Whether you are a student or a full-time founder, Velocity can help.
Our programs
Velocity offers programs for all stages of your journey.
Gain access to connections, practical and authentic business expertise, a deeply supportive community, space to build a team and develop products, and risk-tolerant capital.
For full-time founders For Waterloo campusFor full-time founders
Velocity Incubator
Located at the heart of Kitchener’s Innovation District, the Velocity Incubator offers flexible support for early-stage founders solving the world’s greatest challenges.
Velocity provides early-stage founders (seed and pre-seed) with expert advice and connections to investors, advisors, and other key stakeholders. Velocity founders also join a supportive community of founders at similar stages, allowing them to share knowledge and network with peers.
Learn more about the Velocity Incubator program
Venture Ready
Our Venture Ready program is a short program that helps founders assess whether their company has the potential to be venture-funded. Learn how to attract venture capital investors and start-up grants, receive advice from our expert mentors on how to build a team, solve early business building challenges, connect with industry experts and key stakeholders.
Participants will be invited to join the Velocity startup ecosystem, access our resources and facilities, receive milestone-based advisory and can start to build connections with other Velocity founders.
Apply to Venture Ready
Up Start
Up Start is for Waterloo students and recent graduates who want to transform their work into real world commercial ventures.
Whether you are working on a graduate degree or capstone project, we want to accelerate your success and help you make an impact on the world.
Learn more about Up Start
Velocity Fund
The Velocity Venture Fund provides high-potential teams with risk-tolerant capital. The Velocity Fund invests in early-stage (pre-seed or seed) companies capable of driving positive, large-scale, global impact through technology, scientific discoveries, and meaningful engineering innovation.
The Velocity Fund committee reviews all applications to the Velocity Incubator program.
Learn more about the Velocity Fund
Southwestern Ontario Health Innovation Partnership
Our mission is the creation and growth of health startups in Southern Ontario. Velocity, WesternU and MIX are working together to provide health innovators with access to critical infrastructure, lab equipment, startup/scaleup support services, funding, and connections to healthcare clinicians and workers.
Learn more about SOHIPFor Waterloo Campus
Cornerstone
Cornerstone is the culmination of the student entrepreneurial process. Test your business ideas by finding and speaking directly with customers.
Validate your business plan and gain firsthand knowledge of your target market while joining a network of founders to share knowledge and resources.
Learn more about Cornerstone
Velocity $5K Pitch Competition
The Velocity $5K pitch competition offers the opportunity for University of Waterloo student-led teams with innovative solutions and high potential business ideas to showcase their hard work and compete for grant funding.
Participants receive valuable feedback, pitching experience, and idea validation from a network of experienced entrepreneurs and Velocity coaches.
Learn more about the Pitch Competition1:1 coaching
Our network of coaches includes a variety of individuals made up of founders, small business owners, early employees from successful startups, and experienced entrepreneurs.
They are available to meet on-on-one or in a small group to discuss your startup ideas and aspirations and help guide you to turning your concept into a reality.
Learn more about coaching
Launch Sessions
Each term, we hold Launch Sessions on a variety of topics that will inspire and inform you. Topics range from founders speaking about their grand successes and epic failures to learning how to ace a 3-minute Y-Combinator style pitch.
Our sessions are open to all University of Waterloo students, as well as members of the community. No prior knowledge or idea is required – just come out, have fun and learn something!
Learn more about Launch Sessions
Problem Lab
The Problem Lab identifies and understands important problems to create innovations with disruptive economic and social consequences.
We help established organizations, newly created ventures, and aspiring entrepreneurs recognize obstacles.
Learn more about Problem Lab
The Zero Experience
Don’t know where to start?
Powered by the Faculty of Math and open to all students, the Zero Experience gives you the problem-solving tools to let you make an impact now and discover what you want alongside hundreds of your peers.
You’ll learn how to innovate through six workshops full of intensive problem analysis, solution ideation, networking, self-reflection, and teamwork. Join one of the most popular student innovation programs in UW’s history now!
Learn more about The Zero ExperienceZero Work
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed?
In just a single weekend, Zero Work gives you the clarity and tools to find the career you’ll love.
You’ll learn how to craft ironclad resumes and deliver memorable interviews, network without feeling like a fraud, recover when you’re burned out and discover what you want. Join hundreds of your peers in this terms’ upcoming Zero Work weekend!
Learn more about Zero Work
WIN / Velocity scholarship
The WIN-Velocity Scholarship supports research-based master’s students from the University of Waterloo looking commercialize their research and build a deep-tech start-up company.
Selected students will receive support from Velocity and funding from the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN).
Learn more about the WIN | Velocity scholarship
Campus Ambassadors
The Velocity Campus Ambassadors engage, support and connect students with entrepreneurship experiences that help foster ambitious ideas.
Ambassadors are on campus weekly to hand out swag, talk, support & plan events, build community and more!
Learn more about campus ambassadors