Reza Satchu

Reza Satchu
Born1969 (age 56–57)
Mombasa, Kenya
EducationMcGill University (BA Economics, 1991)
Harvard Business School (MBA, 1996)
OccupationsEntrepreneur, investor, and educator
Known forCo-founding SupplierMarket.com, StorageNow, KGS-Alpha Capital Markets, and Alignvest Management Corporation; creator of The Founder Mindset and Founder Launch courses at Harvard Business School; founding chairman of NEXT Canada
SpouseMarion Annau
WebsiteHBS Faculty Page

Reza Satchu is an East African-born Canadian entrepreneur. Satchu is the co-founder and managing partner of Alignvest Management Corporation, the founding chairman of NEXT Canada and a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School.

Early life and education

Born in Mombasa, Kenya Reza Satchu was seven years old when his family emigrated to Toronto in 1976 as part of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's policy to accept Ismaili immigrants from East Africa.[1][2][3][4][5] Satchu's family soon settled in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, where his father worked as a real estate agent and his mother as a secretary.[2][3][4]

Following high school, Satchu attended Montreal's McGill University. Initially intending to become a doctor he switched majors and received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1991.[1][2][3][5] Upon graduation, Satchu moved to New York City and worked as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch, but found the post limiting.[2] Satchu then entered Harvard Business School, graduating in 1996 with an MBA.[2][6]

Career

Business and finance

After receiving his MBA in 1996, Satchu joined Fenway Partners, a private equity firm, as managing director.[2]

In 2000, CEO and co-founder Jonathan Burgstone,[7] aided by the 30 year old Reza Satchu, and his brother Asif Satchu sold SupplierMarket.com, a B2B supply chain software company, to SAP Ariba for $925 million.[1][2][3][8] Satchu and his wife Marion Annau then left New York, moving back to Toronto.[2] In 2003, Satchu co-founded StorageNow, a consumer storage facility chain, which they built into Canada's second largest storage company before selling it in 2007 for $110 million.[2][3] In 2007, Satchu received Canada's “Top 40 Under 40” award. In 2010, Satchu co-founded fixed income broker-dealer KGS-Alpha Capital Markets, specializing in U.S. mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, which with 135 employees was sold to Bank of Montreal for over $400 million.[9][10][11]

In 2014, Satchu founded Alignvest Management Corporation, a private investment firm.[8] In 2018, Alignvest launched Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust.[12] By mid-2023 Alignvest Student Housing owned more than 5,200 student housing beds across several markets in Canada.[13]

In October 2024, Satchu and his partner Sanjil Shah oversaw the sale of Alignvest Student Housing REIT's properties to Forum in a $1.686 billion deal. The transaction included 17 properties with 7,159 beds, creating Canada's largest student housing platform with nearly 10,000 beds.[14]

Board positions

Satchu serves on the Board of Directors of Sagicor Financial Corporation (TSX: SFC), a publicly traded life insurance company.[15]

Academic career

Beginning in 2004, Satchu taught an undergraduate course at the University of Toronto titled The Economics of Entrepreneurship. Drawing no salary as an adjunct professor, he awarded the top students in each class $5,000 scholarships with his own money.[1][2][3][16] In 2011, McGill University selected Satchu as one of three recipients of its Management Achievement Award, meant to highlight alumni who serve as role models for McGill's students.[17]

In 2020, Satchu joined the faculty at Harvard Business School, where he created and teaches two courses: The Founder Mindset and Founder Launch.[16] The Founder Mindset, which enrols nearly 200 students per semester, focuses on developing entrepreneurial judgment and decision-making under uncertainty.[18] Founder Launch, a companion spring course, requires students to launch an actual business and to forgo recruiting for other positions during enrollment. In its inaugural year, students raised over $25 million in seed capital and secured more than 580 paying customers before graduation.[19]

A number of prominent figures have appeared as guests in Satchu's courses. Investor Kevin O'Leary has been a recurring guest, including judging student pitches at a Harvard Business School startup competition in 2023.[20][21] In 2025, author and podcaster Tim Ferriss participated in The Founder Mindset and also led a school-wide discussion hosted by Satchu the same day.[22][23] That same year, social media personality Alix Earle appeared in his class,[24] and actor and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon visited to discuss the founding of her media company Hello Sunshine.[25]

