a great view from the Front Row, where she hopes to make valuable contributions to bring visions to life.
Qhalisa has developed a passion for being part of the next big thing, evaluating new technologies and being immersed within the rapidly evolving start-up landscape in Canada. She brings her diversity, open-mindedness and unique skillset to the Front Row. She highly values quality of relationships, social capital and is excited to explore the immense opportunities venture capital has to offer. In the long-term, Qhalisa hopes to pursue impact investing in emerging markets.
Rae Liu
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Toronto
Investment Associate
2019-2020
University of Toronto
Rae Liu
Rae is currently finishing her part-time MBA degree at the University of Toronto. She received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance, with Honours, from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia in May, 2016.
Post-graduation, she joined Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc. full-time as a fixed income analyst. She has passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program and may be awarded the charter upon completion of the required work experience. She is also a Leslie Wong Fellow, having participated in UBC’s Portfolio Management Foundation program during her time at Sauder.
Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff, Rae worked as a Summer Investment Analyst at Guardian Capital, RBC Global Asset Management (Phillips, Hager & North) and RP Investment Advisors.
Renaud Dupont
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Université de Sherbrooke
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Université de Sherbrooke
Renaud is part of the Front Row Ventures investment team. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Robotics Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke in his third year. Over the past few years, he has acquired a variety of experiences in biomedical engineering, autonomous navigation and startups during several internships and extracurricular involvement. His ambition is to contribute to the development of new technologies that will allow humans to improve their quality of life and accomplish extraordinary projects. He joined Front Row Ventures to propel innovative projects that have the potential to change the world.
Sean Monteiro
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Queen’s University
Sean Monteiro
Calgary born and Saudi raised, Sean is a fourth year biomechanical engineering student at Queen’s University with a strong interest in high growth entrepreneurship and corporate innovation. Having spent time researching wrists at the Human Mobility Research Lab, Sean used his knowledge to build assistive devices that he has presented globally. Continuing to have an international impact, he has participated in many Canadian leadership programs including being 1 of 15 selected for the Cansbridge Fellowship and 1 of 36 selected for the Next 36.
Corporate wise, Sean has worked with GM’s autonomous division and found a knack for innovative problem solving where he managed an internal venture ($100MM+ ARR), accrued four patents, and was the youngest IP holder within GM North America during his time at the company. He later worked at CIRC e-scooters where he managed Nordic Strategy and the city of Stockholm- scaling them from two scooters to being one of the company’s most profitable cities prior to their acquisition by Bird micromobility. In his free time Sean enjoys playing rugby and exploring the outdoors.
Shiyan Boxer
Data Associate
2019-2021
Queen’s University
Data Associate
2019-2021
Queen’s University
Shiyan Boxer
Shiyan is currently entering her second year at Queen’s University in Computer Engineering and Innovations. Her program incorporates the design thinking and technical aspects of engineering with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation.
Shiyan is excited to be joining Front Row Ventures and looks forward to the opportunity of working with like-minded individuals who are interested in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. She is eager to learn and become involved with her team by empowering Canadian student start-ups.
Shiyan is passionate about Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Entrepreneurship, Music and the Arts. Recognizing the power of innovation and technology to change the world for the better, her long term goal is to start an AI company focusing on improving the environment. Shiyan aspires to use her skills and knowledge to develop a unique product and/or service that will enhance people’s lives.
Simon Chamarro
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Université de Sherbrooke
Simon Chamarro
Simon is a member of the Quebec Investment Team at Front Row Ventures and a 3rd-year Robotics Engineering student at the University of Sherbrooke.
Simon is passionate about developing robots to solve significant problems and build a better world. Last summer, he had the chance to learn from great mentors while conducting research at Mila, Quebec’s Artificial Intelligence Institute, and he is now at Huawei, working on self-driving technology.
Simon was introduced to the entrepreneurial ecosystem through events such as the Startup Weekend, which he attended and then organized. He now wants to help propel Canadian student entrepreneurs with Front Row Ventures.
