WATCH | Sheetal Issar

Sheetal Issar recognizes quality when she sees it. Having traveled to and worked in various locations around the world, her lived experience provides her with the context needed for comparing what different continents, countries, and companies have to offer. So when Sheetal offers her endorsement, it’s been weighed against the global options she has observed.   

“Everybody should go with Empowered incubation,” she states decisively. “Being from a different country, I have been so many places. I haven’t seen that kind of professional behavior in other incubation.”

Sheetal is the co-founder and head of operations for Reskilll Canada, an experiential learning platform helping students, developers, professionals and startups to skill, upskill and reskill themselves. Like Sheetal, the company originated in India. With a background in computer software engineering and a familiarity with the North American market as a result of her travels, she saw an opportunity to expand Reskilll’s reach by opening in Canada. 

“I want to spread my startup in the world, and I think Canada has more potential because in Canada, it’s the best education here. A lot of universities are here, and they are very open to give students chances for more growth. So, I think Canada is the best option for my EduTech company,” she explains.

As she considered the steps necessary for immigrating to Canada, the Canada Start-up Visa (SUV) Program emerged as the right immigration option for Sheetal, who then needed to decide on a government designated organization to work with. She researched several of the legitimate companies available to partner with, and Empowered Startups clearly distinguished itself during the process.     

“When I had a first meeting with Empowered with all my co-founders, the way they approached us, that made us so comfortable,” she reveals with a smile. “Wherever you go, and especially if you are IT background or you are professional and have been working with the professionals, your first thing you are looking for is professional behavior. And Empowered is tremendous in this. They are very professional; they make you feel comfortable.” 

Part of that has to do with the resources available to founders in Empowered’s SUV program. Sheetal points to the numerous benefits of the communal office in downtown Vancouver, which provides founders with a legitimate working and meeting space. She also lauds the detailed preparation she received through Empowered’s award-winning Global Startup Accelerator, a proprietary online platform that she refers to as “boot camp” for incoming entrepreneurs.   

“Their boot camp will help you in the full journey; you don’t feel that you’re lost somewhere,” she assures. “They actually give me the roadmap. They give me the guidance. They actually educate me or teach me how I, [and] my startup can fit in this ecosystem.”

As she continues to list more positive aspects of her experience, Sheetal is quick to acknowledge the importance of having a dedicated mentor to work with, another valuable advantage of Empowered’s SUV incubation program. 

“I really want to talk about my mentor, that’s Alex. She helped us from the first day. And when we landed here, we were aware that we have to connect with the universities, but we were not aware of how to deal with it, and how to connect the database, how to collect the database with the system,” Sheetal recalls in describing the early days of her entrepreneurial journey in Canada. “She guided us in that such a way that now we know step by step what we need to do. That’s why we have a good database right now. We know what universities are interested.” 

There’s a distinct optimism mixed with a sense of accomplishment as Sheetal discusses her ongoing development of Reskilll Canada.  She appears confident in her future in Canada both professionally and personally, thanks in large part to the guidance she’s received in her journey.