29 Trailblazers Join Canada’s First ETA Academy in Toronto

TORONTO, ONT./ March 21 2025 – Venture for Canada (VFC) is proud to welcome 29 accomplished professionals to the inaugural cohort of its Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) Academy—selected from a highly competitive pool of over 175 applicants. As Canada’s first community-based course of its kind, ETA Academy equips aspiring business owners with the knowledge, network, and tools to acquire and grow established businesses.

With over 76% of Canadian small-business owners planning to exit their businesses within the next decade, ETA Academy provides a timely solution to bridge the gap between retiring owners and the next generation of entrepreneurs. The program empowers professionals with practical acquisition skills, mentorship, and a collaborative peer network. Developed with input from 80+ experts, ETA Academy is designed to preserve vital businesses, foster economic resilience, and open new pathways to business ownership in Canada.

Hailing from six provinces, this distinguished group brings an average of 10 years of professional experience across finance, sales, marketing, product, health, the arts, and more—including 40% who are founders or small business owners. Their diverse expertise, paired with a comprehensive curriculum and 33 industry-leading speakers, creates a dynamic learning environment to prepare participants for the world of business acquisition.

On March 22, ETA Academy officially kicks off in Toronto, launching a five-week journey focused on hands-on learning, self-assessment, and real-world acquisition strategies. Selected from a strong pool of applicants, these professionals will collaborate, exchange insights, and refine their acquisition approaches—laying the groundwork for the next generation of business owners.

Meet the Cohort: 

From founders and finance experts to tech leaders, consultants, operators, and creatives, these 29 professionals bring diverse expertise and a shared commitment to shaping Canada’s entrepreneurial landscape. Get to know them below!

Ehi Agbonlahor

Ehi Agbonlahor is the founder of Anutio – an AI-powered career guidance platform for students and working professionals. She is also a Product Manager at TD in the AI/ML Practice and Centre of Excellence. Prior to founding Anutio, Ehi has over 14years of career experience in corporate functions, Startups and entrepreneurial ventures in Canada, the US and across Africa.

Lily Akagbosu

Lily Akagbosu is passionate about using technology to solve problems and create impactful solutions. With experience across startups, nonprofits, and global companies, she’s honed a diverse skill set in building successful digital products across various industries. Outside of her professional role, she’s dedicated to giving back to the community, particularly to students, through speaking engagements.

Khatiza Bi Bi

Khatiza Bi Bi is a Registered Psychotherapist dedicated to supporting others and making a meaningful impact in the mental health field. As the owner of a group practice, she joined this program to acquire a mental health business, further expanding her ability to create positive change in her community.

Aaron Biblow

Aaron Biblow is a seasoned business and marketing professional with 15 years of experience in the industry, specializing in crafting offers for his clients. He previously founded and ran two marketing agencies—TrendLab and Videoflywheel.io—before transitioning into his current role as Director of Client Experience for Mike Koenigs. He loves singing, board games, playing disc golf and pickleball, and spends time traveling whenever possible.

Ray Cronin

Ray Cronin is passionate about personal growth, business, strategy, and scaling companies the right way. With a Master’s in Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, he’s worked in sales, recruitment, and people ops, helping scaling orgs build high-performing teams. He’s also launched ventures—some gaining traction, others valuable learning experiences. Outside of work, he loves walking his dog Rupert, snowboarding, playing guitar, and live music.

Eyal Gleanz

Eyal Gleanz is someone who thrives on setting big goals and finding creative ways of achieving them. His first career was in competitive dance where he met his wife and they became national level dancers representing Canada around the world. He’s even more motivated now with ETA and developing new skills to achieve big goals as an entrepreneur!

Junaid Grewal

Junaid Grewal is a strategic thinker who believes in leading with empathy. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to acquire and operate a dry cleaner to preserve the legacy of its retiring owner. Outside of his professional endeavours, Junaid enjoys exploring new technologies, playing chess, reading, and savouring life’s simple pleasures like a good cup of coffee or a scenic hike.

