Shows
Off to the ValleyNino Melikidze on Starting Over When Nobody Knows Your NameWhat happens after the visa gets approved?In this episode of Off To The Valley, I sit down with Nino Melikidze, co-founder and CEO of Immitracker, to talk about the invisible side of immigration, the identity shifts, career resets, and emotional weight that don’t make it onto official paperwork.Nino shares what it felt like to start over in Canada, how long it really takes to feel at home, and why she created a product that helps thousands of immigrants navigate that transition.We...
2025-06-1834 min
My Immigrant StoryParveen Mandviwalla - Customer Success Lead at HiredHippoDisclaimer: This is a special episode of My Immigrant Story! Typically we bring Canadian newcomer professionals and entrepreneurs to learn more about their immigration journey. However this time, our guest is an immigrant HR tech professional who works for a known Canadian HR startup.
Parveen is an experienced HR tech professional who has worked in leading
Canadian startups for multiple years. She started her career in recruiting and currently holds a senior position as a Customer Success Lead at HiredHippo – a hiring marketplace where companies get instant access to high-potential vetted candidates, and where professionals are matched in...
2023-07-2424 min
The Newcomers Podcast 🎙️E06: Nino Melikidze on immigrating as a 17yo, living in 3 countries in 10 years, and dealing with the what-ifs.Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.In this episode, I'm speaking with Nino Melikidze, the co-founder & CEO of Immitracker, who moved to the Unit...
2023-05-1839 min
My Immigrant StoryRoy Pereira - Serial Entrepreneur, Startup Mentor & Angel InvestorDisclaimer: This is a special episode of My Immigrant Story! Typically we bring Canadian newcomer professionals and entrepreneurs to learn more about their immigration journey. However this time, our guest is a first generation Canadian immigrant serial entrepreneur who moved to the country when he was quite young and has since founded multiple companies in a wide variety of industries.
Roy is a Canadian serial entrepreneur, startup mentor, and angel investor. He has extensive experience building companies and leading multi-disciplinary teams. His tech background enables him to gain unique insights regarding today’s technology market and determine bu...
2023-04-1031 min
My Immigrant StoryBlayne Kumar - Co-Founder of Immitracker, Founder of Bright Immigration, Licensed Canadian Immigration ConsultantDisclaimer: This is a special episode of My Immigrant Story! Typically we bring Canadian newcomer professionals and entrepreneurs to learn more about their immigration journey. However this time, our guest is a licensed Canadian immigration consultant and serial entrepreneur with multiple years of experience working with immigrants, partners and companies.
Blayne is the founder of Bright Immigration, Toronto's leading immigration consultancy. Blayne is also the co-founder and CSO (Chief Strategy Officer) of Immitracker, an immigration application tracker and service marketplace for immigrants relocating to Canada and Australia. As a licensed immigration consultant, Blayne has applied his expertise...
2023-02-0725 min
My Immigrant StoryPrateek Bawa - Partnerships Manager & Community AmbassadorPrateek Bawa is a partnerships manager with over 10 years of experience in various industries including FinTech, SaaS, and E-commerce. Currently, he’s a is a Partner Consultant at Freshbooks – a company that builds accounting software for self-employed individuals and their teams.
Additionally, Prateek is an ambassador at Arrive – a platform for enabling newcomers to settle in Canada and Immigrant Networks. He is also a member of several professional organizations focused on partnerships and sales career development.
During the episode, Prateek highlights the importance of starting your LinkedIn networking process early on to help yourself setup quickl...
2022-12-0718 min
Find A Way Podcast#011 Marketplace for Skilled Immigrants w/ Nino MelikidzeThis is the Find a Way Podcast - Where we talk to immigrant founders about their journey starting a business in Canada and the US.Nino is a serial immigrant, polyglot, and tech entrepreneur passionate about building products that positively impact people's lives. Her background lies in Software Project Management and Product Ownership. She additionally has experience stepping in as the operations lead for startups and helping them build out and scale up their processes to support their growing needs. Nino is a freelancer and works primarily with tech startup projects and through the T...
2022-11-0936 min
My Immigrant StoryJaney Buz - Founder of Immiducation, Career Coach & Startup Program MentorJaney Buzugbe (Janey Buz) is a startup founder, career coach, and program mentor and consultant. She has been running her own YouTube channel for over five years. In this channel she provides relevant resources for newcomer students and professionals to navigate their careers and education in Canada.
Janey is now the founder of Immiducation, a career and education network of immigrants by immigrants. This global network support immigrants by accelerating their success through learning programs & resources, community and job matching. Additionally, Janey is a Program Mentor & Consultant for the DMZ, a tech startup growth incubator based out...
2022-10-2521 min
My Immigrant StoryAashni Shah - Founder & CEO of Mido and HypeDocsAashni Shah is the Founder and CEO of Mido – a product that allows users and companies to securely store and share their personal documents. She’s also the Founder of HypeDocs, an app that helps users track their achievements and gain confidence.
