Hossein Mirvalad: From Product Leader to Job Seeker: What Starting Over in a New Country Taught Me
"You go from being someone to being nobody—and then you start building again." When experience isn’t enough, identity and adaptability become your biggest assets.
We sat down with Hossein Mirvalad, a seasoned SaaS Product Manager and former startup founder whose career spans a multitude of cultural and professional experiences in industries like transportation, global tourism, fintech, and HR – across Iran and Canada.
His journey is defined by a consistent drive to learn, improve, and push boundaries. This is a story of relentless commitment and deep resilience.
We believe his insights are an incredible asset to anyone looking to build a meaningful career and develop personally, so we are very excited to bring this to you in a series of 3 articles:
From Product Leader to Job Seeker: What Starting Over in a New Country Taught Me
Hossein Mirvalad: On Unshakeable Resilience and How to Keep Going When Everything Is Changing (coming soon)
Hossein Mirvalad on Rethinking Your Career: The Playbook to Delivering Impact and Receiving Fulfillment (coming soon)
Let’s get to it!
Hossein’s Context
Hossein had over six years of experience as a product manager when he moved from Iran to Canada. Back home, he was already established. He had founded and led his own startup, raised funding, and worked in one of the largest tech companies in his country. "Jobs usually found me," he said. But when he arrived in Montreal, he found himself starting from scratch. His name was mispronounced. Even ordering coffee felt unfamiliar: "I had to google what a 'double-double' was at Tim Hortons."
This post explores what it means to rebuild your identity from the ground up—and why the qualities you gain in that process can make you not only a stronger person, but also improve you as a candidate and a leader.
Methodology: Lessons from Hossein's Reset
1. Your title isn’t your identity.
"When you move between cultures or industries, you learn to focus more on the value you bring than on what’s written on your resume."
Consider deeply what you can bring to the table and understand your own value, as this is your capital.
2. Backgrounds don’t hold you back—hiding them does.
Hossein learned to lean into his immigrant story instead of minimizing it. "Being an immigrant made me a better PM. I had to observe more, listen harder, and learn faster. Instead of hiding my background, I started leaning into it.”
What does your background teach you? This is probably your biggest asset and is unique to you.
3. Adaptability is built, not born.
Hossein talks about the “gift of being an immigrant”: “In Iran, life is loud. People give you unsolicited advice in grocery lines. In Canada, everything is quiet and polite. Some of the traits I was looking for, like being adaptable, a better listener, and communicator, I couldn’t develop in my home country. I had to learn a whole new rhythm."
Commit to embracing a new rhythm to learn a new culture without abandoning your own.
4. Every experience counts.
Hossein started his journey as an operations assistant, then a mobility startup founder, truck driver to understand the startup users, and enterprise PM. "Each role taught me to work with limited resources and make decisions under pressure. As an immigrant, I had to be adaptable and learn to communicate in a different language, read between the lines, and identify needs. This is what good product managers do: they listen, read between the lines, and identify needs.”
Closing Thoughts:
Hossein’s journey is a powerful reminder: when everything familiar is stripped away, what you build in its place is stronger, more accurate, and often more impactful.
If you're navigating a similar shift—whether it’s a new role, a new country, or a new industry—don’t underestimate the value of your lived experience. The discomfort you're feeling now might just be the foundation of your next breakthrough.
Connect with Hossein:
Hossein is a product manager based in Montreal. Looking to connect with him and get his advice? You can contact him on LinkedIn if you’re navigating a career change or a job search.