Niels Hurst

Niels Hurst has started two small businesses, became the youngest faculty member at Ivey Business School, and currently serves as the VP of Business Development at a startup. He is excited to enter the ETA space and look to acquire and grow businesses while making a real impact.

Crystal Kyabaggu

Crystal Kyabaggu grew up in an entrepreneurial family and is deeply passionate about building and growing Canadian businesses. Over the past decade, Crystal has applied her CPA skillset to support impact-driven organizations as a Business Manager, Finance Manager, and Senior Director of Finance. Crystal is excited to continue to channel her experience and entrepreneurial spirit to create impact in collaboration with the ETA Academy.

Josh MacKinnon

Josh MacKinnon is an entrepreneur, consultant, business coach, and author. He’s the Founder & CEO of do good, a content company. He’s worked in Canada, the US, and Australia. Josh is excited to be learning more about entrepreneurship through acquisition!

Cormac McGee

Cormac McGee is a partner at ArtHaus Music – an independent music publisher, label and management company based in Toronto. Artists represented by ArtHaus have generated over 1 billion streams and earned 50+ award nominations. Prior to joining ArtHaus, Cormac led the Music Den incubator for music-technology entrepreneurs at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Andrew Nguyen

Andrew Nguyen is a resourceful serial entrepreneur with a track record of scaling businesses and identifying growth opportunities. He strives in dynamic environments, leveraging his generalist skillset, grit, and curiosity to optimize operations and drive growth. The VFC Alumni Council member and “Most Inclusive Fellow” awardee is fun-spirited. He’s excited to leap into ETA by sparking connections and building meaningful relationships in this learning environment.

Vincent Panepinto

Vincent Panepinto is an experienced startup founder with a passion for people, experiences, innovation, sales, partnerships, and entrepreneurship. His previous company was acquired in 2021 and he looks forward to new adventures in entrepreneurship.

Will Portman

Will Portman is the founder and principal of Mosquito Creek Capital, an investment corporation focused on acquiring, operating, and growing one exceptional British Columbia-based business. Previously Will spent 10 years working in and leading business operations and engineering teams at Google, Stripe, and three high-growth startups. Will lives in North Vancouver, BC, with his family.

Hossein Raeisi

Hossein Raeisi believes in lifelong learning and loves being around ambitious people, which fuels his passion for entrepreneurial communities. At work, he focuses on delivering memorable client experiences, and outside of work, he co-hosts the Humans of Western podcast, sharing Western University alumni stories. He’s also passionate about personal finance — and is currently working on building a regular reading habit, so recommendations are welcome!

Viventhraa Rao

Viventhraa Rao is a seasoned tech professional with 10+ years in startups and AI. He’s led complex projects and collaborated with people from all walks of life. He hopes the program will help him explore innovative ventures and meet amazing people. Fun fact: He speaks four languages and plays tennis regularly in the summer.

Natali Ristevski

Natali Ristevski was in commercial financing and luxury sales, most recently in private aviation. Naturally drawn to entrepreneurial ventures, they ran a real estate & Airbnb arbitrage business, now exploring new opportunities through acquisition. They love starting new hobbies—feel free to invite them to join yours, there’s a good chance they already bought the equipment and barely used it. Currently, they’re training to climb Cotopaxi in Ecuador.

Xue (Cherry) Yang 

Cherry Yang is an award-winning Airtable Consultant and the founder of Claribase. Cherry started her business 5 years ago and the company now serves customers from around the world. Cherry and her team help organizations find clarity in their data by building scalable and automated database solutions. Outside of work, Cherry volunteers with Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports and sings in a pop choir.

About Venture for Canada

Venture for Canada is a national charity that fosters entrepreneurial skills and mindsets in young Canadians. Our vision is a Canada where young people can equitably realize their entrepreneurial potential to build the most prosperous place in the world. We recruit, train, and support young people to work for innovative Canadian small businesses and startups. Through our programs, participants develop the network, knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills to have more impactful careers.

Connect with Venture for Canada:

Website: https://ventureforcanada.ca

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Venture for Canada Media Contact:

Jennie Wedd – Senior Manager, Marketing & Partnerships

Email: jennie@ventureforcanada.ca