Naol Denko

Naol Denko

Co-Founder - Mieso Denko Memorial Scholarship

Followers of Naol Denko7000 followers
location of Naol DenkoGreater Toronto Area, Canada

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Co-Founder at Sereen Health

  • Education

    • Buildspace

      2024 - 2024
      N&w s5

      A part of the ~7.4% out of 70,000 that graduated from the n&w s5 cohort.buildspace's nights & weekends is a 6-week program that inspires a variety of creators to build anything within the timeframe. They also provide virtual programming such as lectures and labs that better equip us in our journey. buildspace is backed by venture capital firm, a16z, and world renowned accelerator, YC.

    • Y Combinator

      2020 - 2020
      Startup School

      Participated in YC's Startup School with the goal to learn and assimilate into a community of founders aspiring to solve problems. Went through a curriculum that covered content such as "How to Evaluate Startup Ideas," "How to Talk to Users," and "How to Pitch Your Startup."

    • University of Guelph

      2022 - 2025
      Bachelor of Arts Philosophy

      Activities and Societies: Poets Society, Writers Association, Aerospace Club (Web Developer), Entrepreneurship Society (Gryphons Den Pitch Competitor), GryphHacks (Hackathon Award Winner), Intramural Flag Football (3rd in Men’s Competitive - F22) Notable Coursework: German, Critical Thinking, AI Ethics, Music, Critical Reading & Writing, Social Psychology, Science & Tech History, Philosophy of Science, Life Science Ethics

    • Saint Mary's University

      2017 - 2017
      Bachelor of Arts Economics

      Activities and Societies: Saint Mary's Huskies Football (Scholarship Athlete) Recruited and awarded an Athletic Scholarship to play for Eastern Canada's most-winningest Football Program, the Saint Mary's Huskies. Coached by Head Football Coach, James Colzie III, at the Cornerback position (Former BCS/FBS National Champion at Florida State). Left the school after a brief stint due to mental health concerns.

    • York University

      2021 - 2021
      YSpace - Venture Catalyst

      Applied, interviewed, and admitted into the Venture Catalyst program for the Winter '21 Cohort (~25 startups were admitted). The project admitted was Sensental (mental health app for athletes). YSpace’s Venture Catalyst is a 6-week initiative focused on having sessions that help us learn how to refine and validate a tech-based idea.

    • Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School

      2013 - 2017
      High School Diploma

      Activities and Societies: International Baccalaureate Student (Grade 9 & 10), Varsity Football (2x Captain, 1x ROPSSAA Champion), Track & Field (200/400m), Breakfast Server, Social Media Manager (Varsity Football), Run for Hope (Volunteer), Model UN, Game Design, Athletic Council, KRT Church (2x Summer Camp Counselor, 1x Summer Intern), Project Cipher/Coding Club, Knights for Life, Weight Room, Guelph Jr. Gryphons (1x OFC Provincial Champion)

    • Sheridan College

      2018 - 2021
      Advanced Diploma Software Development & Network Engineering (Co-op)

      Activities and Societies: Intramural Basketball, EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub Notable Coursework: Object-Oriented Programming, Web Development/Programming, Database Design & Implementation, Software Design, IT Project Management, Computer Architecture, Linux/Unix Operating Systems

  • Experience

    • University of Guelph

      Jan 2010 - Jan 2021
      Co-Founder - Mieso Denko Memorial Scholarship

      "Established in memory of Mieso Denko as a tribute to his life’s work in research and education The scholarship will be awarded to the student with the highest admission average. No application is required."- Donor(s): Family, Friends, and Colleagues of the late Mieso Denko- Qualification(s): Students entering the Bachelor of Computing program.- Amount: 1 award of $1,000

    • Tim Hortons

      Jan 2015 - Jan 2016
      Team Member
    • Independent

      Jan 2017 - now
      Musician

      Music Production- Featured on CBC Radio 1, PopCanRadio, Ones To Watch, etc.- Formed a duo that produces nocturnal/alt house music (Noctuse)

    • Moredovate

      Jan 2017 - Jan 2019
      Business Strategist

      AI Fitness + Nutrition App- Entrepreneurship 101- Received admission to two entrepreneurship programs: RIC Centre + UTM iCube- Led the business strategy team which included students from top schools (UofT, Schulich)- Created the name, recruited co-founders, co-interviewed interns, conducted in-depth research, etc.

