Ventures

Building the conditions where new products and founders can emerge.

Beyond individual products, I’ve helped design venture programs, startup platforms, internal incubators, and civic partnerships that create repeatable paths from idea to execution.

Schulich Startups

Founding team and program manager

Helped build Schulich Startups from the ground up, supporting 150+ student-led ventures through workshops, mentorship, advisor matching, and ecosystem programming.

Digital Mainstreet

Civic startup ecosystem work

Partnered with the City of Toronto, Microsoft, Google, and Shopify to help 500+ small businesses adopt digital tools during COVID.

Telenor Ignite

Global incubator winner

Won Telenor Group’s internal incubator across 13 countries and received USD $10K seed funding to develop Eagle Eye.

Grameenphone DSI

Internal incubator design

Designed the Discover-Sketch-Iterate methodology, trained finalist teams, and mentored 30 individuals on prototyping and validation.

Featured archive

Schulich Startup Night 2021

Startup Night brought together founders, mentors, sponsors, and the Schulich entrepreneurship community. These early archive images capture the ecosystem side of the work: convening people, creating a stage for founders, and helping student ventures build momentum.

Tamzid Azad speaking at Schulich Startup Night 2021
Speaking at Schulich Startup Night 2021.
Award moment at Schulich Startup Night 2021
Startup Night awards and sponsor recognition.