Why I Started VHive: The Founder House I Wish Existed in Toronto

In my early 20s I was building a tech company in Toronto. Most of my peers were going into traditional roles: consulting, accounting, banking, engineering. There wasn't a lot of shared empathy or shared experience with other founders. The company failed after about a year, and I went into consulting myself.

Looking for my people

After consulting, I left and moved to San Francisco, looking for more like-minded peers. I started a new company there, and it was the first time I was surrounded by people who understood what I was doing. When I moved back to Toronto, I couldn't unsee the gap.

Building instead of complaining

Coming back to Toronto after the pandemic, I could have just complained about the problem. Instead I wanted to build the thing I wish existed when I was in my early 20s in Toronto. SF has hacker houses, and the concept makes a lot of sense to me. Proximity is everything. Spending time with ambitious people pushes you and increases your chances of success.

That is VHive: hacker condos in downtown Toronto where you come live and build alongside other young founders.

More than a place to sleep

In May 2024 we did the build day for our first hacker condo: a bed frame, desk and monitor, a couch and everything needed on day one, like an Airbnb. A few weeks later I launched VSpace, a co-working space at Parliament and Carlton. The idea was a better and less pretentious Soho House, with live, work and hang out in one community. VClub, where founders and investors play poker together, is part of it. Condo residents get VClub and VSpace membership free.

The bet

My belief is simple. Proximity is everything. Spending time with ambitious people raises your standards, speeds up your decisions and improves your odds. We want to help Toronto attract and keep elite builders, and the first step is giving them a place where they don't have to build alone.

If that sounds like what you've been looking for, see where we are and apply.