#HOTCS: Shaaz Nasir, New York City

“What motivates me is helping Canadian companies to not waste their money, helping them close actual deals here in America. When I  sit down with American executives, whether it’s CNN, the FBI, Microsoft, or Google, and listen to their problems, I love that I can say, ‘I have solutions: They’re all Canadian companies – from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity – and they’re ready to deliver real results for you.'

“Canadians in general are really nice people and this can help, but also hurt you in meetings in New York. I always tell Canadians who are about to enter a meeting that I’ve set up that your goal is not to become a friend, it’s honestly to close a deal and to establish credibility. You do not do that by asking about kids, or being too humble. That does work in other cities, but in New York, time is of the essence. So if you’re going into this meeting, you need to quickly state: ‘This is what I do, this is proof that what I do works, this is how much it costs, this is what it looks like if we do it for your company, and this is what we need to get it starting up. Are you in?’ And then later on, once you begin the sales cycle, that’s when you can show that you care about the company’s issue and their people, you’re passionate about the field and yes, then talk about your kids.”