The Immigrant Story Podcast

Lekan is the Founder/CEO of Obsidi by BPTN, an online platform that's very quickly becoming an ecosystem for Black professionals and allies in Tech to connect on multiple levels, from career advancement opportunities to interesting events and much more. On this episode, Lekan and I delve into his childhood, we unpacked some of the struggles his family went through, and how those experiences shaped his ethos and approach to how he leads today. We take a deep dive into Obsidi by BPTN, how it all started, the challenges he faced and some of the drivers for the success the network has experienced so far. Lekan also shares his vision for Obsidi by BPTN, his take on the meaning of Black History Month and Blackness and concludes with advice from his experience on how to navigate the road to success. It is a packed episode, enjoy.

On this episode, I seat down with Isaac Olowolafe Jr., an entrepreneur extraordinaire, who through his many ventures has changed the face of industries from real estate to venture capital. We talk very candidly about his early years growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, touching on the lessons he learned from his parents through their sacrifices and devotion to him and his siblings, and how those experiences shaped him into the man he is today, personally and professionally. Through his vertically-integrated enterprise - Dream Maker Inc. - he has created opportunities for minority groups, especially Black individuals and businesses to participate in the real estate economy as a avenue to create and sustain "generational wealth", a term we unpack further in the conversation. Isaac is also empowering Black founders in the tech space through the Black Innovation Capital, a $10M fund aimed at providing access to capital which before now was impossible or painful at best to reach. This episode is loaded with lots of wisdom, please dive in and enjoy.

Hyder Hassan emigrated from Pakistan to Canada in 1999 as a teenage with his family. On this episode, Hyder shares stories of the challenges his family faced in their home country and those they encountered as they tried to settle and thrive in Canada. He talked about his first job in Canada, the decisions he had to make along the way, and most notably the people who took a chance on him and gave him an opportunity to grow and develop professionally. Today, Hyder is the CEO of Immigrant Services Calgary, leveraging his experience as an immigrant to develop programs and processes aimed at helping newcomers settle in the beautiful city of Calgary.

I seat down with Charles Osuji, the owner and Managing Partner of Osuji & Smith Lawyers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Charles shares his journey as a young man growing up in a large family in SE Nigeria, he shares details of his legal training in Nigeria and steps he took to become a foreign trained lawyer licensed to practice in Alberta. We take a deep dive into his journey from an articling student at Smith Law Office to his eventual acquisition of the law practice which is today Osuji & Smith Lawyers. We talk about diversity, race and racism, and end with nuggets of wisdom that many will find insightful.

In this first episode of the Immigrant Story Podcast, I speak with Jurin Dangbedji, an impressive gentleman I met a few years ago at Business School and since then have become friends with. We dive into his childhood, explore the drivers of the decision to immigrate to Canada for post secondary education, and unpack his experience on arrival in Montreal and the few years he spent studying at the University. We finish off Episode 1 on the concept of networking as applied to job hunting in Canada. We conclude this conversation in Episode 2.