Steve Joseph
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Brock University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Brock University
Steve Joseph
Steve is an enthusiastic student in his fourth year of the BBA Co-op program – Goodman School of Business at Brock University. He is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs and helping them achieve their goals and dreams. Steve is especially interested in SaaS and Fintech companies.
Prior to joining FRV, Steve completed a one year commercial banking internship with the Business Development Bank of Canada. The BDC is the only bank exclusively devoted to entrepreneurs in Canada. After the internship, Steve joined the BDC IT Venture Fund as a Co-op Junior Analyst. While working with IT Venture Fund, he was exposed to the VC-Tech ecosystem and due diligence process. Steve is currently doing a co-op term with the Brokerage Operations Team at Wealthsimple.
Outside of school and work, Steve can be found biking, playing various sports, practicing violin, and enjoying a good book.
Sunny Wang
Community Associate
2019-2020
Western University
Community Associate
2019-
Western University
Sunny Wang
Entering her second year at Western University, Sunny is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in History, Philosophy and Business. She’s an avid fan of all things tech, and having spent consecutive summers immersed in the Toronto startup ecosystem, a proponent for supporting early-stage entrepreneurs.
Sunny is currently interning at Crescendo, a diversity tech firm backed by Next36, Techstars, and the DMZ. In school, she serves as President of The Pre-Business Students’ Network, Western’s largest undergraduate business club, and is an active contributor to the Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab’s Canadian Fintech Project. She’s excited to be a part of Front Row Venture’s Community Team, and looks forward to supporting the organization’s expansion into Ontario universities.
In her free time, Sunny spends time at the gym, with friends, or with a good book in hand.
Théo Fregefond
Investment Associate
2019–2020
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
Investment Associate
2019–2020
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
Théo Fregefond
Théo is part of the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures in Montreal.
With an Embedded system engineering background, he is finishing his academic training with a Master in Management of Innovation at École de Technologie Supérieure of Montreal.
Open to various technologies, he studied Integrated Circuit Design in the Engineering Faculty of Lund in Sweden and have a deep understanding of the Artificial Intelligence’s potential and challenges with working experience in human displacement prediction in the French Start-up Innoside.
Inspired by the power of ideas and the benefit of innovation at all levels of society, he invests his energy and his time to today’s entrepreneurs who will support the sustainable development of tomorrow’s word.
Therence Bois
Director of Investment
2017-2018
Université de Montréal
Director of Investment
2017-2018
Université de Montréal
Therence Bois
Therence recently started his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular medicine at Université de Montréal. This life-sciences geek is passionate about disruptive technologies in the healthcare space and is currently developing an AI-powered drug development platform in his spare time.
Whether helping to bring the lean startup methodology to the MT Lab or volunteering at FounderFuel Demo Day, Therence is always happy to get involved with the startup community. As the Partner of UQAM-ESG-ÉTS cluster, he hopes to help develop the startup culture on campus while building bridges throughout the entire Montreal ecosystem.
Tim Beiko
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2017-2018
Concordia University
Tim Beiko
Back in Montréal after spending the past few years abroad, Tim has launched his own startup out of Southeast Asia, spent a year studying in the Bay Area, and interned both as a product manager at Google and developer at Shopify. He is currently completing up his Computer Science degree, with a focus on Machine Learning.
He is interested in the intersection of AI research and product, blockchain and cryptocurrency, and entrepreneurship. At FRV, he serves as a venture partner, where he advises partners on specific deals, and works on internal processes.
Ulrike Wachter
Investment Associate
2018-2019
McGill University
Investment Associate
2018-2019
McGill University
Ulrike Wachter
Ulrike is currently in her second year at McGill University, pursuing a triple concentration in Finance, Business Analytics, and Strategic Management. She grew up in different countries, and spent most of her childhood in Asia and the Middle East.
