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Justice Liao

Hi, I'm Justice.

about me

I was born and raised in Markham, Ontario (~30–40 minutes from Toronto). I'm a fourth-year student at the University of Waterloo studying accounting and finance, though my degree has little to do with my work.

Justice Liao

Over the past fall, I worked as an investment analyst at Esplanade Ventures, where I looked at digital health AI companies from pre-seed through Series A+. I reviewed over 1,000 companies (according to the CRM) and ended up working on one closed deal, which should be announced soon.

At the same time, I was a research fellow with Contrary, where I read and wrote about the creator economy.

Before this, I worked at AltaML's AI/ML Venture Studio (created by the founder of Investopedia): four months in product (building companies within the studio) and four months in strategy and operations (building the studio). Throughout my time at AltaML, I worked on many things across multiple ventures and spaces. Sadly, the studio doesn't really exist anymore.

In a past life, I worked at KPMG in U.S. Tax, AbbVie in compliance (after they acquired Allergan, the owner of Botox), and two lower-middle-market buyout funds.

There are a lot of things I like. I like tech, startups, strategy, and venture.

Some things I want to accomplish (in no particular order):

  • Start my own fund of some sort
  • Become a great founder
  • Do hard stuff
  • Do fulfilling stuff
  • Have fun
  • Live in the moment
  • Travel the world
  • Experience everything life has to offer
  • Give back when possible
  • Become a better speaker and more articulate
  • Be a kind and thoughtful person
  • Make my family proud

Talking is easy. Doing is not. Candidly speaking, I want to win in life. I have a strong belief that I will win. There's not a day I wake up where that thought doesn't cross my mind. I can't imagine a person who wants it more than I do.

I'm a pretty extroverted and happy person. I take a lot of photos and try to capture memories of food, friends, and family. As of writing this (Jan 2026), I have ~35,000 items in my camera roll (dating back to 2020, the rest live on Google Photos, though I've now switched over and pay for iCloud).

I have a strong passion for my loved ones. There is nothing more important to me than them (family, friends, girlfriend). I'm grateful for my life and strive to become better every single day.

I read something recently that made me realize not all goals need to be career-oriented. Some of my goals for the near future are to:

  • Spend more time with friends and family
  • Be more intentional with my time
  • Run a sub-3-hour marathon
  • Read and write more (especially recreational books)

A bit more:

I'm a big music fan. I listen to almost everything. It keeps me sane.

I've played just about every sport at some point, jack of all sports, master of none.

I want to start taking running more seriously.

I will run Boston.

some of my favourites:

writing

experiences

Esplanade Ventures

Toronto, Canada

Investment Analyst, Venture Capital

Sep 2025 – Dec 2025

Completed a 16-week internship at a venture capital firm focused on evaluating Digital Health AI companies (Pre-seed–Series A+)

Contrary Research

San Francisco, California

Research Fellow

Sept 2025 – Dec 2025

Completed a 12-week fellowship focused on researching and writing about high-growth private technology companies.

AltaML

Toronto, Canada

Strategy & Operations Analyst

May 2025 – Aug 2025

Completed a 14-week internship at a venture studio, contributing to strategic development across portfolio ventures and internal operations

Associate Product Manager

Jan 2025 – Apr 2025

Completed a 16-week internship at a venture studio, supporting and investing in early-stage startups across all industries and verticals

GoAhead Ventures

Menlo Park, California

Venture Scout

January 2025 – Aug 2025

On a contractual part-time basis with a pre-seed VC fund managing ~$200M AUM, focusing on investments across all tech sectors

Hustle Fund

San Carlos, California

Angel Squad Member

January 2025 – Aug 2025

Member of Hustle Fund's Angel Squad, a global community of early-stage startup investors

KPMG

Toronto, Canada

Staff Accountant, US Corporate Tax

Jan 2024 – Apr 2024

Completed a 16-week internship at KPMG, supporting U.S. corporate tax compliance and provision work for multinational clients

Sergiwa Capital

La Porte, Indiana

Private Equity Analyst

Sept 2023 – Dec 2023

Completed a 14-week internship at a lower middle market quantitative buyout fund investing across all sectors

AbbVie

Toronto, Canada

Compliance Analyst

May 2023 – Aug 2023

Completed a 14-week internship on the Allergan Aesthetics team at AbbVie, global biopharmaceutical company and owner of Botox

Ocean Leap Capital

Cupertino, California

Private Equity Analyst

Dec 2022 – Aug 2023

Completed a 9-month internship at an entrepreneurial investment fund focused on LMM acquisitions and growth

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