A Story of Origins: Why I Launched Impact Canada

“Andrew, I really need to chat with you. I haven’t done the assignments and I can’t come to the exam this week.”

As a teacher, you’re accustomed to “the dog ate my homework” stories from your students, even when they’re adults. It’s always interesting to learn what the most creative excuse can be. This one, though, felt different.

“Can I be honest? I don’t have the time. From 5PM to 9PM I work in a restaurant and then from 9PM to 1AM I drive for Uber. I do this 7 days a week.

I come home around 2AM and wake up early to get my kids ready for school. I’m not asking for special treatment - I know the work is important - but I just wanted to tell you my situation. I might have to drop out of school because right now the priority is supporting my family.”

This is what a student told me after class one day in 2022. His was one of many I heard like this, all coming from a genuine place.

I’ve worked with newcomers to Canada since 2016 in post-secondary programs in Toronto. Their short-term academic goals typically run in conjunction with the bigger picture goal of integrating and succeeding in their new home.

I knew what I did in the classroom wasn’t enough to truly support them.

Like many ideas, Impact Canada has already taken on a few ideations, even in its infancy. To full understand that, let’s back up a little.

When I asked my audience on LinkedIn what they’d want to hear from an entrepreneur-based podcast, the most common answer was: their origin story.

Which made me think: most of us don’t have just one origin story, but many. We all start over again and again in different settings. This notion didn’t just resonate for the podcast we’re creating, but for the impact we’re looking to make.

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about helping newcomers here in Canada is because one of my origin stories involves being a newcomer myself.

I wasn’t called that. Expat they said, not newcomer. Corey and I seek to explore the nomenclature further around this, but I lived the newcomer experience. That was in 2010, when I relocated to Costa Rica, where I would meet Corey.

I’ve lived how difficult it can be in a new land with a new language, a new culture, and things you just don’t do that you are unaware of.

“What was the most difficult part of being a newcomer for you?” Gigi Dogan, founder of Adapt To, asked me on our premier podcast episode.

“Eating,” I said.

I didn’t speak any Spanish and couldn’t order food or ask for directions at all. I survived by surrounding myself with amazing people. Locals and other newcomers went out of their way to not only assist but to help me integrate.

That community was vital.

My experience was also low stakes. I wasn’t there because I had to be but rather because I chose to be. I could always pack up and fly back to Canada. Not all newcomers have that choice. For the vast majority that walked into my Canadian classrooms, there was no return.

Our origin story at Impact was one that didn’t last long; we’re already onto the second or third version of our vision.

Asking my students what they did for work, the answers were fairly similar:

• Driving for Uber

• Cleaning office buildings overnight

• Long-haul truck drivers

Naturally, our MVP at Impact revolved around helping people get into their career of choice, not just a job to pay the bills.

But after describing their current job, something really interesting happened. They also said “But I also __________.”

That blank was usually a business they were running on the side.

And our lightbulb moment happened. Many newcomers to Canada are entrepreneurial by nature. A job is to survive but a business is to thrive in the long-term, and allows to give back to a local community.

Even as I sent emails to former students of mine doing R&D for better employment opportunities, I got responses about businesses they were running - politely telling me thanks but no thanks.

I also got this one from Gigi:

The community we wanted to be a part of became clear.

When Corey and I sat down last fall to chat about this, it was just an idea. Like many ideas, they seem really good at the time. Most fade in the clarity of the coming days or weeks.

This one didn’t fade. It accelerated.

Community is a word we kept landing on. Buzzword, maybe, but my life has been filled with communities that supported me. We named our company Impact not just as a noun but also as a verb to represent a pact to support newcomers doing meaningful work.

As with any business in the initial stages, we have more questions than answers at this point. We’ll be building this out in public for everyone to be a part of should they feel inclined to do so.

But there is one thing I know: Impact is not so much about us helping others but creating a space for great work to happen, together. For a great community to come together to help.

It’s another origin story, one of many more to come.

Thanks for being part of it.