Founders & Builders is a unique series of fireside chats that brings together builders and entrepreneurs from Waterloo Region and beyond. Each meeting will focus on a founder’s story with ample opportunities to meet remarkable leaders and have interesting conversations. It is a chance to explore big problems and big ideas related to the housing crisis and building strong communities. It is also a chance to create a space for founders and builders to learn from each other and forge a better future for our community.
Our next Founders & Builders event will take place on Wednesday March 26, 2025 at 6:00pm at DEN 1880. The event will feature an incredible group of founders, builders, executives, and leaders from Waterloo Region and beyond.
There will be a 30-minute fireside chat followed by a town hall discussion that will feature the new Chair of Ontario’s Provincial Land and Development Facilitation Office, the Mayor of Waterloo and Chair of the Large Urban Caucus.
Dan is Chair of Ontario's Provincial Land Development Facilitator, an office that offers services such as impartial mediation, facilitation and negotiation. These services assist individuals, businesses, and municipalities resolve matters related to growth management, land use and infrastructure planning, environmental protection and development to streamline approvals for housing development.
Dan served 20 years as the Mayor of Stratford. Dan is the CEO of Coriano Capital, operating businesses in the transportation, agriculture, technology and real estate. Dan is, and has served as, Chair and board member of publicly traded corporations and committees across healthcare, municipal affairs, law enforcement, athletics, not-for profits, universities, and colleges.
He is Past Chair of the Ontario's MPAC, Past Chair of Kings University College at Western University, Past Chair of the Stratford Police Services Board, and a co-founder of the University of Waterloo-Stratford School of Digital Media. Dan was honoured by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, paying tribute to community leaders whose endeavors have set them apart as technology innovators, and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for public service.
Mayor Dorothy McCabe was elected on Oct. 24, 2022. She represents the City as a Region of Waterloo Councillor and is on a number of boards and committees. At the latest AMO conference, she was elected to be part of the AMO Board of Directors and she has just been appointed to be Chair of the Large Urban Caucus. Her professional career includes over 20 years of experience working in leadership positions with Mayors, City Councils and senior corporate leaders, a provincial Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.
Dorothy led and championed the development of the initial Two-Way All-Day GO rail business case — now the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor. As Mayor, she will continue to advocate for improved transit and transportation for all. She believes our successful future requires unleashing Waterloo’s potential. Utilizing the diversity of expertise, skills and experience, the knowledge and compassion of the people and organizations in Waterloo will enable us to successfully tackle challenges and leverage opportunities. Dorothy graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a BA in Communications and History. In 2012, she completed a Master's in Public Administration - Local Government specialty from Western University. As Mayor of the City of Waterloo, Dorothy is committed to public service, resident engagement and advocating for change to ensure our community is ready for the future.
Nabil Fahel is a founder, entrepreneur and investor based in Canada. He has advised hundreds of startups and created a few since starting his career in tech in 2005. As a director at Communitech, Nabil mentored hundreds of startups before ultimately helping Shopify open their first office in Waterloo Region prior to their IPO. Nabil subsequently joined Shopify as head of enterprise partnerships to help them establish the Shopify Plus office in three more sites locally as well as building out a partner network in the USA, on the way to creating over 1000 jobs in Waterloo Region.
After Shopify, Nabil helped launch and establish Terminal in Canada, the first international division of a venture-backed, San Francisco-based startup that established offices across Canada, creating 500 jobs during a five year stint at Head of Partnerships. Today, Nabil is an Executive Advisor at Open Quantum Design, SVP Partnerships at StartupSoft, and co-founder of FOUNDERS AND, ETHGlobal, Black Market Hummus, and Waterloo Poker Classic. Nabil served six years on the board of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, during the largest expansion of the organization's budget. Nabil completed his MBA at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2010 after completing a HBA in Economics and Political Science at York University in 2005.
Nabil will moderate a fireside panel about the housing crisis in Canada as well as building strong and vibrant communities. Aside from Dan Mathieson's significant background across public and private sectors, we will learn about Dan's Provincial role as the Chair of Ontario's Land and Development Facilitator office. We will also learn about the role Dorothy McCabe is playing as the Mayor of Waterloo and the new Chair of the Large Urban Caucus with developments in the region.
Everyone in the room is a leader and therefore has a perspective. This is your opportunity to share your comments or ask any question to any speaker. This is a forum for difficult questions or crazy ideas to help inspire different thinking than the current housing paths. If we are to solve the housing crisis, it would be great to be exposed to new viewpoints!
“What an incredible opportunity to connect with peers and to get perspectives from across sectors of the community. The discussion and personal connections that can be built at these events, adds value to everyone and really strengthens the community. It is a perfect example of what makes Waterloo Region a special place to live and work.
A curated gathering of the leading founders and builders in Waterloo Region and beyond. We create a space for founders and builders to learn from each other and forge a better future for our community. Each gathering will center around a short fireside chat between founders and builders followed by a Town Hall style Q&A. The chat will feature leaders in the construction and founder communities with ample opportunities for meeting people and interesting conversations.