    • Lionhead Golf and Country Club

      Jan 2017 - Jan 2017
      Dishwasher/Prep Cook
    • Burrito Boyz

      Jan 2018 - Jan 2018
      Back of House Cook
    • Gap

      Jan 2018 - Jan 2018
      Warehouse Worker
    • Octascope Group

      Jan 2019 - Jan 2019
      Artist Manager

      Talent Management- Signed and managed 6 artists and 2 producers (Notable: Kye Clayton)- Received a notable shoutout from NFL Running Back - Chuba Hubbard- Consulted Devontee (Ayesha Curry's Cousin) on his marketing and a potential collab w/ Kye Clayton- Recruited an in-house team and communicated w/ studios, video directors, social media pages, etc.

    • McDonald's

      Jan 2019 - Jan 2020
      Overnight Manager

      Customer Service- Received a promotion in <3 months to be an Overnight Manager

    • Sensental

      Jan 2020 - Jan 2021
      Product Manager

      AI Mental Health App for Athletes- 1st Place for Health & Fitness | SteelHacks '21 (+80 Participants)- YSpace Venture Catalyst W21 Cohort + YC Startup School

    • IFC Church

      Jan 2021 - Jan 2022
      Broadcast Audio Assistant

      Audio Engineering- Learned the necessary equipment to mix audio & run a live stream with minimal supervision in <5 days- Oversaw all audio technicalities that are involved in a live stream to ensure +50 families enjoy the service

    • Screenwriter

      Jan 2021 - now
      Screenwriter

      Screenwriting- Hidden Aspects (2021) / TV Drama - One Hour / "An aspiring space entrepreneur and a child prodigy go attend a top entrepreneurial school in the country with aspirations of starting their own startup."- The Recruiter (2023) / TV Drama - Half Hour / "A passionate football recruiter at a top Division 1 school experiences mental issues and struggles with losing his sanity, while being constantly isolated within his job."

    • The University of British Columbia

      Jan 2022 - Jan 2023
      Football Recruiting Assistant

      USports Football Scouting- Worked under former #1 CFL Draft Pick (Shomari Williams)- Gathered +220 questionnaires & +120 sign-ups for the 2023 Ontario ID Camp ($14k+)- Evaluated +300 high school prospects via FrontRush/Google Sheets; pitched notable athletes- Reached the conference (Hardy Cup) & national championships (Vanier Cup) in the 2023 season

    • Characteris

      Jan 2022 - Jan 2023
      Founder

      Character Assessment Tool for High School Athletes- Garnered interest from +20 affiliates of Division 1 Football Programs- Made a Top 50 Teaser, interviewed Division 1 recruiters, created vids for athletes, etc.

    • United States Naval Academy

      Jan 2022 - Jan 2022
      Player Personnel/Recruiting Intern

      Division 1 Football Scouting- Completed an assignment that required manual input of +2,000 data entries in <1 week- Provided a detailed report of top athletes at a high school football program in the DMV region

    • Fiable

      Jan 2022 - Jan 2022
      Product Manager

      Rewards App for Biking- People's Choice + Best Use of GCP | GryphHacks '22 (+200 Participants)

    • National Youth Advisory Council

      Jan 2022 - Jan 2022
      Advisory Council Member

      Mental Health Advocacy- Revitalized Bloom Blog as Project Lead (Led +5 People)

    • SponsorUnited

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Sponsorship Scout

      Sports Sponsorships- Assigned properties were in Alberta & Saskatchewan

    • Neo Financial

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Sales Representative (CNE)

      FinTech Sales- Pitched Neo Financial's Credit & Money Cards at the Canadian National Exhibition

    • PRSVRE Media Group

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Writer

      Sports Journalism- Covered 2023 USports Football Season

    • BAY SPECIALIZED TAX SERVICES

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Business Development Intern

      Accounting Services- Selected to be a part of the 1st cohort/sales bootcamp at BAY (~25 interns - Sole Canadian Intern)- Developed a CRM sheet for the cohort, shadowed MDs calls, utilized web scraping software for leads, etc.

