ON STUDENTHAUS
Studenthaus is the culmination of everything I’ve ever built, from UVic Real Estate to the Student Housing Initiative. I will be forever grateful for the platform it has given me.
Some of my favourite moments:
Giving away $12k to students
Speaking to 5,000 students about housing in 15 cities last fall
Sharing our research with the federal housing minister and some of the Canada’s biggest real estate companies
Hitting $100k in revenue in a year
Consulting on the largest student housing projects in the country
Going on a podcast that 2 prime ministers have been guests on
Writing a paper that lays the foundation for future student housing policy in Canada (coming next week)
I’ve had the chance to do things that most 23 year olds don’t get to do. I am very thankful for this and proud of the impact we have had on what is an extremely important part of the housing crisis.
I still deeply believe in the vision of what we’re building here. Our traction has shown that there’s room in the market for our work.
Let me be clear, Studenthaus will not be going anywhere, however my relationship with the organization will change.
More to come on this soon.
In an ideal world, I’d share this with you when I had more certainty on the future state of the company, but sometimes narratives don’t line up perfectly.
All I can say for now is that what has been built will remain, and that we hope to run another national survey in Fall 2026. If you’re interested in being part of the team that makes this happen, send me an email!
If things are going well, why am I writing this?
It has become clear that being fully devoted to the Studenthaus vision would come at the cost of missing out on the greatest technological revolution of our generation.
That’s not a tradeoff I can make.
That’s why I am building a new company called North Group with one of my best friends. The work we’ve been doing so far has a different kind of purpose to it, but is extremely meaningful.
Our mission is rooted in a deep desire to make Canadian businesses the best version of themselves in uncertain and rapidly changing times.
AI is already one of the most controversial topics in our society, and I expect this divide to deepen as the technology advances further.
I will write more about my thoughts on the long term impacts of AI, but at a high level, I believe we have important choices to make about the kind of future we want to live in. Like most topics, I don’t think that this is a black and white issue. There is significant nuance in how we should approach AI.
Canadian industry needs to become more productive. AI is an incredible opportunity to do so, but it may come at the cost of jobs.
We have to figure out how these two pieces coexist, and I want to be part of that conversation.
Julian
