Events

Join the Skillful community for a roundtable on Product roles in tech. 

Wafic El-Assi (Product Ops @ Uber) will lead a roundtable discussion with our panelists from different Product specializations at startups, scale-ups and big tech. 

You'll leave with an understanding of the types of roles available in Product so you can demystify job titles and know where & how your experience and skillset fits in.

There will be time for open Q&A! See you there! 

Product Roundtable

Skillful and Monday Girl are joining forces for a fireside chat with our amazing mentors to discuss 

career change: how to find and evaluate new opportunities, build connections and set yourself up for success

​​This is a public event, focused on women who are interested in business roles in tech. Feel free to forward this invite to individuals in your network who might be interested. We’d love to host them!

You'll be able to ask questions live, or add your questions to the 

 in advance, to make sure they get addressed! 

​Skillful is where top talent comes to launch and accelerate their careers in the tech industry. By combining immersive learning sprints led by mentors at top companies with a tight-knit community, Skillful helps you land - and thrive in - strategic business roles in tech. Skillful alumni have been hired by companies like Stripe, TikTok and DoorDash, in roles in Strategy & Operations, Product and Growth. Join Skillful by participating in any of their upcoming Sprints. 

Screw networking, this is better. Join 7000+ like-minded professional women across Canada. The Monday Girl Social Club is an all-in-one exclusive digital membership that gives you the tools, connections, and insider secrets to help you succeed in your career. Welcome to the boys’ club, but for all women. 

Skillful X Monday Girl fireside chat: Setting yourself up for successful career changes

Meet the Skillful team and hear more about our Sprints and community. 

We'll take the first 5 minutes to provide an overview of Sprints. Then we'll open it up to any questions and general discussion. This is a super informal session. 

This is a free event, so feel free to forward it to your network. 

We're excited to meet you, it'll be fun 🙂 

Have a burning question? Put it on the slid.o in advance 

Meet the Skillful Team

Our amazing mentor Wafic (Product Ops @ Uber) has gotten a ton of inbound interest in the open 

 (Product Ops Lead, marketplace) will be hosting an informal Q&A to discuss all things Product Ops at Uber.

If you're intrigued by Product Ops and/or working at Uber, this is an incredible and rare opportunity to get to know Wafic & Tom and learn more about the team and role 

 from the hiring managers. If you want to ask any Qs anonymously, post them here: 

https://app.sli.do/event/riAGmAkqjVdkKrJdQQTbM7/live/questions

Uber is a pioneer in Product Operations, with the first team set up 7 years ago! Product Operations at Uber is a global role with an emphasis on product strategy and launch from ANZ to LATAM.

Note this is NOT open to the public so please do NOT share this link with people outside the community.

Product Ops @ Uber: Meet the team + Q&A

The Skillful community invites you join us for an intro to blockchain and cryptocurrencies

. Many Skillfulers have expressed interest in learning more about crypto, DeFi, Web3, NFTs and DAOs. We're here to help!

We'll cover the basics of “what is crypto” as well as key applications, such as DeFi, Web3, NFTs and DAOs. Think of this session like a 101 - it'll help you build the baseline knowledge you need to continue in your learning journey should you choose to. There will also be time for Q&A, where we'll be sure to discuss BizOps & Product opportunities at Web3 companies and how to put your best foot forward for those roles (hint: you do NOT need to be an expert to be a competitive candidate).

Ben Gusberg will lead this session. He's the creator of 

, a free step-by-step guide to learning the basics of crypto. He focuses on teaching crypto newbies through free online resources and as a guest lecturer for organizations and universities.

In a past life, Ben worked on Wall Street and in startups (as both an employee and as a founder). Ben is a graduate of Harvard (summa cum laude) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

This event is for the Skillful community and we're opening it up to the public, so anyone is invited! Join us :) 

Skillful Speaker Series: Intro to Blockchain & Crypto with Ben Gusberg

You're invited join the Skillful community for a primer on Strategic Finance roles in tech, led by Skillful mentors 

 These mentors lead our Strategic Finance Sprint: a 5-week online learning experience to help you level up for StratFin roles in tech. 

