They say immigrants make the best entrepreneurs. Well, in 2006, I escaped Beirut, Lebanon under heavy shelling, my life's possessions in one bag, and made it safely to Montreal to begin my university career. I was 17 at the time, and determined to make the best of my new life in Canada.
At the time, I had no idea what was in store for me. All I knew was that I was no longer part of my 67-person graduating class, but instead was part of a campus with tens of thousands of students, who had traveled from all across Canada and the world to be here.
One of my most vivid memories is walking down past the main gates, with an incredible sense of freedom – nobody knew who I was, nobody knew where I came from, nobody knew that I was five feet tall for most of high school – instead, I was free to define and redefine myself however I wanted. It was liberating!
But more than anything, I learned that in this new world, I could be whoever I wanted to be. And this, to me, is how McGill set me down a new path.”
Over the following years, as a student at the Desautels Faculty of Management, I learned some of life's most important skills. I took on leadership roles – like being co-chair of the McGill Management International Case Competition. I learned what "Quatre à Sept" meant. I learned how to get a bouncer to look the other way. I taught dozens of students as an “Organizational Behaviour Course Counselor” (OBCC). I learned how to prepare and present a case, under the tutelage of our revered Professor Richard Donovan.
I completed a triple concentration in Finance, Management Information Systems, and Organizational Behaviour. Because I knew that if I were ever to start a company I needed to understand the numbers, the technology, and the people. These skills have been invaluable to me.
But more than anything, I learned that in this new world, I could be whoever I wanted to be. And this, to me, is how McGill set me down a new path.
Over the years, I redefined myself again and again. First, as a management consultant. Then again at the United Nations. Once again as a Master's student at Harvard, America's McGill, studying public policy. And now, as an entrepreneur.
Because what I didn't realize at the time is that entrepreneurship is about looking at the world and seeing a blank canvas, just as I did in 2006, walking past the main gates. And what I didn't realize about being an immigrant is that you can pack your bags, you can leave your life behind, and you can build something new from scratch, just as you did in the past.
And so in 2018, when I launched my own company, Legacy, I started a new chapter in life as a fertility entrepreneur, aiming to change the societal notion that fertility is a "women's issue".
From our beginnings at Harvard's Innovation Labs, to Y Combinator's vaunted program, we've now raised almost $50M from some of the world's best investors, and are well on our way to humanizing the path to parenthood, and to rebalancing the responsibilities of family planning.
But my one regret? Not paying enough attention in Accounting...