In the final episode of 海角社区 Management Insights鈥� first season, host Marc Ransom (BCom鈥�24) interviews Khaled Kteily (BCom鈥�10), a 海角社区 alumnus and CEO and co-founder of Legacy, a male fertility company. Khaled shares his journey from 海角社区 to co-founding Legacy, highlighting the challenges and triumphs he faced along the way.
His journey as an entrepreneur first began when he arrived in Montreal to study at 海角社区 after being forced to leave Lebanon in the face of the 2006 Lebanon War.
鈥淚 am a Palestinian-Lebanese Canadian and grew up between Lebanon and Canada,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 remember in 2006 was deciding between 海角社区 and the American University of Beirut, which is, you know, probably the best school in the region. And then we had war break out. And so, you know, my brother and I were smuggled across the border to Syria to in the back of a taxicab and kind of escaped our way to Montreal.鈥�
As a student, his goal was to make it into the management program, do well and make the most of every opportunity, and eventually, to work in consulting鈥攁ll things he made happen.
鈥淚 have a lot of great memories. I was very involved with case competitions,鈥� he says. 鈥淧rofessor [Richard] Donovan, may he rest in peace, came with us to Les jeux de commerce. We went to ICBC, we went to Georgetown. So, we were very involved. And actually, I honed a lot of my communication and presentation skills through case class, and it's a skill I carried with me for a very, very long time.鈥�
After graduating with his Bachelor of Commerce, Khaled worked in healthcare consulting at Oliver Wyman before making the jump to entrepreneurship, driven by personal experience and a compelling idea. This led to the founding of Legacy, a company providing at-home sperm testing and storage services.
鈥淟egacy was born out of a personal experience,鈥� he explains. 鈥�I realized that male fertility is often overlooked, and there鈥檚 a stigma around discussing it. We wanted to create a safe space for men to take control of their reproductive health.鈥�
Khaled emphasizes the importance of collaboration and advises aspiring entrepreneurs not to go it alone: 鈥淵ou need to have trusted people by your side.鈥�
鈥淓ntrepreneurship is about resilience,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l face setbacks, but it鈥檚 how you bounce back that matters. Surround yourself with a supportive network, and don鈥檛 be afraid to pivot when needed.鈥�
Tune into this exciting season finale to learn all about the ups and downs of launching a startup, including fundraising rounds and trademark battles, and hear what鈥檚 next in store for the innovative enterprise and the bright young mind behind it!
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This episode was hosted by
Marc Ransom
BCom'24