    • Denko Sports Management

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Talent Manager

      Sports Management - Worked on DSM in conjunction with Characteris to promote the project- Planned on managing USports athletes and finding them freelance/partnership opportunities- Signed Isaiah Smith (University of Guelph Running Back - 2022 OUA Rookie of the Year)

    • NFL Draft Diamonds

      Jan 2023 - Jan 2023
      Writer

      Sports Journalism- Initiated a segment called "USports Spotlight of the Day"- Designed a modern logo for the site revamp- Reached +120k followers from all social media platforms- Took initiative and created NDD's LinkedIn Page - Two interviewees were drafted in the 2023 CFL Draft

    • Sereen Health

      Jan 2023 - now
      Co-Founder

      P2P Support Network for Musicians- Rise YSBP W24 Cohort ($500 Grant) + buildspace's n&w s5- Secured an ongoing partnership with a notable music company within the gig booking space- Grew social media following +110% in <12 months and waitlist by +21% in <8 months (organically)- Managed a team of +5 people while facilitating communication through social channels such as Slack- Spoke to several potential users through various mediums to better direct product development- Conducted weekly meetings to stay updated and to inform team goals for the week to complete- Co-authored a paper with the Research Lead; utilized Prolific for participants (+79 reads in <6hrs)- Led marketing initiatives; assisted with front-end development; recruited team members/advisors Show less

    • VitalMind Initiative

      Jan 2024 - now
      Researcher

      Non-Profit Research- Focused on providing value to the general population through mental health research- Conduct research and publish studies; discuss findings in a podcast series (The Paper Podcast)

    • The Denko Agency

      Jan 2024 - now
      Talent Manager

      Talent Management- Focused on providing management services for musicians & influencers- Clients: TikToker - Manic Idiot (+54k Followers) + Lo-Fi Producer - moat (+62k Monthly Listeners)Manic Idiot- Helped launch Manic Idiot's YouTube channel from scratch - Gained +44,187 views, +2,115 likes & +170 subscribers with <15 videos in <4 weeks organically through a compilation video content strategy- Weekly meetings discussing content strategy for the week - Utilized the "5 Why's" approach initially to develop an understanding of the brand identity and deduced from there to pinpoint the exact content we'd focus on that surrounds the overall vision - Conducted a full rebrand with Manic Idiot; utilized the 5 Why’s and Eric Ries’ “Build, Measure, Learn” + “Pivot or Persevere” framework to understand the goal of the rebrand and use the iterative loop methodology to track progress - Accumulated +277,165 views, +14,735 likes, and +513 comments in <3 months on TikTok - since signing (08/18/2024)moat | Luke Daly- Introduced moat to a personal connection (Racasse) who is in a similar producer scene with 100k+ monthly listeners on Spotify and has been put on the "lo-fi beats" playlist on Spotify (followed moat on Instagram)- Initiated a Facebook page, devised a content strategy that is in the works for future release, assisted with creating reaction shorts/videos from a +1hr beat battle for participants, provided a tailored optimization plan, facilitated a parody album discussion between Luke and Manic Idiot, etc.- Since Signing: Featured in the “New In Alternative” Apple Music & "Fine Jazz" Spotify Editorial playlists, 4+ collabs, grew +25k in monthly listeners in <3 months on Spotify (08/18/2024), placement on “Amazing Radio USA” for moonstruck, supported/released by labels such as Lofi Stories Records (Owned by lost.mindd / +133k monthly listeners), Chill Moon Music (Owned by Sarent / +207k Monthly Listeners), Chill Ghost Records (+18k on Instagram) + more Show less

    • Founder Mental Health Pledge

      Jan 2024 - now
      Member

      Mental Health Advocacy- Joined well-known founders & investors in making a pledge for prioritizing mental health