: A primer on Strategic Finance roles in tech. Our mentors will reveal how StratFin roles differ by company stage from Series A/B through post-IPO, the 4 general types of StratFin roles and how that tracks into your day-to-day, and provide advice on how to leverage your experience in banking, accounting or corporate finance at a large company to break into StratFin roles in tech.

we're bringing you right to the source — hear what StratFin actually is (and isn't) directly from our mentors based on their lived experiences

: Skillful mentors Sean, Callum and Charles lead the Strategic Finance Sprint. Our mentors pivoted from traditional finance roles into StratFin in tech and now work at Netflix, Wealthsimple and Alto. They are our accessible experts - a rising star in tech who live & breathe this Sprint daily.

Learn more & apply for the Strategic Finance Sprint here: 

https://www.joinskillful.com/sprints/strategic-finance

: February 10 at 12noon EST / 9am PST on Zoom

Skillful Primer: Strategic Finance roles in Tech

Meet the Skillful Team: Open Q&A

You're invited join the Skillful community for a primer on Product Strategy, led by Skillful mentors 

These mentors lead our Product Strategy Sprint: a 5-week online learning experience to help you level up for Product roles in tech. 

: A primer on Product Strategy! Product continues to be a VERY hot career path. Yet not many people can accurately describe what it is. There's so much info available online it can be dizzying. We're bringing you right to the source — hear what product is (and isn't) directly from Eric & Thiago based on their lived experiences. We'll talk about these topics & leave time for Q&A. 

: Skillful mentors Thiago & Eric are creating + leading a Skillful Sprint on Product Strategy. Sprints are curated & intimate learning experiences centred around a team project to simultaneously build skills, experience and meaningful relationships. Thiago & Eric have experience defining and executing product strategy across different stages of startups. They are our accessible experts - rising stars in tech who live & breathe product strategy daily. They're excited to get to know you and support you through your learning journey with actionable feedback, support and guidance.

: Friday, February 18th at 12:30pm ET / 9:30am PT

Learn more & apply for the March '22 cohort of the Product Strategy Sprint here: 

https://www.joinskillful.com/sprints/product-strategy

Skillful Primer: Product Strategy with mentors Thiago & Eric

Join the Skillful community for a BizOps 101, where we'll dive into key metrics for various types of companies in tech and tackle solving case problems.

The session will be led by Ujwal, who works in BizOps at LinkedIn. 

You'll leave with an understanding of key metrics and the role of BizOps in tech, as well as tactical skills to solve ambiguous problems.

​There will also be time for open Q&A! Feel free to add questions 

 helps ambitious professionals level up for strategic business roles in tech through a curated community and immersive learning sprints.

​Sprints are immersive, cohort-based learning experiences centred around a team project that helps you simultaneously build skills, experience and meaningful relationships. Skillful mentors create and lead each Sprint. Mentors are accessible experts - rising stars in tech who live & breathe the project they're helping you through. They're excited to get to know you and support you through your learning journey with actionable feedback, support and guidance.

BizOps 101: Key Metrics & Problem Solving Frameworks

Join the Skillful community as we showcase high-growth companies in web3 (that happen to be scaling their teams)!

) and Wealthsimple, a unicorn investment management platform that has built a crypto trading arm (ft. Crypto Ops & Skillful mentor 

Spend 30 minutes hearing from the founders at MapleFinance and CyberConnect about their companies and from Himani on how Wealthsimple, a non-native web3 fintech is expanding into the crypto space, their teams and what they look for in new teammates. Then, we'll break-out into smaller groups for candid conversations with each company - this is a perfect opportunity to network and ask questions. 

Skillful helps ambitious professionals launch and accelerate their careers in tech. The growth seen across the Crypto industry has been astounding. Naturally, high achieving business professionals are very interested in learning more about up-and-coming startups in web3 and crypto. We're here to introduce you to two promising startups, their founding teams and the types of business roles they're hiring for so you can put your best foot forward. 

Join us to explore strategic business roles at web3 companies and network with the teams at Maple Finance, CyberConnect and Wealthsimple. Take that first step and see where it leads you! 

This event is open to all Skillfulers and friends of Skillfulers. 

 is where ambitious professionals come to launch and accelerate their business careers in tech. We run skills-based mentorship programs called Sprints and a curated community. 

