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Western University improved in the 2026 Pitchbook Rankings, climbing several spots on the undergraduate, MBA and undergraduate female founder charts based on the number of alumni entrepreneurs who have raised capital in the last decade.
In the Top 100 Universities for Entrepreneurs for 2026, Western University was ranked:
- 36th in the undergraduate category
- 23rd for undergraduate female founders
- 42nd in the MBA category
PitchBook, a financial data company, compiles the ranking based on an analysis of more than 222,000 founders raising capital between Jan. 1, 2015, and Aug. 1, 2026.
One of eight Canadian universities on the list, Western placed above prestigious global institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and Johns Hopkins University. It rose several spots compared to Pitchbook’s 2025 rankings.
Notable alumni founders listed by Pitchbook included 1Password founder David Teare, BSc‘00; Wealthsimple CEO Michael Katchen, HBA‘09; Lazada Philippines co-founder James Chang, HBA ’08; Flexiti founder Peter Kalen, HBA‘95, MBA‘01; and Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie, MA‘06.
“We are very excited to see so many of our alumni featured in these rankings,” said Eric Morse, executive director of the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship Powered by Ivey.
“It’s a testament to the incredible work Western graduates are doing around the world in a variety of industries.”
Part of the entrepeneurial picture
While Pitchbook provides an important snapshot of entrepreneurs raising capital for their ventures, Morse said it’s not the full picture of Western graduates pursuing entrepreneurship.
Less than one percent of all start-ups raise venture capital, and most successful companies grow purely through revenue or angel capital. These include small businesses that become the beating heart of communities throughout Canada, to multi-million dollar companies that hire hundreds, even thousands, of people across the country.
What Pitchbook does capture is an important segment of the entrepreneurship community.
“The companies that are raising venture capital are wrestling with big ideas and pushing the boundaries of innovation,” Morse said.
Supporting Canadian entrepreneurs
Despite the gains by Western, the University of Waterloo, McGill University, and the University of Toronto, Canadian entrepreneurship has struggled over the last two decades, with estimates showing 100,000 fewer entrepreneurs active today in comparison to 20 years ago. One of the major factors associated with this decline has been the lack of capital available to Canadian founders, forcing many to seek opportunities in the United States.
Two of Western’s current initiatives that support alumni start-ups and scale-ups are Western Angels’ Demo Day and the Western Propel Fund. Demo Day is a bi-annual investor event that brings together entrepreneurs and investors from the Western alumni community to forge mutually beneficial partnerships and create a new generation of great Canadian companies.
The Western Propel Fund, in partnership with the Ivey Business School and the Morrissette Institute, enables the university to fuel the growth of high-potential Western-founded companies across a broad range of industries. The fund will enable up to six investments of $150,000 annually, along with comprehensive support and mentoring for portfolio companies through Morrissette.
“We want to change Canada’s entrepreneurship story and help the country rediscover its roots,” said Morse.
Learn more about how Western is preparing future leaders and global citizens.
