Nain Abdi
Undergraduate student, Faculty of Engineering
> Co-founder, Colare
> Co-op and Experiential Education
> Velocity
From a young age, third-year electrical engineering student Nain Abdi saw business opportunities everywhere, often turning his hobbies into ventures and ideas into action.
That drive only grew stronger at the University of Waterloo, where Abdi discovered entrepreneurial programs through Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) and Velocity. These initiatives gave Abdi the confidence to launch his own startup while still a full-time student.
“Waterloo programs are rooted in setting students up for an entrepreneurial path if they decide to take it,” Abdi says. “The idea of starting something yourself is always alive here. For me, it was that entrepreneurial energy combined with Waterloo’s reputation as a top engineering school in Canada that really drew me in.”
Inspired by his own co-op experience, Abdi and his co-founder Esther Thomas built Colare to improve how engineering talent is hired. The platform uses simulation-based assessments to evaluate candidates in real-world scenarios, helping employers understand how candidates think, build and solve before they even come on-site.
“Colare’s mission is to transform how engineering talent is evaluated,” Abdi explains. “In non-software engineering, there’s still no scalable way to test candidates whether it’s CAD modelling or designing printed circuit boards. Hiring relies on conceptual questions rather than real work. Colare changes that by testing the exact skills engineers use on the job. Powered by artificial intelligence, our scoring system evaluates how candidates interpret problems and execute solutions, helping employers hire engineers who truly drive the business forward.”
Abdi using laptop that shows a schematic design used in the assessment process on Colare’s hiring program.
When Abdi joined Velocity Cornerstone in fall 2024, the startup was heading in a different direction. The program is a two-week sprint for students to access hands-on support and market validation workshops. Through the process, Abdi and Thomas refined their concept, identified the core problem they wanted to solve and reshaped their venture into what is now Colare. As first-place winners in the program’s pitch competition, they also received funding to support their startup’s growth.
But convincing companies to adopt a new technology was a challenge — and that’s where E Co-op played a key role. Offered through the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, E Co-op enables students to build or operate their own ventures while earning co-op credit and gaining access to mentorship and industry connections. For Abdi and his team, the program’s support led to a successful pilot and validation of Colare’s solution in the hiring space.
“One of the major elements of being an entrepreneur is the ability to identify potential problems you can pursue and solve which is really difficult to do without experience,” Abdi says. “Waterloo’s Enterprise Co-op and programs set up that foundation for entrepreneurial pursuit by providing early work experience.”
With the experience Abdi’s gained, he’s now working to position Colare as the new standard for hiring engineering talent. His tech is performance first, data-driven and grounded in real-world experience, reflecting the foundation built through Waterloo’s co-op and entrepreneurship programs.
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