My Immigrant Story

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in the January, 2021. At the time, there were still Covid-19 related lockdowns and restrictions happening in different parts of Canada. We reference the difficulties related to networking during lockdowns during the episode. 

Pavla Bobosikova is the co-founder and CEO of WFHomie - an employee engagement and culture-building platform for remote-first and hybrid teams. Previously she was the Director of Product at Nudge.ai which got acquired by Affinity. Her professional background lies in product, design, and growth.

Pavla and Nino originally connected through a community for one of the largest youth-focused startup incubator programs in Canada called The League of Innovators. Pavla has been actively working on WFHomie since the pandemic started in 2020. She is passionate about helping remote and hybrid teams work efficiently and enabling the push towards remote work that started over the past couple of years.

During the episode we discuss her experience as an international student discovering a relevant career pathway in Canada, growing in her role in tech and making the switch from working full-time to becoming a startup founder. Pavla mentions how important it was for her to be intentional about what are some skills she should improve upon in order to set herself up for the career she wanted longer term.

Some of the main pieces of advice discussed included being proactive about acquiring relevant skills and building a personal brand throughout the process. She is quite active on LinkedIn herself and regularly shares insightful posts based on her startup experiences.

Fun fact, Pavla used to have a side project making leather laptop bags in her Toronto apartment! You can find the Instagram page for her leather creations here.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Tobi Oluwole is a SMB Sales Manager at Shopify - working strategically with merchants $10MM+ in revenue to help them grow. Additionally, Tobi is the Co-Founder of 3Skills - a community of over 20,000 people where he helps them become the most employable versions of themselves. Tobi’s professional background lies in tech sales and owning his own business.

Nino and Tobi originally connected through LinkedIn - Tobi is a thought leader in the HR and employment spaces. On his LinkedIn, he regularly shares success stories of candidates that have significantly upgraded in their careers and starts conversations around aspects of the recruiting world that need to be improved. These conversations closely tie into the work he does with 3Skills - helping candidates communicate their value to secure better employment.

During the episode Tobi talks about how during the job search process, you get the interview because of your experience but you actually get the job because of your confidence. We also discuss the importance of building valuable professional relationships over LinkedIn and how to go about the networking process correctly.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Disclaimer: This is a special episode of My Immigrant Story, our guest this week is a Ghanian immigrant in the US (the rest of our guests are based in Canada). 

Samuel (Sam) Baddoo is the founder and CEO of Fleri. Fleri is a company that directs remittance funds into the health services immigrant families need back in their home countries. Starting with healthcare, Fleri ensures that the money sent back home by immigrants goes exactly where’s its intended.

This is a very special episode of My Immigrant Story - while most of our guests are immigrants based in Canada, Sam is a Ghanian immigrant entrepreneur living in the US. His immigration tech startup, Fleri, was a part of the Techstars Toronto 2021 cohort. Nino and Sam connected through the Toronto tech ecosystem with the support of Sunil Sharma, Managing Director at Techstars Toronto.

Sam was originally inspired to move to New York City from Ghana after he visited the country a few times when he was younger. He saw opportunity in the country based on how the people that moved to the US achieved success by applying themselves.

During the episode we talk about the most impactful decisions Sam made while building his career in the US. Joining a software development bootcamp and networking with like-minded people (entrepreneurs in his case) were at the top of his list. In general, Sam mentions that the people you meet is the most important part of immigration – having someone that you can talk to along the way, whether it’s other immigrants or immigrant organizations that can help (FYI: if you’d like to learn more about the VisaWire immigrant community, check out the following link!).

Fleri (Sam’s startup) is actually the creole name for the word “Flourish”. One of the reasons people emigrate to other countries is because they want to thrive and flourish rather than just survive. Based on his personal experience with poor healthcare options back home, Sam wants to help immigrants flourish through providing access to healthcare for their families.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Disclaimer: When this episode was originally recorded, Pat was living in Vancouver, BC and also working as a Product Manager at Telus - building content merchandising strategy for Optik TV. Since then, Pat left her job at Telus and moved to Toronto, Ontario to focus on building Isempower full-time. So much can change in the life of an entrepreneur in under 6 months!

Pat Chaisang is the co-founder and CEO of Isempower - Canada's first job search platform for international students. She is driven by the mission of helping international students & professionals succeed in Canada.