Skillful's Web3 Company Showcase ft. Maple Finance, CyberConnect and Wealthsimple Crypto

Meet the Skillful mentors who are leading the upcoming Product Operations Sprint & Revenue Growth Sprint! They'll give you an overview of their Sprint, explain why they built it and who it's a good fit for. You'll also get a chance to chat informally with them in breakout sessions. 

Angelina Liu (Revenue Growth Sprint mentor, Product @ Wealthsimple) and Wafic El-Assi (Product Operations Sprint, Product Ops @ Uber Eats)

 Hear from the mentors who built these Sprints on what you'll learn, why they built it and who it's a fit for. We will then jump into breakout sessions where you'll get a chance to interact with them in smaller groups and ask candid questions.

Meet our Sprint Mentors: Product Operations & Revenue Growth 

Building a Product Ops Team - Skillful Speaker Series 🎯⚙️

You've heard of Product Ops, a burgeoning field at the intersection of Product and BizOps. You might also know that the best companies are already leveraging these teams. But who is responsible for building them, and when?

Enter Skillful mentor Timothy Chen. Tim built the Product Ops function at talabat (a division of Delivery Hero), after helping scale the Product Ops team at Hello Fresh. He'll join us to talk candidly on the steps he's taken to build up this department over the past year. 

This is a chance to peek under the hood of a sophisticated new function at a very fast-growing company. We'll also leave time for Q&A so that you can get to know Timothy and learn from his experience

Building Product Ops @ Delivery Hero - Skillful Speaker Series 🎯⚙️

Calling all entrepreneurial (and entrepreneurial-curious!) Skillfulers! The community-driven topic for our upcoming Keeping it Candid panel will focus on the realities and life of being a founder! Hear from our featured Skillfulers:  

 , COO and co-founder of ContentFly, a YC-backed platform that produces high quality, on-demand content for hypergrowth companies,  

 founder of Super PawBox, a  monthly subscription box for puppy owners, and 

, founder of Action Potential Lab, Toronto's first laboratory dedicated to merging science and art.

The panelists will chat about their experiences as founders, the lessons they’ve learned, and what you need to know to start your own company. We will have dedicated time at the end for an open and honest Q&A - so bring your questions!

Keeping it Candid: Skillful Founders

We know many of you are looking for your next move in 2022 🚀

One of the easiest ways to move with the right foot forward is to chat candidly and learn from the experiences of those from your network (ahem, Skillful, ahem).Join two of our mentors, Anna & Allan, for an Office Hours! We'll kick off by letting both of them share their trajectory and how they broke into tech and then use the rest of the time for questions and discussion. Given that we only have an hour, we'll be covering a few select job-related topics (TBD at a later date!).

Mentor Office Hours

, former consultant turned Chief of Staff at Uber. Kris and Maariyah will discuss:

It'll be a great hour filled with lots of learnings. We hope to see you there!

Skillful Speaker Series: Maariyah, Chief of Staff @ Uber

Join a panel of amazing Skillful mentors for a candid discussion on their approach to answering this critical career question: 

"Should I work for an early-stage company, a growth-stage company or an established tech company?!"

We get asked this question almost every day and figured there would be no better way than to answer it than with a panel of Skillfulers who can speak to their own experiences in working at companies across different stages. 

We'll dive in and hear their take on the topic before opening the floor up for discussion and questions. We hope to see you there!

Keeping it Candid: Which stage of company is right for you?

Where Python Meets BizOps: A Community Speaker Series

A computer science concept Skillfulers often ask us about?

It's one of the world's most popular programming languages. BizOps and Product teams have a unique use for it, though, so we asked three Skillfulers to share how they use Python in their work.

Shane Parkhill, Michael Kalish and Josh Kennedy have generously offered to spend an hour covering all things Python, and the ways in which intersects with BizOps functions. 

They'll cover how to get started, how to problem solve with Python (i.e. stick the legos together), why pandas are extremely important 🐼 and show some of the epic automations they've created using the language.

new✨ called Skillful Office Hours! A half hour event we'll be running on an almost weekly basis. 

Come and join a few member(s) of the Skillful Team: Loren, Alex, Zack and Laura. We'll answer any questions you have about the community, talk openly about what the team is building, share + discuss ideas and just hang out together! 

 and we think this will be an awesome platform for us to do that. 

