Megan Takeda-Tully (BCom’07): Recipient of Telfer’s Young Achiever Award 2024

Megan Takeda-Tully (BCom’07) is an award-winning social entrepreneur passionate about the intersection of business and sustainability. Megan left behind a successful investment career on Bay Street to support impact-driven innovators. In her next role, at Grand Challenges Canada, she invested in visionaries working in science & technology, health care, and early education, among other fields. Her experiences there inspired her to take the leap into entrepreneurship, founding Suppli to address the pressing issue of single-use packaging waste.

Suppli is an eco-friendly social enterprise that provides zero-waste takeout service to Toronto’s busiest restaurants, reducing single-use container usage. As the CEO, Megan has fearlessly guided the new business from idea to validation, from proof of concept to execution. She has had to make difficult decisions, such as changing the business model, so that Suppli can survive and thrive.

In 2022, Megan was named one of Canada’s Clean50 Emerging Leaders for her work at Suppli. Today, she has a strong team behind her, an ever-evolving vision to execute, and a successful growing business. Telfer is proud to name Megan Takeda-Tully our 2024 Young Achiever of the Year.

Destination: social entrepreneurship 

Megan’s journey to CEO has not been straightforward. After graduation, she worked as an associate at RBC Dominion Securities. She then spent five and a half years at Fidelity Investments, serving as the product lead on Canadian equity investment products for retail and institutional clients.

Yet, something was missing. Megan felt a calling to work somewhere she could make a real difference in her day-to-day. At Grand Challenges Canada, she found the perfect intersection for her investment skills and desire to make a positive impact.

The organization, funded by the Government of Canada, supports ‘’Bold Ideas with Big Impact’’ in global health. Megan played a crucial role in this mission, building and managing a $140 million portfolio that directly empowered innovators who utilized sustainable business models to address pressing challenges. Her work there not only showcased her ability to drive meaningful change but also laid the groundwork for her own entrepreneurial journey.

In 2020, she became an innovator herself, founding Suppli. It’s never easy to start from scratch, let alone work with struggling restaurants during a worldwide pandemic. But Megan never wavered in her dedication to sustainability and creating a business model that could deliver significant improvements to the food and beverage industry’s environmental footprint.

“In this role, you have to be super passionate about your own business,” Megan says in an interview. “Until you have investors and a board, no one checks in on you. You have to motivate yourself with your mission.”

Although building your own company can be chaotic and stressful, Megan loves it, thriving in a fast-paced environment and wearing many hats. “A day in the life of a founder? There are 365 different days and that’s what I like about it.”

Telfer’s diverse classes were the catalyst

Becoming a founder wasn’t out of the blue for the social entrepreneur. She had the idea years ago, spirited by her Bachelor of Commerce degree at Telfer.

“The social entrepreneurship class really had an impact on me when I was at uOttawa,” says Megan. The impact-driven approach to business piqued her interest. But her curiosity was rooted even earlier.

In her 1st year at Telfer, Megan started in the accounting specialization, but found her first finance course fascinating. She enjoyed learning about the behavioural part of finance, the business models and economics behind them, and what drives businesses in general. Before finishing her first year, she made the switch from accounting to finance.

“One of the most stressful yet helpful classes for me was the Business Communications class,” adds Megan. “Learning to be concise and clear made a world of difference when I needed to speak in sales or present at leadership meetings.”

A fulfilling Telfer student experience 

Not all student experiences are the same. While student clubs are one element, the student-athlete experience is another. With a busy hockey schedule, Megan devoted her time to the school’s sports team, in retrospect wishing she was more involved in clubs, too.

Megan was a four-year member of the Gee-Gees women’s hockey team, participating in two Canadian interuniversity sport championship tournaments. She won the all-star goalie recognition in her rookie year.

“Hockey was a massive part of my student experience,” adds Megan. “We were busy and had to hyperfocus to get our readings done, go to the gym, and practice. I met life-long friends on the team, and we still have a group chat and get-togethers. I was lucky to have that experience.”

Learning from innovators and investors

Megan didn’t grow up thinking she’d start her own business, but the discipline she learned as an athlete empowered her to create Suppli.

