Background and Experience Second-to-last year at Waterloo (5-year program) Both parents are software engineers; interest in building started at age 13 Joined DMZ (Canada’s largest university startup incubator) in middle school Interned at 2 startups in high school; continued at startups through university Recent internships: Clover Labs: GTM-focused role Rootly (YC): AI SRE platform, similar to PagerDuty/Incident.io Built a concussion recovery app last summer 2 months to build and market; scaled to 10,000 users 30K Instagram followers helped drive viral growth National-level competitive soccer player; still plays twice a week What He’s Looking For Startups that move fast and are AI-native Wants to learn and ship, not navigate bureaucratic processes Prefers Series A/B teams that have proven they know what they’re doing Open to SWE, GTM, and FDE roles; enjoys wearing multiple hats At Rootly, proactively sat in on AE sales calls out of interest Prefers startups over big tech for now; may consider big tech later for exposure Long-term goal: found his own startup or join as a founding engineer Inspired by Rootly’s $10M ARR and the idea of building something that impacts millions Availability and Logistics Looking for a fall internship, but open to full-time Proposed model: full-time in fall, reduced hours during winter school term, full-time again in summer Recruiter (Bahlsahej) is placing candidates at multiple startups: Revel, Poetic, Open Evidence, and others Will follow up if there’s a match Next Steps Follow up with Sahej if a matching role opens up (Bahlsahej) Strong fit flagged for GTM, SWE, and FDE roles across the startup portfolio.
much did like AI agents for GTM, pretty much helping other companies scale. And so I built a bunch of just like GTM tools and built, like deployed a bunch of AI agents for GTM. So I have a bit of experience in that and I found that exciting. So now I'm also like opening up to like sweet, not only sweet roles, but also like GTM would be cool. Like even forward deployed engineering I'm looking at as well. Interesting. Okay, and you're in your last year of college? And then in university, I've interned at a bunch of different startups. Like I interned most recently at Clover Labs I talked about, which was GTM. Um, and then I also interned at Rootly, which is a, it's a YC startup. They do AISRE, like similar to PagerDuty or Incident.io, if you, if If you know those. Yeah, I know those. And yeah, that's pretty much it. I've just interned at a bunch of cool startups, like built a lot of stuff on the side. Like last summer I built this concussion recovery tool, like an app, and put it on the App Store and scaled that to 10,000 users. I, I like to like do some sort of exercise, like if not every day, at least every other day, whether that's like going to the gym or like, um, going for a walk, going for a hike, going for a run, anything like that. Um, I try to play sports as much as possible too. Yeah. But like that gets pretty hard, especially in the winter. Yeah, for sure. But like I try for at least like twice a week. Um, okay. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Sometimes I read, but like not, definitely not as much as I'd like to. Yeah. Nah, me too. That's totally valid. Okay. Okay. And wait, how— when did you start, like, playing the guitar? Like, really long ago. I started when I was maybe like 10 years old. Oh, damn. Okay. Yeah. I guess it's been like, yeah, 11 years now. Interesting. And is there a reason that made you want to start playing the guitar? Not really. Like, it was more so like my parents were just like, you should just play an instrument. And I was like, yeah, I think like— I mean, I picked that. I just thought like the guitar was pretty cool. Yeah, I started playing it and then I just enjoyed it. So I guess I just like stuck to it. Okay, no, that's so valid. That's so great that you still play. Like, my parents made me play cello and then like never stuck with it, so. Oh yeah, no, yeah, I mean, that's— even like my siblings, like, they also like started playing instruments, but like they played the piano, but like they didn't like enjoy it as much. But yeah, I enjoyed playing the guitar quite a bit. Interesting. Okay. And what do you like about the guitar? Uh, I don't know. It just feels like, um, like one, it just feels like when I play, like, I'm kind of like in like a flow state. Like, I'm not really thinking about anything else other than like, you know, playing. And like, um, it's kind of similar, like, you know, when you learn a song and then like you Like, it takes some time to learn, like, the chords, how to play it. And then when you actually, like, finish it, it's like a feeling of accomplishment. And it's just like, you know, it's just like, it's just like a, like, it's just nice, like, you know, to, to be able to, to play music and like, it's just like, that's like the only thing my mind's on. It's kind of like meditative, you know? Like, it's like a, like a break from everything else. Interesting. Okay. Okay. No, that's great. That's great. Cool. I think that's pretty much it from my side, but is there anything else? If there's anything else, then, you know, you can definitely let me know. So yeah, I've done a lot in Sweden. So like, yeah, I've just found that that's my passion. That's what I want to do. Sure. Yeah, I mean, I was just wondering, so like, like, um, so you recruit for like startups specifically, or? Yeah, so I guess like there's, I think there's like a bunch of different companies, like dozens of them that we're working with right now. Um, Revel is one example, Poetic is another example. Open Evidence is another example. We just have a bunch of partnerships and we're helping recruit