When this podcast episode was originally recorded (beginning of 2022), Pat was living in Vancouver, BC and also working as a Product Manager at Telus, building content merchandising strategy for Optik TV. Since then, Pat left her job at Telus and moved to Toronto, Ontario to focus on building Isempower full-time. So much can change in the life of an entrepreneur in under 6 months!

Nino and Pat originally connected through the League of Innovators startup community (they both participated in the Labs program in different cohorts!). One of the concepts discussed during the episode is the power of networking and how it can help you with building a career in Canada - this was demonstrated in the connection formed between VisaWire and Isempower! The founders connected through introductions from their Canadian startup network before ever meeting in-person.

During the episode, Pat talks about the importance of creating your own opportunities. Building a network in a new country even if the concept of networking is foreign and difficult to grasp at first. She brings up a couple of examples where taking initiative and doing additional work helped her differentiate from other candidates during the job search process.

We’re also excited to announce that VisaWire and Isempower will be partnering starting summer 2022! You can learn more about the partnership and access the unique promo code for the Career Launcher Bootcamp here. Isempower offers job search prep and support services along with a dedicated job board for international students.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Shreyas Sali is the Director of Product and Data (Marketplace Product) at Spocket. Spocket is a Vancouver-based dropshipping marketplace that is serving over 60,000 merchants. Shreyas is also an author of his own book regarding the PMP exam and an active member of the BC startup and product communities.

Nino and Shreyas originally connected through a startup and software engineering community called Stackraft. The community is created and being run by one of the first guests on this very podcast - Vartika Manasvi (you can check out Vartika’s full episode here).

Originally from India, Shreyas spent many years living, working and studying in the US. He started his product manager career in the US and gained experience in the tech industry before making the decision to move to the Canada. During the episode, we uncover what were his primary motivations for considering Canada as his next destination and some of the issues his friends experienced with the H1-B visa process in the US.

Some of the resources mentioned during the episode include the book Shreyas wrote on how to ace the PMP exam (you can find it on Amazon and at pmpapp.co) and a resource and philosophy he highly recommends for anyone interested in building successful products - Working Backwards.

One of the most important takeaways from this conversation includes the realization Shreyas had regarding Canada and how important it is for an immigrant to find a country where one can build a solid foundation for growth. Although Canada might not have been what he initially planned, he kept his options open and was able to discover something completely new. Something that ended up working out even better for him at the end of the day!

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Natalia Bialkowska is a lawyer and the owner of NB Law Firm. NB Law Firm specializes in Canadian immigration and personal injury law. The firm also offers services of Notary Public and Commissioner of Oaths. Natalia completed her undergraduate studies, law degree and doctorate in the US. After moving to Canada, she got licensed to practice law in Ontario. She is also licensed to practice law in California, the District of Colombia and Michigan.

Originally from Poland, Natalia lived, worked, and studied in the US for many years. She moved to Toronto prior to the start of the pandemic and went through the difficult process of recertifying herself to practice law in Ontario. During the episode she mentions the over eight tests and bar exam she had to take before she was eligible to take the oath and practice law in Ontario.

During the episode, Natalia touches upon the importance of building connections and how that’s one of the toughest aspects of moving and settling into a new place. In her example, she already had many connections and clients in the state of California which she fully had to let go of to start practicing law in a new country. However, that didn’t stop her from going ahead and opening her own business upon arrival!

NB Law Firm is VisaWire’s official partner - they offer free initial consultations. You can learn more about them and the services they offer here.

P.S. During the episode, Natalia mentions that there haven't been any Express Entry - Federal Skilled Worker program draws conducted since 2020. According to a recent statement from the IRCC, they aim to resume Express Entry draws in early July. 

P.P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals?Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Rajat (Raj) Jain is the founder and CEO of EOXS. EOXS is a silicon valley venture backed startup where Steel Meets Technology. He has been working in the steel industry in a variety of roles for over 5 years before devoting his career to entrepreneurship.

Nino and Raj originally met in Toronto at a networking event. Back then, Raj was working on his first startup idea - Buddy. Buddy was a social app for connecting people with shared interests and preferences in cities across Canada (Nino’s previous startup Delfy focused on helping people make friends based on similar interests). After his first startup idea, Raj pivoted to building EOXS to provide tech solutions in the Metals Industry.

