Aaron Waldt

About me

I was born/grew up in: Collingwood, ON

I now live in: Ontario

I completed my training/education at:  Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (University of Guelph), Master of Management of Innovation (University of Toronto)

What I do at work

I am involved with nearly every aspect of Caddie Health’s day-to-day operations. A tech accelerator has invited us to join to scale up our company. Due to this, I am attending a lot of presentations and meetings related to potential growth for the company. I am also working with my team to develop marketing strategies. This is an engaging process because it requires you to think both analytically and creatively. My STEM background is useful in conducting market research and analyzing financial metrics. The coursework I did taught me to break apart the end goal into a series of steps. Many engineering programs in Canada are beginning to understand the importance of group collaboration in the context of design. With that in mind, it was great to be a part of many different types of projects in school before taking on more after graduation.

My career path is

I had a general idea of what I liked and didn't like, but I had no idea what I wanted when I graduated high school. I didn't know what I wanted when I graduated from university, either. I changed paths many times. There was a lot of anxiety associated with trying to make a decision and trying to stay motivated during the school year. One thing that helped reduce the stress was to visualize the lifestyle I wanted to have rather than the title I wanted beside my name. I started to ask myself questions like: "Do I want to live in a city or in the country?", "Do I want to have a predictable work schedule or a more sporadic one?", "How much do I want to travel for work?". Focusing on these questions helped to reduce the stress of decision overload. It made me understand that I had freedom in choosing what I wanted my future to look like. For further information, please see my LinkedIn profile.

I am motivated by

I seek out the feeling that comes from aligning myself to a worthy goal. It is great to know that my effort will turn into something that will help many people. Being in the startup phase of a company is engaging. You are often learning and applying new skills simultaneously. There is no shortage of opportunities to take on new tasks and responsibilities. There is always more work to do. I enjoy marketing and business development. It often requires engaging conversations about idea generation and conceptual design.

How I affect peoples’ lives

I love the work I am doing at Caddie Health. It is easy to see the potential for positive change that technology can help achieve. We are all working toward a common goal of saving time and contributing to a more efficient healthcare system.

Outside of work I

I am an avid golfer and I have been since I was about 11 years old. I always try to make time for a round here and then. I also got into cross country skiing this winter and it was a great way to get outside in the winter.

My advice to others

I would definitely get on LinkedIn and start engaging with companies you find interesting. By following companies on LinkedIn, you get a good idea of what they are looking for in a candidate. You also get an idea about what kind of culture the company fosters. It gives you many opportunities to find more companies. Be sure to see if there are any online webinars or info sessions you can attend (which are usually free).