Skillful Team Office Hours

 - VP of Strategy and Head of Custody at sFOX, a full-service crypto prime dealer for institutional investors. Of course Sarah is also a Skillful Mentor 💚

We'll spend our time together running through:

Come ready to learn and dive in with Sarah and the rest of the group for this informative and interactive hour together! 

Skillful: Crypto Chat with Sarah Tulin

👔 ➡️ 📈 Thinking about pivoting from Finance into Tech? Join three Skillfulers who have made the jump in a fireside chat and Q&A.

 - Ross is currently Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations at Ro and a Skillful Mentor. Ro is a company aiming to revolutionize healthcare by building accessible, impactful, and trusted care that people want. Before working in tech, Ross worked in Investment Banking and Private Equity.

Shawn currently works in Finance & Strategy at Square and is a Skillful alum. Square is a company building common business tools to help more people start, run and grow their businesses. Before working in tech, Shawn worked in Investment Banking.

 currently works in Business Operations at Pepper and a Skillful alum. Pepper's eCommerce platform enables food distributors to find new customers, deepen relationships, grow revenue, and run more efficiently. Before working in tech, Anna worked in Banking.

​​​This is a public event, focused on finance professionals who are interested in business roles in tech. Feel free to forward this invite to individuals in your network who might be interested. We’d love to host them!

​​Skillful is where top talent comes to launch and accelerate their careers in the tech industry. By combining immersive learning sprints led by mentors at top companies with a tight-knit community, Skillful helps you land - and thrive in - strategic business roles in tech. Skillful alumni have been hired by companies like Stripe, TikTok and DoorDash, in roles in Strategy & Operations, Product and Growth. Join Skillful by participating in any of their upcoming Sprints. 

Skillful Office Hours: Pivoting from Finance to Tech

​​Job searching and could use a direct connection? Join the Skillful community as we, along with OMNA, showcase 3 tech companies & hiring managers that are hiring now. You'll have the opportunity to network with hiring managers from Point, AtoB and Dolly. 

Take that first step and see where it leads you!

We're featuring three amazing tech companies & their hiring managers: 

Spend 15 minutes hearing from the panelists about their careers, companies, and roles they are currently hiring for, followed by Q&A about their companies trajectories, what skills their companies are looking for, advice on landing a role, and more. Afterwards, attendees will have the opportunity to attend two break out sessions with the panelists to learn more and interact directly with the hiring managers.

Skillful helps ambitious professionals launch and accelerate their careers in tech. We work closely with many companies to help Skillfulers land new roles - through providing exposure to various teams in tech and introductions to hiring managers. We invite you to come and check out an example of the magic! 🪄

This event is open to all Skillfulers and friends of Skillfulers - feel free to forward the invite to your network!

Skillful is where ambitious professionals come to launch and accelerate their business careers in tech. We run skills-based mentorship programs called Sprints and a curated community.

Omna is a search firm that specializes in placing strategy, operations, and finance talent across startup and tech companies. We recruit on behalf of companies backed by top funds like Sequoia, Andresseen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Accel Partners, KPCB, Bessemer and more.

Founded by two former management consultants, our core area of expertise is recruiting for roles interested in management consultant or investment banker profiles. Most commonly, we hire across Strategy, Biz Ops, Operations, Strategic Finance, Chief of Staff, and GM roles.

Skillful x OMNA: Tech Company Showcase: Meet Companies & Hiring Managers That Are Hiring Now

This special edition of Mentor Office Hours is focused on a topic that can be confusing but is super important to understand: equity at startups 📈

​Monday evening join three of our incredible mentors, Ana, Ernest, and Saumil, for an Office Hours where they'll answer all of your equity related questions! We'll kick off by letting the three of them introduce themselves and then use the rest of the time for questions and discussion.

Equity at Startups: Understanding & Evaluating Your Startup Equity

Skillful Summit: Typical Teams in Tech

​👔 ➡️ 📈 Thinking about pivoting from Consulting into Tech? Join three Skillfulers who have made the jump in a fireside chat and Q&A.

- Carolyn currently works in Product Operations at DoorDash and is a Skillful Mentor. DoorDash is a technology and logistics company on a mission to empower local economies. Before working in tech, Carolyn worked at Deloitte Digital as a Consultant.

