September 7th marked my last day at My City Lives, the location-based startup that was founded in Toronto almost three years ago. My story with My City Lives began a little over two years ago.
While in my last year of university, I managed to bridge the gap between doing something interesting and getting to know more about My City Lives. As the co-president of a business organization at Wilfrid Laurier Univeristy, we had used My City Lives as a live case for our biggest conference of the year involving hundreds of present and future university students. It was after the conference when one of my professor asked if I was interested in writing a business case on My City Lives for her Marketing course in exchange for course credits. I jumped at the opportunity to work closely with the professor and learn more about My City Lives. For months I slaved away examining the ins and outs of the business model as applied to My City Lives. A gruelling 70 pages later (single-spaced!!!) I was done, graduating, and perfectly positioned to join Adil and Adam at My City Lives a couple weeks later.
I came on as the Community and Marketing Manager but quickly found that with a small team of three, my responsibilities constantly stretched from everything to company strategy to event planning. One of my favourite things to comment on when asked about my time working for a startup, was the need for individuals to wear many hats and juggle multiple responsibilities at any time. Doing something different everyday was the main reason I fell in love with my role and the startup culture. Throughout the two years I watched our team grow by upwards of ten new team members and our strategy change. I managed teams on my own and watched as Adil and Adam managed their teams. I particularly enjoyed watching our community evolve and develop, constantly teaching us new things about Toronto and other cities.
The past two years proved to be some of the most inspirational and educational times of my life. It was fascinating to watch the startup community in Toronto grow and to be among a large group of people doing new and innovative ventures. It’s amazing how quickly the startup community in Toronto has grown, where just a few years ago it was beginning to evolve. Adil, Adam, people we partnered with and all others in the community were inspiring leaders whom I enjoyed watching and learning from. I’m thankful to them for all their support and encouragement over the years.
Leaving My City Lives has undoubtably been one of the harder things I’ve done. When working for a startup, you invest yourself in the company and dedicate all of your effort towards it’s success. It no longer becomes a job you are a doing but a personal project you hold close to your heart. Though my next adventure awaits, I know I’ll always hold My City Lives close and will be following their progress from afar. I might have taken myself off the team but I’ve only gone as far as the cheerleading bench.
Amira Dhalla 