She has a long standing interest in research and data analytics and is working closely with the CISSS de Laval to find ways to optimize patient pathways for chronic diseases.
Also very interested in Consulting, she is part of North America’s third largest student-run consulting group, called JED.
She is hoping to combine her interest in technology and consulting in her future career. This summer, she will be working at an IoT startup in Berlin for 4 months.
Victor Gardrinier
Investment Associate
2017-2018
HEC Montréal
Investment Associate
2017-2018
HEC Montréal
Victor Gardrinier
Armed with the experience acquired at Stanford (Tech Innovation) and Microsoft UK (Retail Sales – W10, Xbox, Surface), Victor is considering a career in entrepreneurship.
Finishing his degrees in Finance and Applied Mathematics @HEC, this film music/martial arts maniac is passionate about meaningful technological disruption.
His other hobbyhorse is preparing student entrepreneurs to face the real world. He initiated pitch sessions and coding workshops in his university to help and unite the entrepreneurial community in Montreal.
Victor Prats Ladous
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Concordia University
Victor Prats Ladous
Victor is part of the investment team and a 3rd-year Mechanical Engineering Student at Concordia. He has always been passionate about entrepreneurship impacting every choice that he makes! Prior to Front Row, Victor led a team at the 2018 ActInSpace hackathon all the way to the international finals in France as the official Canadian team. With this experience, he got to work with the Canadian Government, the Canadian and French space agencies as well as District3. He also worked at Defnitechs, a startup developing a new generation of drones to autonomously inspect radio towers. He was in charge of one of their MVPs and fully developed a robot. \
He is also a McGill alumnus!
Feel free to reach out!
Cam Rzadki
Director of Investment
2018-2020
University of Toronto
Director of Investment
2018-2020
University of Toronto
Cam Rzadki
Cam is currently completing his MSc in Applied Computing at the University of Toronto, is a strategy analyst at Georgian Partners in Toronto, and holds a BSc in Biochemistry from McMaster University and an HBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University.
Prior to joining FRV, he worked as an investment banking analyst and venture manager covering the digital health and biotechnology spaces. Cameron has worked in a variety of technical roles in fields ranging from cancer therapeutics R&D to medical device commercialisation.
Jason Cho
Director of Community
2019-2020
Western University
Director of Community
2019-2020
Western University
Jason Cho
Jason is currently completing his undergraduate degree at the Ivey Business School. With the goals of creating his own edtech venture focused on mobilizing First Nations education in the future, he has held various roles in technology, finance, and start-ups, and currently sits on the Advisory Committee for Waterfront Toronto.
Prior to joining FRV, Jason worked at the trading desks at CIBC World Markets’ fintech arm, kicked-off Brightspark Ventures’ Platform strategy, established NEXT Canada’s health/biotech accelerator program (now, the CAN Health Network), and worked with the finance team of two at League in 2017.
Alexander (Alex) Banh
Investment Associate
2019-2021
Queen’s University
Investment Associate
2019-2021
Queen’s University
Alexander (Alex) Banh
Since finishing his two undergraduate degrees from Queen’s University in 2015, Alex has worked in investment banking at the Bank of Montreal, helped Amazon-backed ecobee raise their $100 million+ Series C, completed a Fellowship at the MaRS Discovery District, and is currently a Principal at Fulcrum Technology Holdings, an emerging technologies-focused merchant bank. At Fulcrum, he specializes in mergers & acquisitions, fundraising, and strategy, particularly for AI- and IoT-enabled investee companies.
He is currently enrolled in the Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence program at Queen’s, sponsored by the Vector Institute. Outside of his coursework and day job, he also leads Business Development at the Queen’s University Alternative Assets Fund which manages a part of the university’s endowment.
Cole Bradley
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Ryerson University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
Ryerson University
Cole Bradley
Cole Bradley is a dedicated student in his junior year in Accounting and Finance, Ryerson University. With a diverse set of industry experiences, Cole has been able to development an understanding of financial institution of all sizes. This includes research in public equities with Pennock Idea Hub, operations within the Royal Bank of Canada and, venture capital management at Generation Ventures.