for these companies. We're trying to get really talented people. So that's why I just saw your profile and I was like, I think it's great that you have a lot of experience in terms of working with startups and I guess wearing different hats in terms of being a GTM and you're also interested in FDE. And that's kind of why I reached out. But yeah, we're recruiting for a bunch of different companies right now. Okay, cool. Are you still in school? No, I graduated. Okay. Yeah, I think my bio is not updated. Yeah, no, I was just wondering that. But yeah. Okay. No, that's cool. Yeah. I mean, I guess that's it for me. I don't really have any other questions. Okay, that's awesome. Then I'll give you back some time and Yeah, I'll definitely reach back out to you. That sounds great. Wait, sorry, wait, your last— like the last thing you said, you scaled something to 10,000 users? Okay, sure, sounds good. Yeah, thank you so much. And yeah, thanks like in general for like reaching out and taking the time. I really appreciate it. No, no, totally. I feel like you're such a cool guy and, you know, I think it's great to hear like from my side. I just want to hear about like the things that you're doing, not just like from a technical standpoint. Like, I don't know if you thought this would be like a technical interview. I wanted to just get to know you as a person. So like, I think that was the whole point of the interview. And yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's great to kind of know you and see where your head's at. So. For sure. Yeah. Cool. Awesome. Yeah, I'll definitely reach back out to you. That sounds great. Sounds good. Yeah, it was nice talking to you. Yeah, you too. All right, see you, man. See you. Have a good day. You too. Yeah, yeah. Last summer I built a concussion recovery app. I pretty much played sports my whole life and I had a couple of concussions from sports. And so I kind of realized that the recovery system's outdated. So I built an app for it and yeah, I scaled it to 10,000 users. Dang. Okay. When'd you start that? You just started that summer and then it scaled to 10,000 users? Yeah, I worked on it for 2 months and yeah, and like in those 2 months I built it and then like marketed it. I gained like Yeah, I went like pretty viral a couple times on Instagram, so that definitely helped. Like I had like 30,000 followers on Instagram. Oh, okay. Yeah, I was able to scale it like that. Interesting. And you played sports, like you said, your whole life. What kind of sports did you play? Uh, second last year. Second last year. Yeah, it's a 5-year program for me, but yeah. Yeah. So I played like competitive soccer. Like that was my main sport. I played like national level soccer. Okay. And then I played a bunch of other sports too. Like just in high school, I played volleyball, basketball, rugby. A bunch of stuff. Interesting. Okay. And do you still play those sports now, or is it just like a hobby? Uh, yeah, not competitively, but I still play in a soccer league. Like, it's just like not like the highest level, but I still play like twice a week. And then I play like basketball, volleyball, just like with friends. Nothing, nothing too crazy, like intramurals in school. But yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. Are you interested in like sports startups or like I guess like dealing with the concussion or the health aspects of startups, like what kind of gets you into these companies? What would kind of make you really, really want to work for a company? I mean, for sure I would be interested in sports startups, um, just because like that's a passion of mine. But for me, like when I'm looking at like companies and like if I want to work at them, like I think like the industry isn't as important as like the team, like how they move. Like I think like one thing, like especially in this day and age that's really important to me is like they need to be AI native. Like, I just— because like I think AI moves so fast, I think the team like needs to be using AI effectively because like from my perspective, I'm looking to like learn and like build as much as possible. Yeah. And I found like, like talking to some of my friends, like a couple startups they worked at, like they want them to do like so much before they ship a PR and like they want them to like, like go through all these hoops and like they actually don't end up like doing that much work. So I kind of want to work at a team that like moves fast and like is intentional with what they do. And like, I found that like a lot of these startups that if you see like they've grown fast or they've raised a Series A, Series B, like in general, they're going to be these teams like they know what they're doing. So yeah, that's mainly what I look for. Interesting. Is there, you know, I saw you went to like Waterloo, right? Like I'm sure you get like these interviews from like big tech companies. Is that the reason why you've never like wanted to Work for big tech, um, or is there like other reasons as well? Okay, okay, interesting. And so like, what got you into like software engineering? And also like, what got you into those like startups, I guess? Yeah, no, that's, that's definitely the reason. I mean, I did like one internship at like a bigger to medium company, which is like PointClickCare. I don't know if you've heard of it, but they do like electronic health records. Yeah. Um, but, um, I worked there and it was like, it was all right, but like I didn't like learn too much. Like they don't give you like crazy amount of work. And like my friends that have like interned at like big tech companies, like they don't really do much. And like, that's fine. Like, I think it's definitely good, like, for