Learning that a 3 min pitch isn't the most important thing in the world changed everything for us.
We launched PORCH 2.5 years ago.
It remains hard out there.
It has only gotten more difficult to be an immigrant entrepreneur.
While most people have the right intentions, the landscape is even more complex and bad actors are everywhere.
When we started PORCH, we thought the primary need to help immigrant entrepreneurs was to support them on their BUSINESS journey - from helping them learn to pitch more effectively, to how to raise money, to how to sell and market in a new country.
And, yes these things are needed.
But there are a ton of accelerators and other organizations doing this already.
Some are doing it pretty well and many are not (but that's another story ๐).
What we learned over the last two years is that the biggest barrier to an international entrepreneur's success is not the founder's ability to do a great 3-minute pitch.
Donโt get us wrong, this is critical for a founder to learn, but it pales in importance to the personal side of the founder journey.
People need to be able to LIVE HAPPILY.
This means different things to different people.
- some people need help with opening bank accounts
- some with how to invest in Canada and U.S
- who to trust for accounting and tax support
- some with mental health and wellness
- some just need a few friends going through the same challenges as them
- and some people want to know where to have some fun in their new city
There is an endless list of topics that immigrant entrepreneurs struggle with that many of us take for granted.
Founders need to be able to take care of themselves before they can take care of their business.
Enter the renovated PORCH :)
PORCH is an exclusive club of international entrepreneurs that have been there, done that, and still doing it.
They have come together to support one another on the personal side of the journey (from living to finance to relationships) to learn and grow, and to share their superpowers.
So to sum it up...
PORCH is the club for international entrepreneurs for the personal side of the journey (the stuff that accelerators don't do)
We are not doing this alone. The team;
๐ Toronto Chapter Leaders โ Ting, Olumuyiwa
๐ PORCH Ambassadors โ Somayeh, Adaeze, Akos, Ronan, Marcelo, Nida, Anna, David.
Sincerely, Neil & Hunter โ Founders of PORCH ๐
