Hammad Siddiqui

Canada Startup Association Co-Founder | Digital Solopreneur (Founder of Solopreneurship Launchpad (Training Program for Professionals)

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

One lesson I learnt
If you like it, do a repost

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

Final call for founders ready to pitch on a global stage.

If your startup is ready for global opportunities, this is your chance to take the next step, register here for pitch competition ☞ https://t.co/aaEDcZT0tD

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

At #Torontotechweek

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

Calgary founders, this is your road to Dubai. 🇨🇦📷
Just 4 days away.. make your move now.

Register for pitch competition https://t.co/jg7WLs8eI5

Register for event: https://t.co/W2AeiAqdDJ

#RoadToDubai #ExpandNorthStar

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

Eid Greetings from Canada Startup Association.

Wishing you a joyful Eid filled with peace, prosperity, and time well spent with family and community.

- Canada Startup Association

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

Check out the latest article in my newsletter: How to Build Your Personal Brand Quickly? https://t.co/4NCfEKSH2b via @LinkedIn

[Dr. Muddassir Ahmed @muddassirism]

In 2026, I've been working in a training & consulting capacity in the healthcare industry.

And I realised Supply Chain Design is one of the most underrated topics.

Given the VUCA environment in GCC, I strongly suggest focusing on the supply chain design elements.

The why part is explained below 👇.

[Ghareer @ghareer]

Toronto

#BizapaloozaChat

[Yasir Naqvi 🇨🇦 @YasirNaqviCDN]

I was pleased to attend a gathering of Canadian and Chinese businesses in Shanghai.

It was great to hear about the opportunities for increased trade and investment in our respective countries.

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

🚀 Growth does not happen by chance. It happens in the right room.

📅 May 22 📍 Toronto

3,000+ entrepreneurs. Real strategies. Meaningful connections.
If growth is the goal, this is where it starts.

🎟 Register now:
https://t.co/spjDnNu7Ix

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

What does raising early-stage capital in health tech actually look like in Canada?

The real conversations behind the funding rounds, pivots, and growth.

Join Canada Startup Association x partners at Toronto Tech Week for “Capital & Community in Health Tech.”
📅 May 27 📍Toronto

[Canada Startup Association @CSA_2025]

Calgary founders, this is your road to Dubai. 🇨🇦➡️🇦🇪

Winning startup receives:
✪ Return flight to Dubai
✪ Branded startup pod at Expand North Star / GITEX GLOBAL 2026

Pitch Competition: https://t.co/aaEDcZT0tD
Register: https://t.co/W2AeiAqdDJ

#RoadToDubai #ExpandNorthStar

[Dr. Muddassir Ahmed @muddassirism]

Can a forklift driver become the CEO of a $250 billion company?

Most people would say no.

Ron Vachris just proved them wrong.

In the 1980s, Ron started at Costco as an hourly forklift driver. Not an intern.

Not a graduate trainee. A forklift driver moving pallets on a warehouse floor.

Four decades later, he is the President and CEO of Costco Wholesale, the third largest retailer in the world, with $250 billion in annual net sales and operations across 14 countries.

But here is what makes this story genuinely remarkable.

He did not skip the ladder. He climbed every single rung.

Assistant warehouse manager. Warehouse manager. Regional vice president.

Executive vice president. Chief Operating Officer. CEO.

Forty years. Every level. Every function. Every challenge.

When Ron became CEO, he did not need a briefing on how Costco works. He had lived it, on the warehouse floor, in the regions, and in the boardroom. That is not a career path. That is a masterclass in operational leadership.

Now here is the part that the LinkedIn "CEO success story" posts always miss.

Ron's story is inspiring, but it did not happen by accident.

It happened because Costco built something most companies talk about but very few actually do. A genuine culture of internal promotion, loyalty, and people development.

Costco promotes from within as a deliberate strategic choice, not a HR talking point. They invest in their people at every level, from the warehouse floor to the executive team. They reward longevity. They develop capability over decades, not quarters.

And because of that, when Ron sits in the CEO chair, he carries 40 years of institutional knowledge, operational credibility, and cultural alignment that no external hire, however brilliant, could ever replicate.

That is not just good for Ron. That is good for Costco's customers, its 300,000 plus employees, and its shareholders.

The uncomfortable question for every leader reading this is simple.

Does your company actually have that culture? Not in the values statement. Not in the town hall speech.

In practice. In the promotion decisions. In the training budgets. In the conversations managers have with people on their teams who have potential but need time to grow.

Because if the answer is no, you are not just losing future CEOs. You are losing the institutional knowledge, operational depth, and cultural continuity that makes companies genuinely resilient over decades.

Wall Street obsesses over quarterly results. The companies that last generations obsess over developing their people.

Ron Vachris started on a forklift. He ended up running one of the most respected retail operations in the world.

That is not luck.

That is what happens when a company decides that its people are its most valuable competitive advantage, and actually means it.

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

@carolynhparrish Congrats

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

@sophiaahmed I am doing BBQ

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

Doctors are using AI for Diagnosis! https://t.co/eyYkBKMdos via @LinkedIn

[Hammad Siddiqui @hammads]

Potential impact of tariffs on Canadian businesses.

https://t.co/XJ7x6wi58C

#Canada #Smallbusiness #Business

[Yasir Naqvi 🇨🇦 @YasirNaqviCDN]

Happy Ammi Day!

🌹 💕

Bonne fête des mères !

[Yasir Naqvi 🇨🇦 @YasirNaqviCDN]

Congratulations to President Laura Fernández!

Canada and Costa Rica are committed to deepening political and economic ties for mutual benefit.

🇨🇦🇨🇷

[Yasir Naqvi 🇨🇦 @YasirNaqviCDN]

I am proud to represent Canada at the inauguration of Costa Rica’s new President, Laura Fernández, as our two countries celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations.

🇨🇦🇨🇷