Next Canada

Inspired by teaching his economics of entrepreneurship class at the University of Toronto,[26] in 2011,[27] Satchu co-founded the Next 36, an organization which annually offers entrepreneurial students[28] an eight-month program at the University of Toronto in which they learn from guest lecturers and mentors how to develop their ideas to successfully launch new businesses.[8][29][30]

Awards

Satchu has received a number of awards recognizing his entrepreneurial and educational contributions. In 2007, he received Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" award. In 2011, McGill University named him a recipient of its Management Achievement Award.[31] He has also received the TiE Toronto Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2025, Satchu received the King Charles III Coronation Medal, recognizing his service and contributions to Canadian society.[32] That same year, he was named one of Canadian Immigrant magazine's Top 25 Canadian Immigrants[33] and received McGill University's Distinguished Leader Award.[34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pearce, Tralee (March 5, 2005). "The 'millionaire jerk' professor". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dunfield, Allison (May 5, 2008). "Reza Satchu, 38". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Reza Satchu on Life, Entrepreneurship and How to Stay Motivated". Canadian Business. February 8, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Calleja, Dawn (July 7, 2017). "Reza Satchu: What I learned after selling my first startup for nearly $1 billion". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Branswell, Brenda. "High-level help for Canada's next entrepreneurs". McGillNews. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Hanna, Julia (June 1, 2014). "3-Minute Briefing: Reza Satchu (MBA 1996)". Harvard Business School. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Lipin, Steven (Nov 29, 1999). "KKR Executives Turn to Internet, Aiding Industrial-Supply Start-Up". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Jan 5, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Spence, Rick (February 13, 2014). "How two Next 36 co-founders are aiming to upend Bay Street with Alignvest Capital". Financial Post. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "KGS-Alpha Raises $150M In Equity Capital". Institutional Investor. February 11, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. ^ The Canadian Press (May 1, 2018). "BMO to acquire NY-based KGS-Alpha Capital Markets for undisclosed amount". Financial Post. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "Reza Satchu". Alignvest Management Corporation. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "Alignvest Management debuts Canadian student accommodation REIT". S&P Global. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  13. ^ "Alignvest Student Housing REIT makes first purchase". renx. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  14. ^ Marr, Garry (October 16, 2024). "Alignvest Student Housing to sell holdings in deal creating Canada's largest firm of its kind". CoStar. Retrieved Jan 22, 2025.
  15. ^ "Board of Directors". Sagicor Financial Corporation. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  16. ^ a b "Reza R. Satchu". Harvard Business School. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Desautels Management Achievement Awards 31th". www.mcgill.ca. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Contreras, Brian (September 3, 2025). "Inside Harvard's Elite Founder Class, Students Learn to Build Amid Uncertainty and AI". Inc. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  19. ^ Bhandari, Jay (May 19, 2025). "Founder Launch: A Push to Redefine Entrepreneurship at HBS". The Harbus. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  20. ^ Parks, Alex (October 26, 2023). "'Shark Tank's' Kevin O'Leary talks startups and setbacks". The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  21. ^ Edwards, Robbie H. (October 25, 2023). "Shark Tank Investor Kevin O'Leary Judges Pitches, Awards $100,000 at Harvard Business School Event". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  22. ^ Bhandari, Jay (March 31, 2025). "Between Two Classes: Tim Ferriss". The Harbus. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  23. ^ Ferriss, Tim (May 8, 2025). "What might this look like if it were easy? — A Conversation at Harvard Business School". Tim.blog. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  24. ^ "The Art of the Alix Earle Deal". The Wall Street Journal. May 22, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  25. ^ Donaldson, Ali (November 7, 2025). "Reese Witherspoon Just Returned to Harvard—as the Subject of a Popular Business School Course". Inc. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  26. ^ Dunfield, Allisn. "Reza Satchu, 38". Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  27. ^ "NEXT Canada: Building a More Ambitious and Competitive Canada". Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  28. ^ "How The Other 4 made The Next 36". Financial Post. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  29. ^ Spence, Rick (August 30, 2017). "There was no summer break for these students". Financial Post. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  30. ^ "The search for Canada's "Next 36" most talented young innovators culminates at U of T". University of Toronto. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  31. ^ "McGill Management Achievement Award 2011". McGill University. 2011. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  32. ^ "King Charles III Coronation Medal – Reza Satchu". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  33. ^ "Top 25 Canadian Immigrants 2025: Reza Satchu". Canadian Immigrant. 2025. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  34. ^ "McGill University Distinguished Leader Award". McGill University. 2025. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
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