NEXT Canada F22 ANNUAL REPORT - Report - Page 4
LETTER FROM THE CEO
F22 was a year of re-familiarizing ourselves with what was
considered ‘normal’, and realizing that ‘normal’ for everyone
had evolved. The pandemic showed us new ways of living and
working, and we are still figuring out what the new normal
will look like.
Last year, as the world opened up once again, we saw changes
reflected in our day-to-day activities. We saw an incremental
return to pre-COVID conditions. People slowly returned to
in-office work, schools opened their classrooms, commuters
boarded trains and subways, and gradually we all began to
feel as if we might be leaving the pandemic behind us.
We at NEXT Canada witnessed the changes first hand through
the eyes of supporters, our colleagues and the entrepreneurs
we serve.
Our F22 program shifted from being entirely virtual to hybrid,
with some of the classes hosted within the NEXT Canada
headquarters, while the others remained virtual. Our team
returned to work from the office, while we explored the
best possible solution to accommodate remote flexibility.
We saw people in the hallways - talking, planning, having
lunch together once again, while simultaneously socializing
and meeting over zoom. We saw the 2022 cohort coming
together, in-person, discussing what they were working on,
talking about the classes, and preparing, just as they had
done virtually the year before.
We realized, with the challenges that came with the ‘new
normal’, our team had to be nimble, our donors had to be
steadfast, and our young entrepreneurs had to be visionary
in the face of changes that were occurring on a daily basis. In
the face of these changes, our entire community stepped up
to the challenges at hand.
We graduated a class of 54 founders, with the program
including guest speakers like Shivon Zillis from Neuralink and
Suzanne Gildert from Sanctuary AI. We expanded our Venture
Day to an entire week with activities and events that engaged
our partners, donors, alumni, advisors, and academics, and of
course our graduating cohort. We got a lot done, and came
together as a community while doing it.
In addition to all of this, we continued to receive financial
contributions from old friends, new supporters and
corporations who look to us as a source of innovation and
inspiration.
This annual report is only a glimpse of what we do, and why
we matter. It would be my pleasure to speak with you directly
about the impact we are making at NEXT Canada, and our
ambitious plans for the years ahead.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
KYLE J WINTERS
CEO, NEXT Canada
Please note that information pertaining to NEXT AI Montreal throughout this report is for contextual purposes only. NEXT AI
Montreal is a separately operated and financially independent entity - operated as part of HEC at the Université de Montréal. We
collaborate on the delivery of our programs under the umbrella brand of NEXT AI.
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