Nice to Meet You: Tess MacLellan

Tess MacLellan is the Program Officer for the Entrepreneurship Hub at the University of Ottawa. This means that she manages both the Startup Garage and Scaleup Garage programs run by the Hub.

Tess has been with the eHub since late 2019. “Prior to joining I was working for a startup and I really enjoyed the hustle and the fast pace work life. Through that experience, I heard of the eHub and the programs they offered for entrepreneurs. After having worked for a startup, I realized that I wanted to help new startups grow and flourish. I also graduated from uOttawa and really enjoyed my time there as a student. It was always a goal of mine to somehow come back as an employee.”

“I have a lot of favourite parts about working at the eHub, but honestly I think the best part is getting to work with passionate entrepreneurs on a daily basis and helping them with whatever they need to bring their idea to life! Plus, we have a great team and we often lean on each other for support for our different projects so it’s certainly a feeling of “we’re all in this together.” We have a great team that’s very supportive of each other, and always willing to help with each other’s tasks.”

I sat down to ask her about her work for the eHub, as well as to get to know the eHub’s Program Officer on a more personal level:

How would you describe yourself in three words?

“I would say loyal, passionate, and humorous.”

What did you want to be when you grew up?

“I always thought that I would end up as a teacher and I guess in some ways I am in the fact that I help entrepreneurs learn new things or help them with their problems whether they’ve encountered a bottleneck or an issue they need help with. My mum was a teacher so that’s sort of what I always thought I would be.”

What’s one thing nobody would expect about you?

“I played piano for over ten years, so I can listen to a song and then play the melody pretty quickly on the piano after.”

What do you like to do outside of work?

“I love to spend time with family and friends, usually you can find me at the hot yoga studio and catching up on my favourite Netflix shows — my favourite Netflix show right now is Dead to Me. My roommate and I binged it in under two days.”

What’s your favourite band and/or song?

“I’m all over the place, truly. Anything Harry Styles — Watermelon sugar is favourite. You can’t go wrong with Harry Styles.”

What’s your advice for budding entrepreneurs?

“My advice would be to just keep trying new things. If something doesn’t work out, just learn from that experience and try something new.”

“Working at the eHub allows me to do what I enjoy by working with students and entrepreneurs alike to grow their businesses and achieve success, she says.

*This feature was published as a part of the Entrepreneurship Hub’s Nice to Meet You Series, 2020.