“I definitely didn’t think I’d be an entrepreneur myself,” she shares. “When I started my career, I was lining myself up to be an investment portfolio manager. But as I experienced different aspects of the business, what drew me in was smaller companies, first investing in them and then managing my own.”

Megan learned a lot at Grand Challenges Canada from working directly with innovators in the early stages. She mastered the art of discernment between a concept's real and false validation on the investor side, which was a huge asset to securing investments for her own company.

From the entrepreneurs, Megan developed an understanding of the challenges involved in entrepreneurship and the pride that comes with being a founder. She saw first-hand how entrepreneurship consumes your life, becomes your passion and drive, and how connected you have to be to your mission to keep motivated. And, perhaps most importantly, Megan became inspired to start her own business.

Bravely leading a social enterprise 

Three years ago, Suppli went from a concept to testing on a small scale. Like many startups, there were numerous experiments and starts & stops. Back then, the company also used a different business model.

A year and a half ago, Megan pivoted from B2C to B2B. It wasn’t starting from scratch again, but the shift restarted the clock. Under her leadership, Suppli has secured major partnerships with the new model and scaled the business, reinforcing its role in the sustainability movement.

“By the end of the year, we are targeting hundreds of restaurants. Next year, we are expanding into other cities,” adds Megan. “We are closing a financing round and increasing density in Toronto at the same time.”

Building a greener Canada, one business at a time

Deeply committed to sustainability, Megan shares this core value with Telfer, which is building a Greener Canada. Since 2018, a group of Telfer professors established 100+ partnerships, led 90+ community service-learning projects, published 80+ peer-reviewed publications, and secured more than $27 million in external funding. All for the purpose of integrating sustainability, social responsibility, and good governance into both the School and the broader community.

As Telfer develops impactful collaborations with sustainable companies, Megan encourages the school to broaden its horizons. “Talk to companies of different sizes, not just big ones, but small ones, too — that is where you find the beginnings of movements,” explains Megan. “At Suppli, we push for innovation by testing things, first researching then doing, and learning from that. I love this part of being a startup.”

Network, network, network

It may seem like Megan knew exactly what to do at every stage of her business, but that wasn’t always the case. Like any fresh founder, she stumbled through the process of funding and seeking helpful resources. Eventually, she started talking to people in relevant spaces and networking. This is how she got Suppli into accelerators and built a community.

“This is a big piece for me, to be super willing to network and honestly say what I’m building and share challenges,” explains Megan. “People are open to help, sharing their ideas and knowledge. My relationships grew, and connections became investors, employees, and advisors. Getting out there and meeting people was key.”

“People don’t realize how much pressure there is on you as a founder,” she adds. “You feel like you are the only one, and it’s nice to have other founders in the community to commiserate with sometimes.”

Know yourself

While it may be daunting for some of us to network, Megan’s background in team sports prepared her for meeting new people and working together. Being a solo founder was initially lonely for the entrepreneur, prompting her to bring on board a great team.

Owning a leadership role was nothing new for Megan, but she took a different approach at Suppli. As she built out the team, she was thoughtful about how many people she could reasonably manage while still retaining a number of responsibilities herself in running and growing the business. As the company expanded, Megan brought on another team member that had a strong track record of building and leading teams. “Before bringing in someone with leadership qualities, I had to figure out my own boundaries and learn how to manage the team while running the business.”

Navigating daily operations and the exciting growth of expanding has the potential to take up all of your time as the CEO. But Megan doesn’t find that “particularly healthy.”

“I say ‘yes’ to invites from my friends to social events. It’s easy to say ‘no’ and work all the time, but there is more to life. I started playing sports again, and I go for runs to clear my head. My kids are young and it’s busy; I help coach their teams, run neighbourhood programs, and go to their practices. It’s a forced disconnect and I love it.”

Telfer is so proud of everything Megan Takeda-Tully (BCom’07) has accomplished in her career and community so far. Her journey from traditional investments to social entrepreneurship embodies the values we strive to instill in our students. We look forward to seeing how Megan will continue to lead with purpose and make an impact in the years to come.