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Derek began his career in Toronto working for Nestlé Canada on the PowerBar energy bar portfolio before moving to Ottawa to lead the development of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic program for the Royal Canadian Mint. Derek held various senior sales with Starbucks Coffee Company roles in Ottawa and Atlantic Canada before diving into entrepreneurship in 2015.
Derek is a Propel graduate having gone through the Accelerator in 2016 and understands the ups and downs that accompany startup life, shuttering his business in 2017. Derek’s extensive experience in data and insight-driven marketing drives him to encourage founders to embrace customer discovery as the key to understanding how to create value for their customers.
Richard has thirty-five years of experience in the energy, engineering, and information technology fields. He has worked in a wide variety of leadership and technical roles, from CEO of early-stage technology start-ups to leading divisions within multi-billion dollar organizations. He is a passionate advocate for helping social sector organizations operate more effectively and he serves on Boards and in executive positions in those organizations. Since 2017 Richard has worked with Propel as a Startup Coach. He loves working with founders to apply lean startup frameworks that help them understand their customers and accelerate the start-up go-to-market strategies.
As a proud member of the Propel team, Julien is a Startup Coach supporting founders. Originally from Moncton, New-Brunswick, Julien has worked a number of years in the business and francophone community with a number of organizations and collaborators. Artist at heart, Julien has also created a number of creative initiatives including lead director and screenwriter for a successful world-wide documentary and support in the launch of a French Foodie magazine across Canada. Julien is looking forward to working with founders and supporting them in their creative and validation process.
Kyle has lived the successes and failures of entrepreneurship and knows the realities of start-up life first-hand. Since selling his own business in 2019, he’s been relentlessly focused on helping other entrepreneurs turn their own visions into successful businesses. A graduate of Memorial University’s MBA program, Kyle is an active academic who enjoys applying current research to complex problems. He’s passionate about innovation and loves working closely with Propel founders on all parts of their start-up journeys.
Rachel Cox was previously the Accelerator Program Manager at COVE. In that role, she led the UK Ocean ScaleUp Accelerator Program, building strategic partnerships, and supporting international companies entering the Canadian maritime sector. Rachel has extensive international and Canadian experience across diverse industries, including offshore energy, marine telecommunications, aquaculture, and autonomous vessels. She began her career overseas, working in offshore operations and marine environmental monitoring industries. After returning to Atlantic Canada, she immersed herself in the local ocean technology sector, focusing on helping international companies enter the local market. She has collaborated extensively with ocean tech companies, learning their why; and helping them navigate market entry challenges. Rachel is passionate about supporting impact-driven companies and looks forward to learning the unique stories behind each Founder’s mission.
Steph Burry has spent nearly 20 years helping companies grow in St. John’s and beyond. With extensive experience in the technology sector, including early roles at Verafin and CoLab, she has supported businesses through early and hyper-growth stages. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in building foundational teams and fostering value-driven cultures that prioritize people in the pursuit of business goals. As a Startup Coach, she looks forward to helping founders realize their business goals through an authentic, curious and high energy approach that has led to her success in the technology sector.
