Mike Kirkup is the CTO of EnPowered, former CTO of Encircle and former Director at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s startup program.

Mike joined EnPowered in 2020 to help augment their existing team as they grow the business to help energy users understand how to make data based decisions for how to save money.

Mike joined the Velocity team in 2012 to help foster entrepreneurship throughout the University of Waterloo and the startup community of Kitchener-Waterloo. During his time at VeloCity, he has mentored such startup successes as BufferBox, MappedIn and Thalmic Labs, to name a few.

Mike understands both the creative and commercial paths to building successful businesses. For over a decade, he mentored hundreds of startups focused on developing mobile applications. His approachable demeanor and deep understanding of entrepreneurial culture has made him a notable influencer within the VeloCity community, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Canada's startup culture.

As a student, Mike spent several years on the University of Waterloo’s campus, completing an undergraduate degree in Math and a Masters in Management of Technology.