Entrepreneurial stars honoured with inaugural Zone Alumni Recognition Award
Recipients of Zone Learning’s Alumni Recognition Award with provost and vice-president, academic, Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano (right).
This year, Zone Learning at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is celebrating 15 years of helping students and founders pursue their passions.
TMU’s Zones provide programming, resources and support for starting and growing companies and succeeding in entrepreneurship.
New this year is the Zone Alumni Recognition Award, given to five founders and one student who are Zone Learning alumni. The award recognizes individuals who have shown exceptional initiative, innovation and professional growth through their Zone participation.
Learn more about the outstanding recipients and their experiences with Zone Learning below.
Chris Bryson, New School Foods
Science Discovery Zone
Chris Bryson is the founder and CEO of New School Foods.
Already a successful entrepreneur, Chris Bryson founded New School Foods (external link) in 2021 to create innovative plant-based seafood. With help of the Science Discovery Zone (SDZ), he created the world’s first plant-based salmon filet.
For nearly four years, Bryson worked with the SDZ to develop his minimum viable product. He partnered with TMU food science professor Dérick Rousseau (external link) to develop patented technologies. His company has secured up to $16M in funding from investors like IKEA, opened a pilot production facility and launched its plant-based salmon in three Toronto restaurants.
Beyond developing his own company, Bryson mentors TMU students in SDZ programming and helps early stage founders navigate entrepreneurship challenges.
Michael Melville, Superwake
Innovation Boost Zone
Michael Melville is the COO of Superwake.
Michael Melville and his team at Superwake (external link) credit the Innovation Boost Zone (IBZ) with giving them effective business development skills, helping them through startup challenges and facilitating customer networking.
“We came in as a group of engineers with no business background who just wanted to make cool stuff and left with a lot of skills to help grow our business–while still also making cool stuff, so it's best of both worlds,” said Melville.
Superwake develops aerial imaging solutions for researchers and scientists. Their long-range, solar-electric drones have helped with sustainability projects including counting caribou in Manitoba and tracking elk in the Yukon. They currently perform the largest commercial drone surveys globally.
During their time at IBZ, the team raised $350,000 and have since fundraised over a million dollars. They return to campus as guest speakers and inspire aerospace engineering students at TMU.
Ariel Nacson, Jurisage
Legal Innovation Zone
Ariel Nacson is the chief customer officer at Jurisage.
Ariel Nacson co-founded CiteRight, a legal tech company providing AI-powered knowledge tools for litigators. While incubated in the Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ), CiteRite merged with fellow LIZ startup Jurisage AI. Together, their solutions help users synthesize case insights with on-demand summaries and facilitate efficient litigation drafting.
Since graduating from the LIZ, Jurisage (external link) continues to grow, enhance litigation workflows and build international partnerships.
“Outside the incredible opportunities for skills development, being surrounded by like-minded people is absolutely critical at an early stage,” said Nacson of the LIZ. “It’s daunting beyond belief to be an entrepreneur, and being part of a community where there is a hunger for growth helps you cruise through times when you don’t immediately experience much progress.”
Nacson gives back as a speaker and informal mentor to early-stage startups in the LIZ Sprint Studio program. He also designed a bespoke session for new companies in the LIZ Incubate program.
Rose Phull
Science Discovery Zone
Rose Phull is a fifth-year biology co-op student at TMU.
Fifth-year biology student Rose Phull embodies entrepreneurial spirit. As a participant in the SDZ’s Biomakerspace program, she dedicated time to research, challenged herself with new questions, sought feedback and engaged with stakeholders to test her ideas. She also taught herself coding to prototype her ideas.
“The SDZ has been a meaningful part of my undergraduate journey. It’s where I learned the value of building connections, getting involved within the university community and making the most of the resources available to students,” said Phull.
After graduation, Phull wants to work in the biotech, pharmaceutical or healthcare sectors, helping bridge the gap between science and business. She has her sights set on management and leadership roles.
“Ashnie Badal and Paul Hacking have been incredible role models. Through their leadership, expertise and dedication, they’ve shown me the kind of leader I aspire to become,” she said.
Rev. Sky Starr, Out of Bounds
Social Ventures Zone
Rev. Sky Starr is the founder and executive director of Out of Bounds.
Rev. Sky Starr and her organization, Out of Bounds (external link) , provide crisis response, prevention, intervention, education and care to victims and survivors of gun violence. As a pioneer in gun violence response, Out Of Bounds has created a unique niche in this challenging field.
Since completing the Social Ventures Zone program, Rev. Sky has secured significant new funding by effectively communicating the complexities of gun violence and its community impact.
One of the most important things Rev. Sky learned through SVZ was “to honestly and candidly identify our brand, including its strengths and weaknesses,” she said. The zone also helped her rebrand Out of Bound’s logo.
Maayan Ziv, AccessNow
Social Ventures Zone and DMZ
Maayan Ziv is the founder and CEO of AccessNow.
TMU alumni Maayan Ziv (RTA ’12 and Master of Digital Media ’15) is an activist, photographer and entrepreneur. From a young age, she challenged norms and worked to increase awareness of disability issues and improve accessibility. She continues this work as founder of AccessNow (external link) , which was incubated in both the Social Ventures Zone and the DMZ.
AccessNow has become a key resource for accessibility information, empowering people to discover accessible places through technology, events and community-driven experiences. For its 10-year anniversary, AccessNow developed Toronto’s inaugural AccessFest (external link) accessibility festival.
“One of the most important things I learned from being part of both the DMZ and the Social Ventures Zone was the power of the network. Spending time among other entrepreneurs and creators, building relationships, engaging with mentors–it all taught me that the people around you can shape your growth in profound ways. I was constantly inspired and learned so much just by sharing space with generous entrepreneurs and supporters,” said Ziv.