Cole has always had a strong interest in entrepreneurship. Through running a small lawn care business during high school, aiding in the international expansion of Pennock Idea Hub, and co-founding his own business within iBoost he has learned to develop ideas and innovative thought.
In Front Row Ventures, Cole brings strong financial and operational understanding to the team as he approaches every opportunity optimistically. His goal is to aid the team through process analysis to provide solutions to potential inefficiencies via the application of new technology, and connecting with talented individuals and teams.
Eric D’Souza
Investment Associate
2019-2020
York University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
York University
Eric D’Souza
Eric D’Souza is currently finishing his undergraduate business degree at the Schulich School of Business – York University. With his focus placed in Economics and Marketing he intends to pursue a career in product management in the fintech space. Over the years, he has worked in product in various capacities from leading a product team at Nugget.ai to working at Mylo.ai as an intern this past summer launching two products and working on algorithms with the company.
He is currently the founder of Blunt Tales a platform that helps promote creative individuals in universities. In his spare time, Eric indulges in trying new things be it travelling, monochrome photography, sharing an obsessive yet unhealthy habit of grabbing burritos at ungodly hours, or now as he calls it being an aspiring music producer.
Bosko Dzepina
Investment Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Bosko Dzepina
Bosko is a 3rd-year economics major at McGill University. He has experience in corporate development, economic research, and strategy consulting, and has worked in industries ranging from manufacturing to telecommunications. Outside of Front Row Ventures, he is involved in health economics research at McGill University. He is interested in topics at the intersection of technology, economics, and healthcare.
Dennis Zabeida
Investment Associate
2019-2020
HEC Montréal
Investment Associate
2019-2020
HEC Montréal
Dennis Zabeida
Dennis is currently on the Investment Team at Front Row Ventures and is also a Partnerships Intern at Mila – Quebec AI Institute.
Dennis has held intern positions in AI Strategy at Deloitte Omnia, and in Small and Medium Enterprise Financing at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), where he discovered his passion for advising and helping entrepreneurs.
Dennis is an avid traveler and is always glad to swap travel stories over a glass of soju (a taste he developed while on exchange in Asia).
Dennis strongly believes in the potential of start-ups in solving complex social problems through innovation and entrepreneurship and is always keen to meet inspiring entrepreneurs.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to him!
Elisha Krauss
Investment Associate
2019–2020
McGill University
Investment Associate
2019–2020
McGill University
Elisha Krauss
Elisha is a master of neuroscience student at McGill University, and Front Row Venture’s resident biomedical expert. He has received gold medals in provincial, national, and international science competitions. He has conducted research in prestigious world-class laboratories such as the Krembil Research Institute, Queen’s and McGill University, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). One highlight of his research experience was conducting an experiment testing changes in DNA Polymerase function in zero gravity aboard the National Research Council’s Dassault Falcon 20 jet. He gained first-hand start-up experience when he developed and patented a hormone biosensor.
Etienne Lee
Community Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Community Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Etienne Lee
Etienne is currently in his fourth year at McGill studying history and political science. As part of the community team, Etienne is excited to help construct a robust and diverse community of like-minded student entrepreneurs. In addition, he hopes to promulgate the potential and creativity of student entrepreneurs to formulate solutions to address today’s complex issues by leveraging technology.
Aside from his daily routine of readings, Etienne goes hiking and exploring the field of intellectual property by more reading. At some point, he hopes to cross one of his items in his bucket list, to complete the Camino de Santiago.
Kevin Bélanger
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Laval University
Investment Associate
2019–2020
Laval University
Kevin Bélanger
Ambitious young professional, Kevin has a computer science background. During his bachelor’s, he established his first commercial mission to Germany with the help of the MCUL for the startup Vrvana, now acquired by Apple.
