Batch: Achievements
- Raised over $820K on Kickstarter for Vanhawks in 30 days
- Participated in Y Combinator's W15 batch, gaining Silicon Valley cred
- Founded Vanhawks, a smart bike startup, from scratch after dropping out of Queen's University
- Held leadership roles at multiple startups: COO at Vanhawks, Head of Product at Relay Financial, Director at Unsplash
- Currently CEO of Legalmate, making legal services more accessible through tech and finance
- Invests and scouts pre-seed startups at Ramen Ventures, since 2018
Meet Ali Zahid
You absolutely need to hear about Ali Zahid, this guy’s the real deal in the startup world. Dude’s Canadian, went to Queen’s University studying biomedical computing but bailed after three years. Why? Because he jumped headfirst into building Vanhawks, this sick smart bike company that totally crushed it. They raised over $820K on Kickstarter in just 30 days, no cap. That’s some serious hustle, especially for a early-stage startup. And get this, he was part of YC’s W15 batch, so he’s legit plugged into the Silicon Valley scene now.
What’s crazy is, Ali didn’t just get lucky or coast on a good idea. He’s got mad connections from Queen’s, involved in the Student Society, Queen’s Journal, Design Our Tomorrow, and he leveraged all that to build Vanhawks from the ground up. Dropped out to chase his dream, and he crushed it. That says a lot about his motivation, he’s not just playing around; he’s all in for creating stuff that actually moves the needle.
After Vanhawks, he didn’t stop. He jumped into other startups, like Relay Financial as COO and Head of Product, and even worked at Unsplash as Director of Partnerships. Now, he’s running his own thing, Legalmate, which is all about making legal services more accessible using tech and financing, pretty smart move, right? He’s also into investing, scouting pre-seed startups through Ramen Ventures, so he’s always looking for the future trend.
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Talk to herWhat I think is dope about Ali is his hustle. He’s all about building, connecting, and pushing boundaries. From Queen’s campus to the startup system, he’s built a network that spans local and Silicon Valley, always scouting, always learning. His story’s not just about raising money or launching products, it’s about his drive to solve real problems and his willingness to jump into the chaos to make shit happen.
Long story short, Ali Zahid is that guy who saw a problem, jumped in with everything he had, and made waves doing it. He’s proof that with the right mix of hustle, connections, and guts, you can turn ideas into reality, no matter where you start.
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