Making a mark on the global stage

Velocity founders navigate opportunities at Collision

Dozens of Velocity founders showcased their innovative businesses and technologies to a global audience at the recent Collision conference in Toronto. 

The tech conference brings together investors, government and major brands, while giving startups global networking and business-building opportunities. 

Luke Young, co-founder and CEO of cleantech company Alora, explained it’s never too early for a company to attend conferences, and Collision is a chance to open up to global markets and governments that otherwise would be difficult to access. 

“From learning and being exposed to different technologies ... you can bring [that] back and fold it into your company, it’s just going to make things faster, smoother and far more relevant than if you were to stay at home,” Young said.

Velocity founders invited to present on the main stage

Some Velocity founders had the opportunity to present on Collision’s main stage, including Sheida Shahi (PhD ‘22), co-founder and CEO of Adaptis. 

She said the company has grown exponentially since attending Collision last year, when she and Aida Mollaei, co-founder and chief technology officer, had just founded the company and joined Velocity.

Since then, Adaptis, whose proprietary, artificial intelligence-driven software enables circularity in construction, has raised a pre-seed round, grown to a team of 22 and has staff working globally on decarbonization and circularity planning with customers in Canada, U.K. and the U.S. 

Shahi said persistence is what helped the company push forward to find success. The co-founders first attended Collision last year when they were new to the ecosystem and just learning the ropes. 

This year, the co-founders were invited to speak about circularity and construction on the main stage. 

“It’s a full circle moment for us,” she said.  

Read more on Waterloo News from Velocity founders attending Collision.

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