Aashni graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Computer Science. Prior to pursuing her passion for entrepreneurship, she worked as a Software Engineer at Microsoft and Square. Nino and Aashni actually connected over their shared passion for entrepreneurship and being actively involved with Toronto’s tech ecosystem and various startup communities.
Duri...
2022-10-1823 min
My Immigrant StoryAmir Feizpour - Co-Founder and CEO of Aggregate IntellectAmir Feizpour is the Co-Founder and CEO of Aggregate Intellect – a platform that curates the world’s technical knowledge with the help of artificial and crowd intelligence. With the help of NLP (natural language processing) and an AI community of 10K+ members, they make finding technical information in as easy as a few clicks.
Prior to starting his own company, Amir worked as a Data Scientist at RBC and did his post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford in the UK. Additionally, Amir runs a weekly hiking and monthly dinner group for Toronto founders (through which Nino and A...
2022-10-1020 min
My Immigrant StoryDavid Mendoza - Director at Orbit5 and Professor at George Brown CollegeDavid Mendoza is the Director of Orbit5, an Ed-Tech startup supporting international students in launching amazing careers. They support students struggling with life, school, and career through free weekly webinars, events, and on-one-on coaching.
David specializes in career development, e-learning, educational tourism, and language coaching. Additionally, he is a professor at George Brown College based in Toronto, Ontario. He is a faculty team member at the Transitions to Post-Secondary Education program from the School of Preparatory & Liberal Studies.
Nino and David originally connected through the work they do in the immigration space. David’s focus is...
2022-10-0522 min
My Immigrant StoryMia Nguyễn - Operations & Partnerships Associate at The Knowledge Society (TKS)Mia Nguyen is an Operations & Partnerships Associate at TKS (The Knowledge Society) – an organization focused on exposing students to emerging STEM fields that are shaping the future of our world. Additionally, at the time this episode was recorded she was also working as the co-founder of GOmana. GOmana is a virtual travel agency built for students, by students – helping students find, apply and plan for their abroad experience.
Mia and Nino originally connected through a community for one of the largest youth-focused startup incubator programs in Canada called The League of Innovators. Mia went through the LOI prog...
2022-08-0921 min
My Immigrant StoryJosh Schachnow - Co-Founder & CEO of Visto AI, Canadian Immigration LawyerDisclaimer: This is a special episode of My Immigrant Story! Typically we bring Canadian newcomer professionals and entrepreneurs to learn more about their immigration journey. However this time, our guest is a Canadian immigration lawyer with multiple years of experience working with both tech companies and immigrants under his belt
Josh Schachnow is the Co-Founder and CEO of Visto AI – a platform that makes it easy for Canadian companies to find amazing tech talent from around the world and bring them to Canada. He’s also an immigration lawyer and Partner at a boutique busi...
2022-07-3134 min
My Immigrant StoryPavla Bobosikova - Co-Founder & CEO at WFHomieDisclaimer: 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 o...
2022-07-2719 min
My Immigrant StoryTobi Oluwole - SMB Sales Manager at Shopify and Co-Founder at 3SkillsTobi 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 ar...
2022-07-1425 min
My Immigrant StorySamuel Baddoo - Founder & CEO of FleriDisclaimer: 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...
2022-06-1416 min
My Immigrant StoryPat Chaisang, Co-Founder & CEO of IsempowerDisclaimer: 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.
2022-05-3023 min
My Immigrant StoryShreyas Sali - Director of Product at Spocket & PMP Book AuthorShreyas 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 sp...
2022-05-1622 min
My Immigrant StoryNatalia Bialkowska - Immigration Lawyer & Owner of NB Law FirmNatalia 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...
2022-05-0220 min
My Immigrant StoryRajat Jain - Founder and CEO of EOXSRajat (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 si...
2022-04-1916 min
My Immigrant StoryAssel Beglinova - Co-Founder & CEO at PaperstackAssel 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. Du...
2022-04-0518 min
My Immigrant StoryPatience Badze - Serial Entrepreneur & Marketing ProfessionalPatience 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 prog...
2022-03-2422 min
My Immigrant StorySidharth Iyer - SEO Expert, Marketing Mentor & Professional ConsultantDISCLAIMER: 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...
2022-03-0912 min
Self-Made Expats with Lucy JeonS1-12. From Georgia to Canada & Project Manager to a Tech Startup Founder, VisaWire - Nino MelikidzeHey Dreamers! In this episode, I spoke with Nino Melikidze, the founder of VisaWire in Canada. Nino moved to the US from Georgia when she was 17, and after studying and working in the US, she moved to Bogota in Colombia, Vancouver, and Toronto. She founded her company, VisaWire, with her passion and mission to help immigrants in Canada and other western countries immigrate and settle in new countries successfully. I really enjoyed speaking with her because we share a similar background - immigrating to Canada, working in tech, and being a solo founder - If you're thinking...
