YYC F*CKUP NIGHTS YYC SPEAKER
NAHEED KURJI
CYCLICСА
Failure has been the most consistent theme in Naheed’s life, not as something to avoid, but as proof he was operating where growth happens. Missed opportunities and stalled paths never felt like losses; they were signals to push harder. Before biotechnology, he tried almost everything: working in construction, hauling equipment, bouncing at a nightclub, painting houses, and training clients at a gym. Each job taught him to move quickly, learn fast, and leave what didn’t fit. Later, while studying biomedical sciences at the University of Ottawa, his grandmother passed away due to a preventable medication error. That moment shifted everything. He became far more interested in fixing systems than treating symptoms.
His work in international development deepened that belief. When he entered the MBA program at the University of Toronto, a startup competition changed the trajectory of his life. That’s where he met his co-founder, Jason. His idea, using computational methods to understand how drugs interact and fail, which reconnected everything he cared about. Together, they founded Cyclica. Their biggest challenge wasn’t science, it was storytelling. Investors couldn’t fully grasp the vision. They heard “no” more times than they can count. Each rejection forced refinement. They built quickly, stubbornly, and with sleeves rolled up.
That persistence eventually led from a student business plan to a globally recognized platform and ultimately an acquisition by Recursion Pharmaceuticals. If entrepreneurship has taught him anything, it’s that failure isn’t the opposite of progress, it is the mechanism that creates it.
And still, none of those failures compare to the story he will share at F*ckup Nights on January 29, 2026.
Visit Website – https://creativedestructionlab.com/mentors/naheed-kurji/
