In this guest post, entrepreneur Zach Ronski reflects on his early career and the transformative impact of getting involved with Baycrest.

If you’re a young professional, now is the time to connect with people who care about building great organizations—places like Baycrest. I’m Zach Ronski. In my early 20s, while building my company from scratch (I launched Fello, a Tech Marketing Agency in 2017), I got involved with (then called Baycrest Young Philanthropy) from 2019-2021. It was one of the most formative decisions of my career.

The Context: Starting and Surviving Is Harder Than Ever

The numbers back up what many founders feel: entrepreneurship has become tougher—both to start and to sustain. By 2022, only 1.3 people out of 1,000 started a business in Canada, down from 3 per 1,000 in 2000. That’s a steep decline with real implications for innovation and economic dynamism.

For young professionals—especially first-time founders—this isn’t abstract. It affects the density of your peer group, the informal support around you, and the odds that mentors “just appear.” You have to be intentional about where you plug in.

Why I Chose Baycrest—and What I Found

I got involved with Baycrest Friends of the Foundation because I wanted proximity to people who were serious about community and excellence. What stood out immediately was professionalism and caliber—the conversations, the expectations, the way people showed up for one another. The networking was real, not transactional. The giving-back was genuine, not a photo-op.

I walked away with early contacts that helped me grow Fello. Just as important, I started to understand who in Toronto’s ecosystem was quietly building remarkable things. Later, I even had the chance to do professional work for Baycrest, which mattered for our portfolio because of Baycrest’s reputation and impact.

For context, Baycrest is a globally recognized leader in aging and brain health—an academic health sciences centre with a full continuum of care, and a mission that spans research, innovation, care, and education.

Why Foundations Like Baycrest Are Career Force-Multipliers

1. High-signal networks. Foundations attract people with skin in the game—operators, professionals, and leaders who value outcomes. The “signal-to-noise” is higher than typical mixers.
2. Mentorship on tap. You meet serious people doing serious work. Advice surfaces naturally because you’re building with them, not just pitching them.
3. Reputation by association. Credible institutions are reputational accelerants. Contributing on real projects is a quiet, compounding credential.
4. Leadership reps you can’t buy. Committee roles, campaign work, and event ownership give you management practice and cross-functional reps that most early careers don’t.
5. A mission bigger than you. Aligning with a cause—like advancing brain health and healthy aging—keeps you grounded while you’re grinding. Purpose sustains performance.

How to Choose—and How to Show Up

• Pick substance over spotlight. Seek organizations with clear missions, measurable programs, and respected leadership. Baycrest’s integrated care and research model is a strong example.
• Give first. Volunteer for the unglamorous work. Reliability compounds faster than charisma.
• Bring your craft. Offer your professional skills—marketing, operations, finance, legal—where they move the needle.
• Own outcomes. Treat commitments like client work: clear briefs, timelines, and post-mortems.
• Invest long term. Relationships formed in service are the ones that endure through market cycles.

My Bottom Line

My involvement with Baycrest Friends of the Foundation in my early 20s gave me more than contacts; it gave me standards—of professionalism, generosity, and execution. It made me a better founder and a better member of this city.

If you’re a young professional—especially if you’re building a company—anchor yourself to an organization that matters. Put your time where it has leverage: on missions that improve lives, inside communities that call you to a higher bar.

In a tougher entrepreneurial climate, that choice can be the difference between feeling isolated and being in a room that pulls you forward.

And if you’re in Toronto, keep Baycrest on your shortlist. Its work in aging and brain health is world-class, and the community around it reflects that standard.

Learn more about Baycrest Friends of the Foundation (BFF) here.