2022-03-0846 min
My Immigrant StoryEnrique Suarez - Startup Founder, Revolutionizing Real Estate By BlockchainEnrique Suarez is the founder and CEO MountX Real Estate Capital. They are creating the next generation of digital financial products to enable access to International Real Estate Investing to millennials around the world. He is a world-class professional, entrepreneur and forward thinker, with a strong passion for building a better future through cutting-edge ideas, actionable methodologies and new technologies, and unlocking businesses for exponential growth.
Nino and Enrique originally met at a networking event hosted by Scale Without Borders in Toronto during the fall of 2021. Enrique had just recently relocated to Canada (April, 2021) and was looking to...
2022-02-2323 min
My Immigrant StoryVartika Manasvi - Serial Tech Entrepreneur, Angel Investor & Startup Podcast HostVartika Manasvi is a 2x Tech Entrepreneur with over eleven years of experience, Human Potential Coach, Angel Investor, and a Generalist. She has domain expertise in building diverse, transparent & equitable teams, networks, and communities.
Vartika lived and worked across the U.S., Singapore, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East before moving to Canada (startup visa program pathway). In fact, she is the first woman entrepreneur to have immigrated to Canada through the Startup Visa which was supported by the Government of Alberta!
Vartika is currently the founder of a community called Stackraft. It has over...
2022-02-1010 min
My Immigrant StorySergei Timshin - Senior Data Analyst & Rocket ScientistSergei Timshin is a Senior Data Analyst at Index Exchange. He completed a Master’s program in Data Analytics at the Fox School of Business at Temple University and is originally an Aerospace Engineer from Russia. Sergei has an interesting story of moving to New Zealand and the US prior to coming to Canada. He pursued the Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker immigration program to immigrate to Canada at the beginning of 2021 (right in the middle of the pandemic!).
Sergei and Nino originally met at a get-together organized by Mesto (a community for Russian-speaking entrepreneurs and IT pr...
2022-01-2717 min
My Immigrant StoryDeep Singh - Canadian Tech Entrepreneur & Startup Operations ExpertDeep Singh is the co-founder of Canada Mentors - a platform to help highly skilled software engineers across the globe connect with leading Canadian tech companies. They are on a mission to make Canada North America's most preferred destination to build ace tech teams!
Prior to working on Canada Mentors, Deep was the Head of Global Operations at Ritual (a Series C funded Canadian startup). Ritual is a social ordering app that taps networks of co-workers and colleagues for fast and easy pick up and pay at a wide variety of local restaurants and coffee shops.
2022-01-1318 min
My Immigrant StoryAyo Owodunni - Podcast Host, Management Consultant, & Community ActivistAyo Owodunni is a Senior Manager at the Black Professionals In Tech Network (BPTN) Inc. Since moving to Canada, he has worked as a Management Consultant, Real Estate Investor, and a Community Activist.
Ayo founded the Coalition of African Associations, a not for profit that had 15 African associations working together for the empowerment and development of Africans in the community. The coalition has now merged with the African Canadian Association of the Waterloo Region. He is also on the board of Adventure4Change, a not for profit focused on programs dedicated to developing and helping underprivileged youth i...
2021-12-1625 min
My Immigrant StoryRon Johnson - International Author, Podcast Host & EntrepreneurRon Johnson is an educator at heart, connector in spirit and a problem-solver by passion. He is an international best-selling author, entrepreneur, podcast host and startup founder. Ron is currently building a safe and supportive startup ecosystem for professionals and students entering Canada through the Wisen Up! Podcast and platform. The Wisen Up! Podcast focuses on speaking with successful Canadian immigrant professionals from various backgrounds and learning more about how they came to the country and established themselves and flourished in their careers.
In this episode, we learn about Ron’s immigration story: how he heard about Canad...
2021-12-0218 min
My Immigrant StoryPodcast IntroductionWelcome to the My Immigrant Story Podcast! During each episode, we'll be deconstructing the success stories of first generation Canadian immigrant tech entrepreneurs and professionals. We'll talk about how they discovered Canada as an immigration destination, settled, and grew their careers upon moving.
We hope that this podcast will help immigrants from all over the world learn more about pathways to Canada and opportunities to build your career upon arrival. Happy listening!
2021-11-1600 minFloat or Founder: Toronto Startup Business StoriesS2 Special! Techstars Global Startup Weekend COVID-19 Online CanadaBack in April 2020, Techstars Global Startup Weekend COVID-19 Online CANADA took place. People from across the country joined this hackathon-style weekend virtually to help accomplish goals surrounding COVID-19. Float or Founder offered a podcast episode as a prize and from there, this special edition episode was created!In this episode, you'll meet Danielle Torrie, an organizer for the event, plus Bruno Morency who was a judge. Members and leaders from the three winning teams also participated. Introducing Kelsey Muller & Michaela Moore and Omar Mohamed of RestAssured, Sabahat Naureen: Pharos, and Nino Melikidze & Sean Huang of...
2020-07-0141 min