Peyton currently works in Business Development at Instacart and is a Skillful alum. Instacart works with grocers and retailers across North America to change the way people shop. Before working in tech, Peyton worked in Consulting at EY, IBM, and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Jasmine currently works in Expansion Strategy and Operations at Deel and is a Skillful alum. Deel is a global payroll solution that helps businesses hire anyone, anywhere. Before working in tech, Jasmine worked in Consulting at Accenture.

​​​Skillful is where top talent comes to launch and accelerate their careers in the tech industry. By combining immersive learning sprints led by mentors at top companies with a tight-knit community, Skillful helps you land - and thrive in - strategic business roles in tech. Skillful alumni have been hired by companies like Stripe, TikTok and DoorDash, in roles in Strategy & Operations, Product and Growth. Join Skillful by participating in any of their upcoming Sprints. 

Skillful Office Hours: Pivoting from Consulting to Tech

​​​👔 ➡️ 📈 Thinking about pivoting from Accounting into Tech? Join three Skillfulers who have made the jump in a fireside chat and Q&A.

- Shezal is the Controller at Waabi, and is a Skillful Alum. Waabi is an AI company building the next generation of self-driving technology. Before working in tech, Shezal worked as an accountant at KPMG.

Hinal is currently a Senior Financial Analyst, FP&A at Vena Solutions, and is a Skillful alum. Vena Solutions is the only native Excel complete planning platform built for Microsoft 365 with Power BI embedded. Before working in tech, Hinal worked in accounting at KPMG and Goodmans LLP.

Ryan is currently a Product Manager at Resolver Inc. and is a Skillful alum. Resolver’s Risk Intelligence Platform traces the extended impact of all types of risk and translates those effects into quantifiable business metrics. Before working in tech, Ryan worked in Risk Advisory at Deloitte.

Skillful Office Hours: Pivoting from Accounting to Tech

, Manager of Product Adoption at Plooto, for an interactive workshop covering what it means to make the move from being an individual contributor (IC) to a manager role! 

We can't wait to dive into this session with you all and we hope to see you there! 

Community Chat: Moving from IC to Manager w/ Mentor Ryan Rego

​Hi everyone! Please join us for a Speaker Series on Product led by 

, Product Manager at Google and Mentor at The Commons.

: A primer on Product! Product continues to be a VERY hot career path. Yet not many people can accurately describe what it is. There's so much info available online it can be dizzying. We're bringing you right to the source — hear what product is (and isn't) directly from Kaiz based on his lived experiences. We'll talk about these topics & leave time for Q&A.

: Kaiz is a Product mentor at The Commons and will be leading the upcoming Product Sprint alongside other mentors. Sprints are curated & intimate learning experiences centred around a team project to simultaneously build skills, experience and meaningful relationships. Kaiz and the rest of our Product mentors have experience defining and executing product strategy and product operations across different stages of startups. They are our accessible experts - rising stars in tech who live & breathe product daily. They're excited to get to know you and support you through your learning journey with actionable feedback, support and guidance.

: Tuesday August 2nd at 12pm EST on Zoom!

Product Primer with Kaiz, PM at Google

Join in for Skillful's next Vancouver meet up at Brewhall! 

For those taking public transit, the closest SkyTrain is Main St. Science World. 

Vancouver IRL Skillful Meetup - Aug 5

The Commons community of San Francisco is gathering for another IRL event! Join us on Thursday, August 11 @ 6pm at Southern Pacific Brewing Company 🍻

The Commons San Francisco Meetup

, Head of Growth & Product at Purified News for an insightful hour covering his take on making the move from BizOps to Product. This will be a packed hour where Tobin will share:

We're really excited for this one, and hope to see you there! 

Community Chat: Making the Move from Ops to Product w/ Mentor Tobin

Ryan Rego is Senior Manager, Product Adoption at Plooto and a mentor at The Commons. Ryan is joining this roundtable as a hiring manager and will be sharing his advice for job-seekers going through a recruiting cycle.

Raza Khan is a BizOps Manager at Webflow and an alumni of The Commons. Raza is joining the roundtable as someone who has recently been through the BizOps recruiting cycle, and will be sharing his tips on how to navigate the process.

