Celebrating Entrepreneurial Alumni

Brad Williamson

Brad Williamson pitched in the 2016 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition. Since then, Brad served as the Chief Marketing Officer for local Calgary startup, MicoMech, for two years before stepping out as a founder once again this year. Brad is the founder and the Lead Strategist of a digital marketing agency called Catch Digital. Catch Digital is a full-service growth agency, specializing in ROI-accountable lead capture and nurturing of customers through modern marketing technology implementation.

Bryton Udy

Alumnus Bryton Udy is a creative entrepreneur who graduated from Mount Royal in 2016. Bryton is the Founder and Head Brand Coach at At Heart Branding Co. which supports small business owners and creatives build strong brand voices. Bryton is also the Co-Founder of Play4Them, a fundraising tool for today’s changemakers.

Danielle Gibbie

Danielle Gibbie was the president of Enactus Mount Royal in 2012 and has been implementing scalable and sustainable social innovations ever since. In 2019, Danielle became the Director of International Partnerships at Operation Eyesight. Danielle is an active member of MRU’s alumni community and gives back to MRU through her seat on the Alumni Council.

Elissa Grohne

Elissa Grohne pitched SwearIT in the 2018 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition. While she continues running and growing SwearIT, Elissa also founded a digital marketing agency called Upper Brand Marketing.

Emily Knight

Emily Knight pitched in the 2018 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition. In 2019, Emily and a team were granted seed funding for a social enterprise called Feed Your Flat which makes gardening simple for Calgarians. In 2020 the organization donated 15% of their sales to The Alex Community Food Centre to support Covid Relief efforts.

Peter Njongwe

Peter Njongwe graduated from Mount Royal’s Computer Information Systems program with a minor in entrepreneurship. Peter co-founded Alora Boutique with his wife Jameela Ghann, another MRU alumna, and is currently the founder and behaviour designer at Lapis Heath, a mobile wellness platform supporting the next generation of cardiovascular health.

What’s Next YYC

Mount Royal social entrepreneurs are investing in making the world a better place in Calgary and beyond. Four Mount Royal alumni-founded businesses presented in the 2019 What’s Next YYC event hosted by the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and the Trico Charitable Foundation. These founders took home three of the four $25,000 prizes.

Fresh Routes

Anna Johnson is the co-founder of Fresh Routes, a mobile grocery store addressing food security in our city. In response to the economic challenges facing Calgarians during the Covid outbreak, Fresh Routes organized a fundraiser to assemble food boxes for the city’s most vulnerable families.

Deepwater Farms

Paul Shumlich is the founder of Deepwater Farms, a stateof-the-art aquaponics operation that produces fish, greens and herbs within Calgary city-limits with little to no waste. Paul pitched in the 2016 JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition and was awarded $25,000. Deepwater Farms now employs 16 people, including other Mount Royal alumni.

Beaverlodge

Tim Lipp is the co-founder of Beaverlodge, a volunteer-owned tech company making it easy for families to get bulk discounts with their neighbours on common needs. After a few funky pivots, they’re now generating revenue and learning from delightful customers.

Universal Access

Sean Crump is the CEO of Universal Access, which helps businesses understand the nique relationship between spatial layout, social inclusion and bottom-line impacts of accessibility. Universal Access is a member of the Trico Changemakers Studio located on campus and has employed Mount Royal students.