Celebrating Asian History Month — A Conversation with Jiun Jie Hiew

May is Asian Heritage Month (external link)  in Canada — an opportunity for all Canadians to recognize and discover the achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian descent. This year’s theme is “Recognition, Resilience, and Resolve”, which embodies the multitude of sentiments that Canadians of Asian descent have had to face, and celebrates their diverse stories and backgrounds. It is also a timely reminder to us all that we must stand together to combat all forms of racism and discrimination.

In celebration of the accomplishments of peoples of Asian descent within the LIZ community, we spoke with Jiun Jie Hiew, Co-Founder of LIZ startup, GetQuorum (external link) , to learn more about his culture, upbringing and experience as a person of Asian descent.

Jiun Jie, or “JJ” as he’s more commonly known, is a first-generation Singaporean, who immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1980’s. Growing up in Toronto’s eastern suburb of Scarborough, JJ says he was lucky to experience cultural diversity from an early age. 

“I was fortunate to have been brought up in Singapore and Scarborough, which are both melting pots of different cultures and backgrounds,” he says. “From a young age, I was exposed to and made aware of the vast diversity within my community.”

When asked whether his upbringing has had an influence on his work today, JJ says his parents were big role-models for him growing up, teaching him the importance of working hard and being resilient. 

“My parents sacrificed lucrative careers and risked a great deal to begin a new life here in Canada,” he says. “They had to start over at new entry level jobs and worked extremely hard to provide for my brothers and I. This has taught me the importance of determination, drive and sacrifice in finding success — something I’ll always be appreciative of.”

When asked whether he’d faced any challenges as an entrepreneur due to his cultural background, JJ says he has been lucky, crediting his success to his upbringing and the lessons he learned from his parents. 

“I can’t say that I’ve ever looked at my professional difficulties as a result of my race or cultural background,” he says. “I was fortunate to grow up with the “grind” mentality instilled within me by my parents, which I think, in part, has helped my achievements, and has given me the drive to want to overcome any adversity I may face.”

“While I feel very lucky in this position, I do recognize that this isn’t the case for all who may have the same or a different background as myself,” says JJ.

JJ and his fellow co-founders, Ben Zelikovitz and Trevor Zeyl, started GetQuorum in 2015, after experiencing pain points while on their Condominium Board in relation to collecting proxies and getting quorum at Annual General Meetings. Realizing this was also an issue for many other condo corporations, the company launched their online proxy voting platform.

Since then, GetQuorum has continued to grow, now employing 35 staff members — more than half of whom identify as someone from a visible minority and/or are a recent immigrant to Canada. JJ says the company has a big focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, and has implemented various EDI practices to ensure a more respectful working environment. 

“EDI is important to us as a company and we want to ensure it is ingrained into our culture,” he says. “We’ve made a conscious effort to hire diverse staff that can provide varying perspectives and points of views. We have also established an EDI committee and put policies in place to cultivate an inclusive work environment for everyone.”

“We make sure to address current events relating to racism and discrimination with our team, such as the devastating murders of Asian women in Atlanta, and we recently ran two month-long campaigns to match employee donations to charities fighting Anti-Black and Anti-Asian racism,” says JJ. 

Offering some advice to other budding entrepreneurs who may identify as a person from a racial minority group, JJ says it’s important to remember that everyone has something valuable to say.

“What you have to say and the ideas you have, matter,” he says. “From my own experience, I’ve seen how empowered and heard people feel when you can make complicated things more accessible. Our different cultures, backgrounds and upbringings give us unique perspectives that can help bring about change and innovation.”

While this month is important in celebrating peoples of Asian descent, our recognition of their achievements and contributions to the community should be year-round, as should our stand against racism and discrimination towards all racial minority groups. 

GetQuorum is an alumni company of the Legal Innovation Zone at Toronto Metropolitan University. Visit their website (external link) , or follow them on Twitter (external link) , LinkedIn (external link)  or Facebook (external link)  to learn more.