Recruiting Roundtable: Ryan & Raza

You're invited join the Commons community for a primer on Strategic Finance roles in tech, led by The Commons mentor 

Megan helps lead our Strategic Finance Sprint: a 5-week online learning experience to help you level up for StratFin roles in tech.

: A primer on Strategic Finance roles in tech. Megan will reveal how StratFin roles differ by company stage from Series A/B through post-IPO, the 4 general types of StratFin roles and how that tracks into your day-to-day, and provide advice on how to leverage your experience in banking, accounting or corporate finance at a large company to break into StratFin roles in tech.

https://www.jointhecommons.co/sprints/strategic-finance

The Commons: Demystifying Strategic Finance

Networking can be fun! We'll match you with curated connections & talking points to take the pressure off and help you get right into the conversation. You'll build 6-8 awesome new connections.

Location: two twos at 296 Brunswick Ave, Toronto (a super cool venue at Bathurst + Bloor).

career development membership for ambitious professionals in business + tech

. We bring together a curated community who level up together for business roles in tech through learning, mentorship & community.

How? You apply to join the community via a 

 and participate in interactive learning experiences that are 100% led by mentors who work in tech. It's the easiest way to accelerate your career by building skills, gaining experience and making meaningful connections with mentors & peers who actually give a sh&t!

The Commons: Toronto Speed Networking Mixer

The Commons is hosting a mixer for members of The Commons community and new friends in business & tech.

​If you're a member of The Commons or if you're not a member (yet) but are looking to make new friends across business & tech, this one's for you.

​We promise candid connections with ambitious professionals, because that's what The Commons is all about. We're a very friendly group so if you're on the fence, just join us!

How? You apply to join the community and participate in interactive learning experiences that are 100% led by mentors (like Andrew). It's the easiest way to accelerate your career by building skills, gaining experience and making meaningful connections with mentors & peers who actually give a sh&t!

Speed Networking: New Connections in Business & Tech

The Commons is hosting a mixer for members of The Commons community and new friends in business & tech. 💫

​If you're a member of The Commons or if you're looking to make new friends across business & tech, this one's for you.

Feel free to forward this to your friends to register - spots are limited.

​It's at the two twos (296 Brunswick Ave, Toronto) - a cool venue at Bathurst and Bloor.

The Commons: Toronto Tech Mixer

Join us for a discussion on a hot topic for many in our community - MBAs. We have 4 community members on the panel for this one. 2 who have MBAs and 2 who thought about it, but opted not to pursue.

Great Debate: MBA

One of the best ways to kick start your job search is to have conversations and ask questions ☕️

Monday evening join two of our incredible mentors, Drayton and Vidya, for an Office Hours where we will do just that! We'll kick off by letting both of them share their trajectory and how they broke into tech and then use the rest of the time for questions and discussion. 

The Commons: Mentor Office Hours

The Commons Vancouver IRL Meetup, November 2022

The Commons IRL MTL Hang 🎉

, VP of Revenue and BI at Lifehouse and mentor at The Commons. Rohan has prepared an incredible mock case that centres itself around simulating the kinds of questions you might face in an interview.

​We are SO excited about this one and hope to see you there!

Mentor Mini-Case Workshop

Come hang with The Commons team & community! We'll spend the time catching up and playing some casual games. Join us for a boost before finishing off your work week!

Community Hang

​There's no better time or place to meet community members AND level up by refining your answer to the age old question: "So tell me about yourself".

​We are firm believers that practice makes perfect - many community members (us included) have found that the more practice you have in telling your professional story out loud, the better it gets.

 is a really good read that I’d suggest at least skimming before hopping on the call. With the take-aways in mind, try to have an idea of what kind of role you’d like to mock pitch in this session. This will help you narrow in on the aspects of your professional story that are most relevant for the particular conversation you’re having.

​​TIP: Always be positive! Think about your forward trajectory and where you want to go next. Don’t get bogged down in what’s not great about your current role.  

Pitch Yourself! 📣

Thursday afternoon join two of our incredible mentors, Eileen and Julie-Anne, for an Office Hours where we will do just that! We'll kick off by letting both of them share their trajectory and how they broke into tech and then use the rest of the time for questions and discussion. 

Alex Palmer

Events