Our Team
Our story
Launch was founded on April 1st, 2012, by Ray Walia, Roger Patterson, and Jesse Heaslip, three entrepreneurs who wanted to work with like-minded entrepreneurs and leverage each other’s experience and networks. Mike Edwards joined the group and offered the available space at GrowLab, a Vancouver based tech startup accelerator.
Within two weeks, 12 entrepreneurs jumped in on the opportunity, and by the end of April, over 30 entrepreneurs were working out of the space. Using the revenue from selling desk space, Ray bought more desks, but as demand for shared resources and learning grew, Launch and its business model had to evolve.
In September of 2012, Alex Chuang joined the group and helped Launch transform from a collaborative workspace into a tech hub offering a variety of essential startup programs and resources. 12 months later in April 2013, Launch established its new 12,000 sq.ft. home at the heart of Gastown in Vancouver.
Our mission
Launch is Western Canada’s leading entrepreneurship facility that helps international and Canadian founders build their businesses through education, mentorship, lean metrics and networking opportunities in North America. By bringing together a density of high-quality entrepreneurs, Launch has established an environment where ideas are vetted, business models are tested and successes are celebrated.
Founded in 2012 on the values of innovation, opportunities and accountability, Launch functions as a soft landing pad for startup founders and continues to address the lack of startup leadership and resources affecting entrepreneurs. Launch aims to continue building a vibrant startup ecosystem and a prosperous economy where new jobs are created and new markets are discovered.
MEET THE TEAM
Over the past decade, Ray Walia has been an integral part of the movement to make Vancouver Canada’s leading hotspot for innovation and technology. His impact can be measured in the startups he has founded and funded, the volume entrepreneurs he has mentored, and the countless events he has produced to champion Vancouver’s homegrown talent, and the amount of international attention he has garnered for the city’s tech sector.
Co-Founder & CEO
Ray Walia
Alex is a budding entrepreneur, designer and growth hacker with a track record of launching products in crowdfunding, e-commerce, SaaS, virtual currency aand marketplace platforms. Having sold his first start-up in 2013, Alex has committed himself to building a strong tech ecosystem in Vancouver; mentoring entrepreneurs and connecting them to the right resources. In 2014, Alex was recognized as Best in Social Entrepreneurship by Notable Awards and in 2015 as BC’s Top 30 under 30.
Co-Founder & CSO
Alex Chuang
Roger Patterson is a serial high-tech entrepreneur with a passion for spreading the entrepreneurial spirit and helping others succeed as entrepreneurs. He has over 17 years experience in the software and telecom industries, 12 years of which have been spent founding and running 3 successful high-tech companies after originally working for some of Canada’s largest high-tech companies (Nortel and Newbridge Networks).
Co-Founder
Roger Patterson
Sam is the Head of Programs at Launch Academy, where he oversees the development of the incubator’s various programs. Over the years, he has advised hundreds of startups on their go-to-market strategies. Formerly, he consulted for Samsung, Microsoft, Intel, Qual-comm, and NBC on their developer relations strategies, and ran some of the largest hackathons in the world.
VP of Programs
Sam Chan
With a passion for video games and tech, Jean landed her first tech job at Launch. Outside of working at Launch, Jean is also a Twitch.TV video game streamer with an accumulated view count of 40 million views, the founder of SFU’s first PC gaming club, SFU Online Entertainment League, and remains fairly active in the gaming community. You can also find her playing a lot of PC games on her free time, looking up new places to eat and trying to figure out which hot sauce to buy next. So if you ever need a food or hot sauce recommendation, she is your go-to person.
Senior Program Manager
Jean Yoon
Camille is originally from France, and has a background in Human Resources in the Tech Industry! She worked at companies such as Ubisoft and DNEG in the past. Since moving to Vancouver, she has been persuaded to eat kale chips and go hiking around BC — which definitely makes her an honorary Vancouverite.
Program Manager
Camille Bonnet