During the episode Raj touches upon the importance of setting up your foundation when arriving to Canada - your network. He goes into how often he used to go to back-to-back networking events on Sunday’s and meet people from all walks of life. From starting out in a minimum wage factory job to becoming a founder, Raj has gone through a wide spectrum of employment experiences during his immigration journey.

Additionally, he provides a unique perspective regarding where to seek mentorship and how the mentors you pick earlier on can significantly influence which path you end up pursuing in Canada.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Assel Beglinova, the co-founder and CEO of Paperstack. Paperstack is an app that provides working capital and financial insights for e-commerce sellers. Through this, Paperstack supports online merchants in purchasing inventory, investment in advertising, and hiring more talent.

When this episode was being recorded (January, 2022), Assel was going through the Techstars Equitech accelerator program in Baltimore, Maryland. The Paperstack team completed the program in March and Assel pitched their company during demo day.

Assel’s Canadian journey started when she came to Toronto as an international student to study Finance and Accounting at Seneca College. During the episode we cover some of the challenges she encountered. For example, during college she struggled to even find part-time jobs due to her lack of any work experience from her high school years. She went from handing out her resumes to businesses on Yonge street to successfully securing her first full-time job.

We also dive into some of the strategies that helped set Assel up for professional success. One of the main points of advice mentioned was: start researching Canada and actively networking prior to making the move here.

As an international student turned financial advisor at Canadian major banks and now tech startup founder, Assel provides a unique perspective on what were some of the key steps that helped her get from one stage to the next.

P.S. When this episode was recorded, Assel was in Baltimore, Maryland. Her team going through the Techstars Equitech accelerator program and actively working on taking Paperstack to the next level. Since then, the Paperstack team completed the Techstars program. 

P.P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

Patience Badze is a female entrepreneur, recent immigrant, creator, and problem-solver. She’s been a marketing professional for over 10 years with a focus on strategy and operations management. Patience is the co-founder of edgeBD Inc. where she drives growth and business development strategies for the branding agency. Throughout her career, Patience has worked with both startups and large global organizations while being responsible for directly account managing high value clients and their projects.

During the episode, we discuss Patience’s journey from South Africa to Canada - how she landed in Toronto alone with a child, what programs she participated in to get herself set up initially, and her approach to bringing an existing business from another country in Canada. One of the programs that Patience mentions helped her get set up as a newcomer entrepreneur in Canada is called Access Employment.

Towards the end, we also cover Patience’s newest endeavor - a startup called LocalOn. LocalOn is a company dedicated to creating tech solutions for small businesses. One of these solutions is a product they just recently finished developing and launched - a mobile app called where.a.bouts.

where.a.bouts is a mobile-first window shopping app for small businesses with brick and mortar stores, pop-up stores and (seasonal) markets stands to increase foot traffic and in-store purchasing. The app enables shop owners to create digital store fronts to display their products making it easy for shoppers to find products from small businesses in their community.

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/

DISCLAIMER: At the time this episode was recorded (December, 2021), Sid was employed as the Regional Head of SEO at resulta. Since then, Sid has left his role in resulta and is working with Aisera. Additionally, this year he started his own company called Sid Organic Growth Consulting.

Sidharth (Sid) Iyer is an SEO consultant with a background in B2B SaaS marketing. He has a passion for SEO and the acumen to create an organic user experience that helps guide the Buyer Journey. Sid has a degree in Journalism and is an innate storyteller. He is an active mentor on ADPList - people can book a time with him if they’re interested in SEO and Digital Marketing.

Sid is currently leading Organic Growth (SEO + CRO + Content) Strategy at Aisera, which is a California based Series C start-up. Aisera is revolutionizing the services industry with its B2B SaaS solution by leveraging AI to enable workflow automation and improve overall productivity, efficiency and costs. Additionally, this year Sid started his own company called Sid Organic Growth Consulting.

During the episode, we discuss Sid’s career journey and what inspired him to move to Canada. He talks about how he got ahead of the job search by starting to look for opportunities and securing his first position even before he moved to Canada.

Sid actively talks about his Canadian immigration experience and lessons learned online. You can find some of the helpful resources he created below:

P.S. Interested in networking with fellow immigrant professionals? Check out the VisaWire Community: https://community.visawireapp.com/