    • Gryphon Aerospace Club

      Jan 2024 - Jan 2024
      Web Developer

      Aerospace + Web Development- Coded first-ever website for GAC (HTML, CSS, Figma, Canva, AOS, Anima)- Created first-ever slogan - "Fly High Like A Gryphon"

  • Licenses & Certifications

  • Honors & Awards

    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      PopCanRadio x4 PopCanRadio Aug 2024 instagram.com/p/CmsIpgvOdF9instagram.com/p/C33nXAGAUytinstagram.com/p/C8p-5IHgwpI (Noctuse)instagram.com/p/C_MJpVhOQTQ
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Rise YSBP Grant Recipient Rise Apr 2024 $500 Grant
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Earshot "Song of the Day" Earshot Digital Distro Feb 2024 instagram.com/p/C3p-wzaugXv/?igsh=ZncwZjBkZmFnNDJ5
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Zach's Picks of the Week (#4) CanadianBeats Jan 2024 canadianbeats.ca/2024/01/08/zachs-picks-of-the-week-january-8-to-january-13-2024
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Zach's Picks of the Week (#4) CanadianBeats Jan 2023 canadianbeats.ca/2023/01/02/zachs-picks-of-the-week-january-2-2023-to-january-7-2023
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      CBC Radio 1 "Big City, Small World" CBC Radio Jul 2022 x.com/naolwho/status/1542983025276887040
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Ones To Watch "Now Watching" Ones To Watch Jun 2022 x.com/naolwho/status/1540433486481350656
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      People's Choice & Best Use of Google Cloud GryphHacks May 2022 $150 Cash Prizedevpost.com/software/fiable
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      1st Place | Health & Fitness SteelHacks Feb 2021 devpost.com/software/chat-ai
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Athletic Scholarship Saint Mary's University Aug 2017 Received a renewable Athletic Scholarship worth $3,600+
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      GTA Rising & Current Star All Canada Gridiron Dec 2016 Selected to the GTA Rising & Current Star teams in my Grade 10 (Rising), 11 and 12 (Current) years.
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      4-Star Prospect + ECS: Toronto Invitee/Position Leader Top Prospects Canada Feb 2016 4-star recruit (out of 5 stars) on Top Prospects Canada. I was invited to TPC’s Elite Combine Series in Toronto and mentioned as the Leader of the Defensive Back position group.
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      ROPSSAA Football Champion ROPSSAA Nov 2015 Finished the season with an 8-1 record.
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      OFC Provincial Football Champion OFC Aug 2015 Finished the season with an 11-0 record.
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Junior Defensive Back MVP Guelph Gryphons Football Aug 2014 Selected as the MVP for my age and position group at University of Guelph’s annual football camp.
    • Awarded to Naol Denko
      Most Advanced Student | Mathematics Kumon Feb 2012 Awarded the most advanced math student for my grade level at Kumon.
  • Volunteer Experience

    • Consultant + Creative Partner

      Issued by Artists for Mental Health
      Artists for Mental HealthAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Voting Member

      Issued by Canadian Selah Music Awards
      Canadian Selah Music AwardsAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Founder

      Issued by FiAWY Records
      FiAWY RecordsAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Member

      Issued by Founder Mental Health Pledge
      Founder Mental Health PledgeAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Advisory Council Member

      Issued by National Youth Advisory Council of MDSC
      National Youth Advisory Council of MDSCAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Web Developer

      Issued by Gryphon Aerospace Club
      Gryphon Aerospace ClubAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Broadcast Audio Assistant

      Issued by IFC Church
      IFC ChurchAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Social Media Manager

      Issued by Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
      Notre Dame Catholic Secondary SchoolAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Breakfast Server

      Issued by Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
      Notre Dame Catholic Secondary SchoolAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Volunteer

      Issued by Run for Hope
      Run for HopeAssociated with Naol Denko
    • Summer Camp Counselor

      Issued by KRT Church
      KRT ChurchAssociated with Naol Denko