Mohamad Ahmad is a fourth-year mathematics student who has, along with studying full time, created and managed a business, Saxony.co, with his best friends. For his co-op work term this fall, he decided to devote his time and effort to expand his business.
The story behind Saxony.co starts with a strong bond between Mohamad and his long-time friends Alexander Chan, Tristan Samson and Samuel Knorr. Samuel is especially passionate about cars, and for his birthday one year, Alex used his mom’s embroidery machine to embroider an illustration of a BMW onto a sweatshirt. Elated, Samuel cherished the gift. Later on, Mohamad met up with Alex to catch up and they discussed how they felt like they were missing out on what life has to offer. To fulfil their potential, they circled back to the birthday gift that Alex had made for Samuel, and the four friends founded Saxony.co, which makes custom embroidered car hoodies.
As his business was in its beginning stages, Mohamad met up with the head staff at the Entrepreneurship Hub to discuss his options, one of which was applying for the Loh Entrepreneurship Experience Scholarship, available for all uOttawa students who have taken an entrepreneurship course at the University and are approved to do entrepreneurship internships or co-op placements. The scholarship provides students with four full months to work on their entrepreneurial skills with $10,000 in funding, as well as mentorship support and access to core resources to fulfil their potential as entrepreneurs.
Because of Mohamad’s multitasking skills, strong work ethic and initiative, he was an ideal candidate for the scholarship; while he was doing an interview to sort out his co-op term, he was also unknowingly interviewing for it.
Mohamad applies his skills in his company’s decisions — he uses linear algebra to create business models to maximize efficiency in time management and spending, and he uses his programming knowledge to update his business’s database to save time and effort as well. From his studies, he learned the simplex method and uses it to minimize labour and costs and maximize profit, while extrapolating data for future planning.
To develop as a person and gain experience in the professional world, Mohamad recommends students participate in the co-op program if they have the chance. He also encourages students who wish to be entrepreneurs, saying that it doesn’t matter if your first attempts at starting a business don’t go well — it’s the effort that matters. In any case, as he says,
“A little bit of confidence can go a very long way.”
Mohamad Ahmad