Research

RESEARCH

We undertake not only competitive and adjacent market research on the idea, but also conduct critical user feedback to help validate the premise of the opportunity.

Design

DESIGN

With deep capabilities in effective user experience (UX) interactions and intuitive user interface (UI) design, we lead Design Thinking workshops with the business to arrive at the highest value or differentiated feature sets.

Prototype

PROTOTYPE

Next we will create proof of concept to assess real use case scenarios. This includes demonstrating a “pathway to production” as part of the transition into the Digital Solutions team.

Partner

PARTNER

We function as a conduit between Manulife Canada and the incredibly vibrant start-up ecosystem within Communitech and the Waterloo Region.

Who we are

Our squad, comprised of team members with vast experience in the tech industry, are really a bunch of problem-solving kids at heart. We draw on our walls (literally all of them), we play with lego on a daily basis, and we love our 80s references (If this struck a chord then you are the droids we’re looking for).

Jim Stirtzinger

Director

Jim has spent the majority of his career guiding people, processes and technology to achieve innovative products in the healthcare and mobile payments space. Jim laughs loudly and loves analogies. If he wasn’t doing this, he’d be trying to make a living as a professional photographer or 90’s rock drummer.

Jim Stirtzinger

Ali Rushdan Tariq

Solutions Prototype Lead

With his head in the clouds and feet on the ground, Ali enjoys tackling messy problems using equal doses of human-centered design, technology, and business. Also, contrary to popular belief, he is not as strong as ten regular men, though, he would like to believe he can beat them at a game of Monodeal.

Ali Rushdan Tariq

Adeel Baig

Solutions Prototype Lead

Adeel fondly remembers when he was a coffee-infused developer. Now, he spends most of his time debugging co-op code and making 80s/90s references that co-ops don't understand.

Adeel Baig

Janna Cameron

Sr. UX/UI Specialist

Janna answers to many names - Jenna, Jana, Yana and even J. She loves working in UX because it gives her license to blame all her problems using technology on poor design. The rumour is that she owns every UX book ever published, but that can’t possibly be true.

Janna Cameron

Where we are

We’re based in the Communitech Hub in Kitchener, ON, where innovation and creativity flow freely, allowing us to problem solve for Manulife and constantly challenge the status quo without fear of failure.

Jobs at Manulife

If you’re as excited as we are about innovation and disruption, check out our job postings on the site. We’re constantly on the lookout for talented developers and UX/UI designers. Or, feel free to come on down and just say hi.