Usha Srinivasan

Usha is the founder and CEO of BReady Talent program, a newly formed not-for-profit. This program was launched in July 2023, incubated within Toronto Metropolitan University, and spun out in April 2025 as a standalone organization. BReady talent was initially created to support the underutilization of immigrant and BIPOC talent in the Peel Region - the program has now expand across Southern Ontario and soon will be moving to other provinces. The platform has 1400 plus talent across Ontario, 155 plus employers, and 50 plus people already employed in one year. Find out more about how we are solving this at - https://www.bready.ai

1. Provide strategic consulting services to government, academia and not-for-profit organizations around building an innovation & startup ecosystem and talent attraction and retention strategies 2. Instructor at IEDC (International Economic Development Council) & IEDC Professional Education Advisory Committee - Develop and deliver workshops and content on technology-led economic development - Tech transfer and commercialization, Government TT programs, building technology hubs, incubators/accelerators and startup ecosystems. 3. Startup advisory & business fundamentals workshops for early-stage startups and one-on-one coaching / Fractional COO

Supporting youth in understanding their innate abilities and the career pathways to thrive in their lives.

Brampton Venture Zone by TMU is a purpose-driven, non-equity incubator that is dedicated to building and growing early stage, market-ready technology startups in Brampton. Our programming is sector-specific and we incubate startups operating in the most prominent industries in Brampton - Health & Wellness, Smart city Mobility and logistics, Food sustainability, Film, music and entertainment and Advanced manufacturing. We believe that entrepreneurship should be accessible to and inclusive of all.

Sid Buck Records (https://sidbucknor.com/) is a vintage reggae record label dedicated to re-releasing the iconic compositions of Norman "Sid" Bucknor. Worked hand in hand with the CEO on all aspects of the publishing and record label business. This included everything from cataloging the digitized music, developing the website, setting up social media pages (IG, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, Youtube), email marketing, creating content and posts, registration of compositions in performing and mechanical rights organizations, growing the team to four employees, strategizing on digital and vinyl releases, executing on digital & vinyl releases through Distrokid & Bandcamp, finding competitive pricing for vinyl pressing, creating album covers on Mid Journey, researching song credits, finding global distributors, vinyl shipments, liaison with law firms for contract negotiation and disputes, establishing a DISCO account for sync opportunity exploitations and more.

Spatula's vision is to give Canadians a solution in the kitchen that's ultra-convenient and crazy delicious. They believe that you deserve to eat without compromising on time or quality. They imagine a future where the full potential of high-quality frozen meals can be unlocked. They aim to do this by curating a wide selection of restaurant-quality frozen dishes in Canada both through our own kitchens and through brand partnerships. Spatula just received $500 K from Arlene Dickson of Dragon's Den - Congratulations !!

Petit Paris is a French-inspired patisserie on the beaches. Co-founded and ran day-to-day operations with a team of 3 to 4 employees. Managed everything from the initial concept development with CEO, working with contractors (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, painters) to design the store, finding vendors, developing menu, pricing, setting up Shopify inventory and website, setting up and maintaining social media (IG & Facebook), managing staff, finances with accountant and P&L analysis for CEO review.

HausChef is a marketplace that connects foodies with Chefs of different calibre for a unique home social dinning experience at the chefs home.

At Elevate our focus is on promoting Canada & its tech community globally. As a nation that embraces diversity & inclusion and a growing tech sector we have the competitive edge to lead now on the global stage. We aim to drive the growth in our economy by attracting the world's best tech start ups and scale ups, global talent and investment to Canada. It was my pleasure to work with Razor and the Elevate team to realize this vision. Key responsibilities included: 1. Full cycle HR - job posting, interviews, reference checks, contract development, onboarding, performance management for over 90 employees of 2019 Elevate Festival 2. Corporate Partnership - Working with a team to identify, engage, close corporate partnership and ensure partner success. Exceeded revenue target for 2019 Elevate tech festival. 3. Talent product - Technology acquisition of Startup open house (SOH), deployed SOH in four cities in 2019 with over 500 startups participating and 10,000 talent engaged, managed Fedev metrics and financial reporting.

The Stanford LEAD: Corporate Innovation Certificate is a year-long, 8-course program on key business fundamentals: finance, strategy, and critical thinking, as well as elective options such as design thinking and the innovation process, building business models, negotiation strategies, and overcoming resistance to change. Throughout the program, participants exchange ideas and collaborate on projects with small teams of like-minded, like-motivated peers, and engage with world-renowned Stanford GSB faculty, Silicon Valley leaders, coaches, thought leaders, and luminaries through regular live events, discussions, and facilitated feedback. Courses Electives completed - Financing Innovation, Strategic leadership, Critical analytical thinking, Leading Effective teams, Innovation playbook, Getting (more of) what you want, Customer experience design - Neuroscience perspective, Building power to lead.

PhD thesis - Understanding the biological control mechanisms of Trichoderma species against White rot fungi