He then began his MBA in Electronic Business at Laval University. He pursued studies at recognized universities in Taiwan, Norway, China, Germany and Mexico where he took courses given by recognized entrepreneurs, CEO, and strategists.
He also began his participation in numerous strategy case competitions and decided to continue his studies by starting a second MBA in Global Business. He took the opportunity to win several titles in strategic case competition across the globe and participated in the World Economic Forum in 2018.
Kevin was selected to be one of the 100 students invited to the MBA World Summit 2018 in Cape Town. He is now the Vice-Curator of the Global Shapers Quebec City hubs.
Maanav Sunderaraman
Investment Associate
2019–2020
McGill University
Investment Associate
2019–2020
McGill University
Maanav Sunderaraman
Maanav Sunderaraman is a 3rd-year student at McGill University pursuing a double major in Economics and Computer Science. He caught the startup bug early in high school when he worked for an entrepreneurship-focused non-profit and proceeded to win the World Series of Innovation. From there, he dove headfirst into the Montreal startup-ecosystem. Maanav is currently building his own startup, Field AI, where he licenses proprietary datasets to AI startups. Prior to joining FRV, Maanav split his time between Montreal startups, non-profit groups, and student organizations at McGill University. He gained a diverse set of skills through his product management and business development roles at startups. He’s also worked as a research intern for a scientific think tank, and as the Director of Research for an educational non-profit. Outside of hackathons and startup events, you can find Maanav enjoying trivia, exploring new restaurants, or listening to the latest Kanye album
Maher Akhtar
Investment Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Investment Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Maher Akhtar
Maher is a senior at McGill University and is pursuing Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Finance. He loves learning about advances in engineering and dreaming about future tech. He has a keen interest in investments of all kinds.
Michaela Deneva
Director of Impact Teams
2019-2021
McGill University
Director of Impact Teams
2019-2021
McGill University
Michaela Deneva
Michaela is a third-year undergraduate student at McGill University, pursuing a double major in Economics and Computer Science. Working in the corporate finance industry over the past few summers, she has gained experience in asset management and business development in Europe, in particular sales forecasts, performance analytics, and strategic planning.
As Program Coordinator at the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship for the past two years, Michaela has worked directly with 55+ startups across different fields from DeepTech to social innovation. She is among the team mentors for Innovation Driven (IDE) and Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) for the McGill Dobson Cup 2020 and Lean Startup Program 2019.
Prior to joining Front Row Ventures, Michaela worked at the intersection of technological innovation and social finance. She has previous experience in project development as the McGill Chapter President for Enactus Canada, one of the largest incubators for student-initiated projects and startups worldwide.
Niv Turecki
Investment Associate
2019-2021
Concordia University
Investment Associate
2019-2021
Concordia University
Niv Turecki
Niv Turecki is a 3rd-year student at the John Molson School of Business. He began at Front Row Ventures running partnerships for the community team, before transferring to the investment team. A long time cynic of large organizations, Niv wanted to join FRV to help create a genuine movement. He sees himself as a builder wanting to help organizations with forward-thinking values.
Philippe Miller
Community Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Community Associate
2019-2020
McGill University
Philippe Miller
Philippe is a 2nd-year Finance student at McGill University, with a minor in computer science. He is deeply interested in learning about what makes founders tick and how they use technology to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
Philippe had his first run as an entrepreneur when he founded his food services Business, Miller’s Munchies. Philippe’s more recent experience working at an up and coming MedTech Startup confirmed that he wanted to commit himself to help entrepreneurs develop innovative and disruptive companies.
When Philippe is not busy studying or working at FRV, he can be found enjoying the outdoors. Philippe welcomes any outdoor adventure! Some of his past challenges include a 42-day canoe trip and competing with a team in the Canadian Death Race to raise money for charity.
Eléonore Jarry Ferron
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2017-
HEC Montréal
Co-Founder @ Front Row Ventures
2016–
HEC Montréal
Éléonore Jarry Ferron
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.