the exposure to seeing how like bigger teams work and like get that name on your resume. But I think that's something I would probably do later, like maybe as like a last internship. Like for now, I want to like work at startups and like learn and build as much as possible. Yeah, that makes sense. Interesting. Like what drives you to like kind of build more? Um, that's a good question. I mean, I've I've always just enjoyed it. Like, since I first did it, like, I've just enjoyed building things. Like, I love, like, the process of, like, you have a problem, you build a solution, then you see that solution work. Like, that's just like, yeah, it's like very fulfilling to me. And yeah, I've always just like in general been a very curious person. And so I like, like, figuring out like how systems should work, how to make them work, and building them. Interesting. Okay. And is this something like you've always wanted to do as a kid? Yeah, I've actually— so like both of my parents are also software engineers. Oh, okay. Since I was a kid, like, yeah, I've seen them work and like, yeah, literally since I was really young I wanted to be an engineer. Yeah, yeah. Was there like things that you did as a kid that like made you want to do it more besides like looking at your parents and seeing what they did? Uh, so like, I actually first got into it when I was like in middle school when I was 13. So pretty much— are you from Canada or are you from the States? Yeah, I mean, so I used to like, I used to just like take things apart, like any like electronic. I'll just like grab a screwdriver and take it apart and then like search up like YouTube videos for how it works. Yeah. That was more like hardware. And then yeah, like in middle school, I got like the software and like startup exposure when I did like the DMZ program. Yeah. But yeah, I used to do all that. Interesting. And I guess like, does sports come into play in terms of like your career? Or is it, do you kind of like separate the two and be like, oh, this is what I do for sports and this is what I want for my career? Um, like, I think at this point I kind of separate the two. Like, at one point I was kind of like 50/50 between, um, like, I want to be an engineer, but it'd be cool to also prefer or pursue like sports professionally. Yeah, but like I kind of decided to go the engineering route. But yeah, I think like now especially, like it's pretty separate. But I mean, a lot of things like I learned playing competitive sports apply to like startups and like building the resilience to like the teamwork, like all that like applies. So interesting. Okay. Okay. So I guess just to make it clear, you're really interested in like startups that are moving really fast, that have like talented engineers. And I guess like a bonus would be like if it's applicable to like your, I guess your interest in like sports or like healthcare in terms of taking care of people who get injured from sports. Is that right? Yeah. Okay. I'm from the States. Yeah, no, 100%. Yeah. And I guess like where do you see yourself like in even like 10 years? Like do you see yourself working at a startup? Do you see yourself working like, you know, an early stage startup that just started? A Series B, Series C, or like a big tech startup or big tech company? Yeah, I mean, as of now, I see myself probably in 10 years, like my goal is to like found my own thing, like, oh, okay, create my own startup, or like if I join an early stage startup I really believe in, um, yeah, like as like a founding engineer or something like that, like what, one of those two. Interesting. I guess like what drives you to like make your own thing? I don't know, like, ever since I was a kid, I've been saying like, I want to, um, like create my own startup. I want to be an engineer. I think like a big thing is like, um, like I've worked at a bunch of these startups that have done really well. Like Rootly, for example, is doing $10 mil in ARR. And like, just like talking to the CEO, like it's, or like the CEO, CTO, it's just like, probably like, to me, it seems like a surreal feeling to like see that you've built like this that like so many people like worldwide are using, like it's helping people. I think like that's what drives it for me, like the desire to like build something that'll help people and like impact millions, if not like billions of lives. Yeah, I think, yeah, I think that's the main thing that drives me to want to create a startup. Yeah, interesting. Okay. And I feel like I've had similar ambitions or I have similar ambitions. So It's it's pretty relatable, and it's fine if you don't have an answer for this. But like, if you were to build a startup, what kind of startup would you build? Um, so I genuinely have I have no clue. You have no clue. Like right now, but like something I'm interested in right now is like more like B to C like consumer apps. Oh, okay, okay. Oh, okay. Okay. But, um, so I mean, I don't know if you're familiar, but there's this program called the DMZ. It's like the biggest, like, university startup incubator in Canada. Like I've been going like kind of deep into consumer apps, like just looking at like what does well, what doesn't, and I was like. Yeah. Planning on just building, like trying to build like 1 or 2 and like seeing how they work out. But yeah, that's what I'm interested in right now. But like long term, I'm honestly not sure. Interesting. I mean, you built the app that, you know, you scaled to 10,000 users, so I'm sure like you have a lot of experience with like marketing and stuff. Interesting. Okay, cool. That makes sense. Is there anything else that like you haven't mentioned that you want to mention? Um, not really. I mean, I think that's really it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And you said that like you're looking for like a fall internship, is that what it is? