Grab a coffee or tea ☕, head to a PORCH💚, and dive in!
31st Edition | May 2024
*Some links and information in this newsletter are applicable to PORCH members only*
Welcome to the USA!
PORCH is now available south of the border.
We are thrilled to announce that PORCH is expanding into the United States!
The challenges of immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals are not specific to Canada and we believe deeply that the PORCH community model can assist immigrants coming to and in the U.S as well.
Since our inception, PORCH has been dedicated to supporting immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada, helping each other navigate the complexities faced by newcomers in the Canadian business world.
The community has flourished, growing from 0 to over 300 engaged and incredible members from 60+ countries around the world. In just over a year, PORCH has run over 60 virtual sessions, in-person events and meetups, and formed many valuable partnerships.
PORCH USA brings not only an opportunity for U.S. immigrant entrepreneurs to get the support of a true community, but value for existing members to expand their networks, access an even larger system of resources and build U.S. relationships with potential partners, clients, and friends.
This expansion allows us to help more people, enhance the value of your membership, and strengthen the community as a whole.
This exciting development is a significant milestone in our journey, and we couldn’t be more proud to share it with you.
Thank you for being a part of the PORCH family and we look forward to growing together and continue supporting each other on this incredible journey.
Thank you to everyone who came out to our first Coaching & Coffee #onthePORCH event last week!
We hope you all found value in the coaches, advice, and discussions that went on throughout the night! There were 4 coaches, 4 topics, and endless advice for immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals.
We also gave out a couple Collision tickets! Congrats to the winners!
We are pumped for many more events coming up this year (50+ virtual and 15+ in-person)!
New PORCH Partnership: Found People
For entrepreneurs and startups, that first hire is crucial. It is something that we have discussed and shared tips on in PORCH over and over again.
We knew it was time to bring in more expertise on hiring talent to support the amazing immigrant entrepreneurs in the community.
That's where Found People steps in!
Our newest partnership is with Found People, Canada's premier boutique contingency recruitment firm.
Their expertise is in recruiting top talent and building high-performance teams for startups, SaaS, and Fortune 500 companies focusing on mid to senior-level roles in technology, sales, marketing, analytics, product, and business teams.
We used to just have a graphic for these partnership announcements, but we've upgraded!
Check out our fun interview with Katie Dolgin, CEO at Found People! 💚
Every newsletter we spotlight a PORCH member to bring a little more attention to them and their business.
Here we go...
One of the most overlooked aspects of your business is one of the most important!
Introducing...🥁 🥁 Jaclyn Pope and her company, Illuma Accessibility
Jaclyn has been with PORCH since the very start! She has shined a light on a part of not only businesses but the world as a whole that is unfortunately ignored or pushed aside.
Illuma Accessibility is a consultancy firm specializing in Digital Accessibility.
You could very well be losing your next potential client because your website is not digitally accessible.
Join us this Saturday (June 1st) at Ashbridges Bay Park in Toronto.
We always talk about the importance of work-life balance so turn that computer off and come unwind, play some corn hole, and enjoy the sunshine (hopefully) in Toronto.
This event is FREE and open to everyone!
Don't forget to bring the following to the Picnic:
Your own food and drink for anyone with you
Picnic blanket / lawn chairs, etc.
Feel free to bring some outdoor games/sports and don't forget the sunglasses
The second exclusive dinner of the year is coming up on June 11th!!
We believe that there is no better way to connect with people than breaking bread together. So, we host exclusive dinners at Terroni in Toronto for immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals.
How do the dinners work?
The dinner is an exclusive, invite-only event (20 people)
Submit your interest to attend
We do our best to get as many people involved as possible.
PORCH Plus members only
PORCH is partnering with Scotiabank for an awesome dinner and discussion around the financial journey faced by immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada (personal and business banking, credit, mortgage, etc.).