Matthew He
Director of Investments
2019-2021
McGill University
Director of Investments
2019-2021
McGill University
Matthew He
Matt is the Director of Investments of Quebec, and a senior at McGill University where he is pursuing a degree in Microbiology & Immunology and Computer Science. He’s passionate about people, both in finding the best founders in startups and in building the strongest team at Front Row.
Prior to FRV, he co-founded and led Blockchain at McGill, a non-profit of 30 students that brought blockchain education and research to McGill. He worked as FounderFuel’s first Business Development Associate, where he worked closely with early-stage startups to solve problems and accelerate growth.
Don’t be shy to reach out, coffee chats are always welcome!
Jennifer Zhang
ON Investment Associate
2020-2021
Western University
Partnerships Associate
2020-2021
Western University
Jennifer Zhang
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.
Aman Mathur
Investment Associate
2020-2021
University of Waterloo
Investment Associate
2020-2021
University of Waterloo
Aman Mathur
Aman is a Systems Design Engineering student at the University of Waterloo with a background in front-end development, product design, and product management across multiple industries. At Waterloo, Aman has also helped organize Hack the North, Canada’s biggest hackathon.
He recently completed an internship at Cognite, an industrial digitalization startup in Oslo. Currently, he is a PM intern at Autodesk helping ship products in the construction tech industry. In the past, he has also been a part of the Toronto startup ecosystem at Senso.AI and Polar. Aman has had a chance to work at companies of many scales and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to build successful products.
In his free time, Aman enjoys playing basketball, practicing mindfulness, and reading about the latest product trends. Aman is excited to be a part of the Front Row Ventures team and help grow the Canadian student tech ecosystem.
Chloe Hung
Business Development Associate
2020-2021
Queen’s University
Business Development Associate
2020-2021
Queen’s University
Chloe Hung
Chloe is entering her third year at Queen’s University and pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Smith School of Business. Chloe is motivated to amplify solutions that tackle complex problems in an impactful way. After interning at a tech startup last summer, Chloe was inspired to build her computing skills and join Canada’s first student-run AI incubator, inQUbate. This summer, Chloe is interning at Good & Well, and impact investment firm.
Chloe is eager to continue exploring student entrepreneurship and venture capital at FRV. In her spare time, you can find Chloe taking photos of people and life, drinking a cup of coffee, or jogging in the neighbourhood.
Claire Sun
Marketing Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Marketing Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Claire Sun
Claire is a member of the Marketing Team at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. She studies Economics and Mathematics at McGill. With passion in areas related to digital marketing and venture capital, she has been keen to explore and implement creative strategies to grow and manage personal and professional brands.
Prior to FRV, she has worked as VP Marketing for Global China Connection, a nonprofit organization that connects future leaders from all nations and assists them in developing skills and friendships necessary to succeed both in China and internationally, where she gained first-hand experience in content creation and brand management.
Meanwhile, she also pays great attention to economic inequalities and international development and has been eager to bring new technology that can help with solving these issues.
Ece Ozer
Partnerships Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Partnerships Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Ece Ozer
Ece is a member of the Partnerships Team at Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund. She studies Economics and Political Science at McGill University and is passionate about creating and building new communities.
Having worked in a tech start-up, Ece recognizes that a strong team is the baseline of every innovative product’s success. With this in mind, she focused on community-building and networking throughout her undergrad. This inspired her to initiate McGill’s first public-speaking club, Speak to Lead, through which she has helped numerous students develop their public speaking and leadership skills.
Prior to FRV, she worked as a Student Brand Ambassador for the multinational test company, Kaplan Test Prep, where she still helps students access free resources and provides guidance on graduate school applications.
When she’s not working, you can find Ece running at the park or watching “The Office” over and over again.
Emily Stotland
Investment Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Investment Associate
2020-2021
McGill University
Emily Stotland
Emily is an engineering student at McGill University and a current member of the Investment Team at Front Ventures, Canada’s first student-led venture capital fund.
Emily’s experiences range from healthcare resea