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Mo Altaqatqa is the Business Development Manager at Futurpreneur, Canada’s leading non-profit organization that supports young entrepreneurs aged 18-39 with financing, mentoring, and resources. In his role, he works closely with young entrepreneurs to overcome their challenges and secure the financing they need. He’s also focused on expanding Futurpreneur’s partner and mentor network across Alberta, especially in the Calgary Metropolitan Region.
Over the years. Mo’s has helped startups across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America, with business planning, sales strategies, marketing, operations, and securing the necessary funding.
In this episode, Mo and I chat about:
How to tailor a business idea from home for the Canadian market
What 15 years away from home teaches you about adaptability and identity
How Futurpreneur's newcomer initiative bridges the credit score gap
Why he spent months saying no to jobs in Canada
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Chapters
0:00 Why immigrants make great entrepreneurs
0:48 Intro
1:38 Three years in Canada
3:27 You've to learn the new system
5:39 The social norms
6:37 Who are you?
12:18 Leaving Jordan
17:11 Understand your customers first
21:24 From Dubai to Ukraine
28:53 Job-hunting
34:11 The differences I see
37:50 Why immigrants make great entrepreneurs
38:46 The credit score issue
42:29 Outro
Some takeaways:
A lot of newcomer entrepreneurs who fail do so because they don't understand their customer. You bring a product from home and you assume people here will want it the same way. But the customer here is different because their habits and tastes are different. As Mo says, when a customer says no, they're not rejecting your identity. They're telling you the product needs to meet them where they are.
Values-based job searching as an immigrant takes a kind of nerve that most people can't afford. Mo spent six or seven months without a steady income, saying no to jobs that didn't align with what he wanted to do. That wait was expensive but it's also what landed him at Futurpreneur, where his values matched the mission. Not everyone can afford to wait. But for those who can, Mo's story is proof that the wait can pay off. The wrong job at the right time is still the wrong job.
Links:
Where to find Mo:
The Newcomers resources:
Want to work with us? Check out The Newcomers Media Kit.
Want more immigrant interviews? Listen to The Newcomers Podcast.
Looking to find out what Canadian immigration program you’re eligible for? Check out our Who’s Eligible For series.
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