Alex McIsaac here!

We’re excited to introduce the Northside Ventures Scout Program and inaugural 2026 cohort!

What is a Northside Scout?

Northside Scouts are active university students or recent graduates embedded in the builder communities where we invest, starting with scouts in Toronto, Waterloo, New York, and San Francisco. Scouts act as a visible and approachable local connection to the Northside investment team for builders exploring ideas, forming teams, or preparing to raise their first round of capital. Scouts embody Northside’s core belief in backing ‘people over ideas’ and that ‘nothing is too early’ to have a conversation.

Scouts participate alongside their primary work, whether that’s studying or building a company. The role is intentionally lightweight and centered on identifying strong founders early, providing founders with access to pre-seed capital, and contributing to the communities they’re already a part of. Scouts are encouraged to stay active and foster connectivity within their ecosystems through activities such as hosting small dinners, running hackathons or participating in workshops. Northside will work directly with scouts on several of these events throughout the year.

Why We're Launching a Scout Program

Over the past two years, we’ve observed the average founder age has declined including a growing number of exceptional founders emerging directly from university ecosystems, including recent graduates and dropouts. Notably, Northside has invested in three companies all founded by 19-year old university dropouts over the last two years. We anticipate this trend will continue as AI tools enable student builders to execute with speed and sophistication that historically required years of industry experience.

The Scout program will provide greater connectivity between Northside and founders, enabling us to meet them where they’re already building: on campuses, in hacker houses, and within tight-knit builder communities. Through the program we will be able to to provide greater support earlier in their journey by helping out with general advice and mentorship, first customer introductions and pre-seed capital.

Meet the 2026 Cohort

For our inaugural cohort we’ve partnered with four incredible individuals based in ecosystems where we consistently see a high concentration of early founder activity: Waterloo, Toronto, New York, and San Francisco.

Collectively, each scout has helped grow and lead high-signal builder communities across North America:

• Anupam (Toronto) is completing his BASc in Engineering at the University of Toronto and is a U of T National Scholar; he currently acts as co-chair of Meraki, a collective of builders across the University of Toronto network
• Brenda (Waterloo) is completing her B.Math in Financial Analysis & Risk Management at the University of Waterloo, is a Contrary Research Fellow and co-founded Akatos House, Waterloo’s hacker house for founders
• Avan (New York) is completing his Ivey Business School HBA at Western University and previously held roles at three companies backed by Alex including Terminal (YC S23), Disco AI, and Datacurve (YC W24) and recently founded his own company in New York
• Ahmad (San Francisco) is completing his Bachelors degree in Mathematics at the University of Waterloo and is a Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI; he is a member of Powell House, a hacker house in San Francisco and recently co-founded Anytool who is part of this upcoming YC W26 batch

We’re looking forward to working with this group as they deepen Northside’s presence across these communities and strengthen our connection to the next generation of founders.

What Scouts Get From the Program

Scouts gain hands-on exposure to pre-seed investing by sourcing founders, participating in the pre-seed investment process, and building a personal track record alongside the Northside team. They receive access to Northside-led dinners, builder meetups, workshops, and events across North America, with opportunities to help curate attendees and shape the format. Through ongoing founder conversations, Scouts develop a clear understanding of how strong founders think, iterate, and raise early capital, while working closely with the Northside team to expand their network and credibility within their local ecosystem. Scouts also get to participate in Northside annual scout retreat, which will be held a different location each year. Compensation is entirely performance-based, with Scouts receiving a US$1,000 sourcing fee for each founder they introduce who is ultimately backed by Northside.

How to Apply for Future Cohorts

If you’re a university builder or recent graduate with a strong founder network in Toronto, Waterloo, New York, or San Francisco, and are interested in becoming a Northside Scout please fill out this form here.