From Immigrant to Community Leader: Building Belonging in a New Country

When I arrived in Canada, I knew exactly three people. My immediate family. That was the entirety of my professional network in a new country. No alumni connections, no childhood friends scattered across the city, no family network to tap into. Just the cold reality of starting from absolute zero.

This is a story I share often, because it’s the origin story of everything I’ve built since. Every community I’ve founded, every event I’ve hosted, every connection I’ve facilitated — it all traces back to that initial experience of showing up somewhere new and deciding to create the belonging I was looking for.

The Immigrant’s Networking Disadvantage (And Hidden Advantage)

Immigrants face a genuine structural disadvantage in professional networking. In most industries, the best opportunities flow through existing relationships — people hire people they know, invest in people they trust, and refer business to people they’ve worked with. When you’re new to a country, you’re outside all of these circles.

But here’s what I’ve discovered: being an outsider is also a superpower. When you don’t have an existing network to lean on, you develop skills that native-born professionals often don’t: the ability to walk into a room of strangers and create connection from nothing, the resilience to handle rejection, and the genuine appreciation for every relationship you build.

How I Built My First Community

My first networking event was terrifying. I showed up at a Calgary business mixer knowing nobody, armed with a stack of business cards and a rehearsed elevator pitch. I left that evening with a handful of contacts and a crucial insight: networking events as they exist are designed for extroverts with established networks. They don’t serve newcomers well.

So I decided to build something better. I started hosting small, structured gatherings — 8-10 professionals around a dinner table with facilitated conversations. The format worked because it eliminated the two biggest barriers to networking: the awkwardness of approaching strangers and the superficiality of large-room mingling.

That first dinner series became the seed of what would eventually become Linked.Club and the foundation for LinkedIn Local chapters in both Malaysia and Canada.

Lessons for Newcomers Building Their Network

1. Don’t wait to be invited — create. The fastest path to a network isn’t attending other people’s events; it’s creating your own. Even a simple coffee meetup positions you as a connector.
2. Your unique perspective is valuable. Being from another country gives you a cross-cultural perspective that’s genuinely useful in business. Don’t minimize it — leverage it.
3. Community is the shortcut. Instead of networking one person at a time, build or join a community. It multiplies your connections exponentially.
4. Invest in relationships before you need them. The biggest mistake newcomers make is only networking when they need a job or a client. Build relationships consistently, especially when you don’t need anything.

Creating Belonging for Others

The most rewarding part of community building isn’t the personal benefit — it’s watching other newcomers find their footing because of something you created. Every time a new Linked.Club member tells me they made a connection that changed their career trajectory, I think about that first lonely business mixer and how far we’ve come.

If you’re an immigrant or newcomer reading this: your experience is not a limitation. It’s the foundation for something extraordinary. The skills you develop navigating a new culture, building from nothing, and creating belonging where none existed — these are the exact skills that make the best community builders, entrepreneurs, and leaders.