Last week, iLobby’s CEO Ariel Mashiyev, was invited to speak as an expert on the “Entrepreneurs Going Global” panel for The Canadian Export Challenge Accelerator. With iLobby’s massive growth over the last few years, he was honored to have the opportunity to share his expertise and experience in growing iLobby into a global leader in visitor management, with kiosks set up in over 40+ countries and millions of users around the world.

In the past year alone, iLobby has grown into one of the world’s leading visitor management platforms, and has significantly grown their fulltime team and hired top talent. Mr. Mashiyev was happy to provide guidance to the next generation of entrepreneurs who are pursuing the international market, and to share his insights on building and leveraging global partnerships and collaborations to support global expansion into new markets.

In today’s age, the barriers of building a global business have been reduced and entrepreneurs are going global from the onset. Together with fellow panelists, and moderator Mélanie Carter from Export Development Canada, Mr. Mashiyev tackled the realities, challenges, and benefits of operating on a global scale.

The Canadian Export Challenge provides entrepreneurs with 1-day accelerator events, digital programs, pitch competitions, and an online community. The program helps companies become export-ready, connect with the trade and global growth ecosystem, and gain global exposure.

“There are no rules. Global is a big word, and the world is a big place. Figure out where there is a need for your service or product, and focus there”, Mr. Mashiyev said, while encouraging entrepreneurs to be adaptable, focus their efforts on what their customers need, and to be ready to pivot as needed when expanding.

Mr. Mashiyev champions entrepreneurship, and promotes an entrepreneurial spirit within his own team. This has empowered each member of his team to contribute meaningfully in order to improve the company’s operations, and to ultimately deliver the best possible service to each customer.