Lazaridis Institute

What Lazaridis Institute does

The Lazaridis Institute operates the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, a faculty within Wilfrid Laurier University, a public university headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1966, the school delivers undergraduate and graduate academic programs in business and economics, with a value proposition centered on career-ready knowledge, skills development, and experiential learning. The institution holds AACSB accreditation, a quality designation held by less than 6% of the world's approximately 13,000 business programs. Its primary customer base consists of prospective and current students, with secondary stakeholder groups including alumni, industry partners, and academic researchers; firmographic data indicates 11–50 employees.

The school's core product is its portfolio of academic programs, delivered through on-campus instruction at the Waterloo campus with revenue generated primarily via tuition from undergraduate and graduate enrollment. A notable recent addition is the MBA in Sports Management, launched in April 2026 at a Toronto location and timed to coincide with Toronto's role as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Go-to-market is conducted through Wilfrid Laurier University's admissions processes, with dedicated pathways for domestic undergraduate, domestic graduate, and international students. Distribution is regional, anchored by the Waterloo campus, with the Toronto MBA extension representing the school's first documented off-campus program delivery. A dedicated international students program and continued-education pathway extend the addressable student base.

The institution does not disclose a proprietary technology stack, and there is no evidence of software product development or AI/ML product systems. Supplementary brand assets include the "Coffee with Kyle" podcast hosted by Dean Kyle Murray and a recently published award-winning book on artificial intelligence for business leaders. Partnerships with industry pioneers support experiential learning, while faculty conduct research in consumer behaviour, market trends, and emerging technologies via donor-sponsored researchers and named research centres. The school operates as a not-for-profit public-university faculty, with no disclosed revenue figures, no venture capital or private equity ownership, and Wilfrid Laurier University as its parent entity.

Name

Lazaridis Institute

Legal name

Lazaridis School of Business and Economics

Website

https://lazaridisinstitute.wlu.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lazaridis Institute operates the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, offering AACSB-accredited undergraduate and graduate business programs. It serves students, alumni, and industry partners, and recently launched an MBA in Sports Management in Toronto.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterloo

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Programs: Revenue generated from undergraduate and graduate program tuition, including the new MBA in Sports Management. The school offers rigorous academic programs with practical learning opportunities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Lazaridis Institute supports the next generation of Canadian technology companies in scaling into global leaders and operates as a faculty/school within Wilfrid Laurier University. It delivers undergraduate and graduate academic programs in business and economics, supported by experiential learning, industry-pioneer partnerships, and faculty-led research, with specialized graduate offerings such as the MBA in Sports Management.

Product overview

The Lazaridis School of Business and Economics is an academic institution within Wilfrid Laurier University offering a portfolio of undergraduate and graduate business and economics programs. The core offering is its academic programs, which include undergraduate and graduate degrees. A notable specialized graduate module is the MBA in Sports Management, launched in 2026 aligned with the Toronto 2026 World Cup host city context. Supplementary brand offerings include the Coffee with Kyle podcast series, a conversational program hosted by the Dean covering trending business and economics topics. The school is AACSB accredited, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Programs in Business and Economics Rigorous undergraduate and graduate academic programs in business and economics, designed to develop career-ready graduates through experiential education and practical learning at Wilfrid Laurier University.
• MBA in Sports Management A specialized graduate MBA concentration launched in 2026 in Toronto, aligned with the 2026 World Cup host city context, preparing graduates for leadership roles in the sports industry.
• Coffee with Kyle Podcast A podcast series hosted by Dean Kyle Murray featuring guests from alumni, the external community, and faculty, discussing trending business and economics topics, careers, research, and emerging challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates are highly skilled and more desirable to employers than non-AACSB accredited school graduates

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Industry PioneerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Lazaridis School maintains partnerships with industry pioneers that foster innovation and social responsibility. These partnerships provide students with practical learning opportunities and real-world challenges to tackle.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Velocity: University of Waterloo's flagship entrepreneurship program and incubator, located in the same Waterloo tech corridor as Lazaridis Institute. Directly competes for the same founder pool, mentors, and capital partners in the Waterloo ecosystem.
• Schulich School of Business: York University's AACSB-accredited business school with a broad portfolio of graduate and undergraduate programs including specialized MBA tracks. Comparable Canadian business school with similar specialty-program expansion strategy.
• Ivey Business School: Western University's AACSB-accredited business school offering undergraduate, MBA, and executive programs with a strong case-method and industry-engagement tradition. Comparable Canadian business school competing for similar student and partner segments.
• Founder Institute: Global pre-seed accelerator and founder-training program operating in 100+ cities. Comparable in mission (helping founders build enduring tech companies) and methodology, though operates for-profit rather than university-embedded.
• DMZ (Toronto Metropolitan University): Top-ranked university-based startup incubator at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) supporting Canadian tech founders to scale. Operates a similar university-anchored accelerator model and competes for high-potential Canadian founders.
• Creative Destruction Lab (CDL): University-based, equity-free scale-up program at Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto) that helps science- and technology-based ventures scale into globally competitive companies. Closest direct analogue to Lazaridis Institute's mission in the Canadian ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship: Toronto-based policy and innovation-focused institute supporting Canadian entrepreneurship research and programming. Comparable in university-adjacent positioning but with a stronger policy/research orientation than Lazaridis Institute's scaling focus.

Broad incumbents

• Communitech: Waterloo-based innovation hub supporting Canadian tech companies through accelerator programs, peer networks, and corporate partnerships. Same-city institutional peer competing for local founder mindshare and corporate partnerships.
• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation hub offering a wide portfolio of programs (accelerators, venture services, talent programs) supporting Canadian tech ventures. Larger and broader in scope than Lazaridis Institute, with deeper enterprise and capital relationships.
• Rotman School of Management: University of Toronto's flagship business school, housing Creative Destruction Lab. Directly comparable AACSB-accredited Canadian business school with deeper resources, broader research output, and global brand recognition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LazaridisInst
• Facebookfacebook.com/LazaridisInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/15100380
• Instagraminstagram.com/lazaridisschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lazaridis Institute