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Interesting. Okay, cool. I mean, do you have any questions for me? I'm basically recruiting for a bunch of like different companies. So like if there's like a match, I'll definitely let you know. Um, for sure. Yeah. But I guess like one thing is like a lot of these startups are also looking for like full-times as well. Like, are you open to like starting like a full-time for like a couple months, or like are you purely looking for like a fall internship? No, that's fine. Yeah, I am like, I could start a full-time. So like the thing is for me, um, it— my schedule will be like fall internship, then school in the winter, and then summer internship. Oh, okay. Okay. I'm like very open. Like, I was, I was talking to like another startup like yesterday. Oh, okay. They asked the same question and I said like I could start like full-time in the fall and then in the winter, like when I'm in school, like keep working, but maybe just cut down my hours a bit and then like come back full-time in the summer. Yeah. Like, I'm pretty open in that sense. I could start full-time as well. Oh, okay. Interesting. Okay. And you're open to like FDE, software engineering, and GTM roles, you said? Yeah, yeah, for sure. Interesting. Okay, okay. Is there a reason why like you're interested in like all these different fields? Like in terms of like— because I feel like a lot of people are like, I only want to do like systems engineering or software engineering, but like it sounds like you're open to all these roles. Um, I don't know, like in general, like I've— I enjoy like doing like a bunch of different things. Like I've done like Yeah. Software engineering, obviously. Like, I've done like more like product type of roles. I've done like growth for like my own app and I really enjoyed that as well. I did like, like at Clover Labs where I just worked, that was more of like a GTM role and I really enjoyed that. Um, yeah, even at Rootly, like I was, I was pretty interested in like how the like tech sales side of things goes. And I was like, I like reached out to some of the AEs and asked if I could like help them out a bit, like hop in on their calls. And I did that too and I really enjoyed it. So like, I'm kind of like, I like wearing multiple hats. Like, I like working on multiple things. Like, even like tech sales, I'm interested in. But yeah, I don't know exactly why, but like, I'm just like, yeah, I'm interested in like everything. Like, I enjoy working on a bunch of different things. Yeah. Yeah. And I guess, like, by the way, none of this is like an assessment on you. So like, you don't have to treat this like an interview. You can just like tell me whatever you want. But like, I guess like what aspect of like these roles like drives you? Like, is it like the money aspect? Is it the, like, you get to build things on your own? Is it the, I guess, like working with really talented people? Um, but pretty much they have like a program for like university to like late high school students to like build a startup, like an incubation program. So I just thought it was super cool. So like I went to the office and just like kind of networked and like got my way in. And then like I built a startup there. And I just like fell in love with like building and startups. And after that, I built like a bunch of my own projects. I interned at 2 startups in high school, and then like I decided like I, I really want to do engineering. Um, I think it's a mix of a bunch of things. Sure. Like working with really talented people for sure. Um, I think just like, just like the, like what I said before, just like the feeling of like accomplishment, like after you finish, like build something or finish something big, like that's like a big driving factor for me. And like another thing is just like learning. Like, I think in startup environments, like, you learn so much. Like, I think in like my 4 months that I worked at like the last 2 startups I worked at, like, I learned more than like I thought I could have learned. And like, that was like very, very fulfilling for me. So yeah, I think like that's the main thing that drives that. Yeah. Okay, that's awesome. And I guess like outside of sports, is there any like other hobbies that you have? I like to travel. I've traveled to 30 countries in my life so far. So, yeah, I travel a lot. I play guitar. Yeah. Other than that, not really. I like to hike. Oh, okay. Interesting. Yeah. I play video games too from time to time. Not as much anymore, but I used to play quite a bit. Yeah. Oh, so how much do you game? Usually. Like now, not as much as I'd like to. Like, I used to play like quite a bit, like during school term, like when things are like quiet down or like after work sometimes I play. But like, yeah, now like maybe like, like probably like once a week, just like whenever me and all my friends are free, like we play like for a couple hours. But— Okay. Do you know like which games like are your favorite? Yeah. Um, so right now, like mainly Valorant. Valorant? Playing with my friends. Yeah. But yeah, in the past, like a bunch of different stuff, like Fortnite. We used to play like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, FIFA. Okay. Legit stuff like that. Yeah. Interesting. So I guess like in your day to day, like what's like the main thing that you do like outside of work? Like out of those hobbies that you kind of mentioned? I play the guitar pretty often. Okay. Like just whenever I'm bored because like, yeah, just sitting here, I can just grab it, start playing. Yeah.