Meet "Ashraf"

I got a message on Facebook from my friend Kevin who lives in Rio, putting me in contact with a friend of his, Ashraf, who used to live in Toronto for seven years, then he moved to Budapest for two years and now he decided to move back again to Toronto, and since he's into Advertising too so Kevin was keen on introducing us and asking us to meet..

And just few days after he landed, Ashraf sent me a message and we arranged to meet for a coffee, so we met at one of my favorite cafés that u know by now, Dineen coffee, we ordered our drinks and we were lucky to find a table as it's always super busy.

Ashraf had lots of insights to share about the market and the advertising industry and how to approach the job hunt, and he confirmed what other people where telling me about the importance of networking and just sending CV to recruiters online is not enough.. And we talked about Egypt and his view on what's happening there (Ashraf is originally Egyptian), and about his experience in Budapest, and his expectations from his move again to Toronto..

Ashraf was kind enough as he shared my CV & portfolio the second day with one of the great agencies that I would like to work with, and invited me to his "Welcome back" drinks that his friends organized for him.. And I really enjoyed that evening where i met many interesting people, that I will definitely introduce in my future posts, and got to hear some interesting stories, and of course laugh and get Tipsy (not to say drunk) :)

Cheers..

Meet "Bashir"

My friend Maz started talking to me & Bashir individually about each other, and he was very keen to put us in contact as he felt we have some common interests like digital & mobile marketing, and since Maz was away most of the week, I agreed with Bashir to meet for a coffee in a beautiful cafe close to me "Dineen Coffee"..

I love this charming cafe and been coupe of times so far, and it's one of places where I felt I can go every day..

Bashir was slightly late, so I enjoyed my tea while waiting for him and once he arrived, as usual we started talking about my move and my plans for work and for studies and then Bashir started with lots of passion telling me about the business he's trying to establish in Mobile Marketing and about the company he launched Lokannounce and true I'm not much into the technical details but he tried to made me understand the step by step of Hylotrak (Hyper Local Track) he can offer to his customers..

We discussed the potential of working together and me helping him with the branding for his startup and that's a good opportunity for me as well to start building my Canadian experience and growing my freelance portfolio..

It was a very positive first meeting with Bashir, and for sure it won't be the last.. So thank you Maz.