You Belong in The Room: A Seat at the Table for the Next Generation of Leaders
An intimate evening for rising professionals & new grads
You Belong in the Room is a curated, small-group experience designed for those navigating the exciting (and sometimes uncomfortable) early stages of their careers. This evening creates a space for honest conversations about confidence, imposter syndrome, and building a career that feels aligned—not just on your resume.
Think less panel, more fireside chat. Less awkward networking, more meaningful connection. This is a room where you can ask the questions you’ve been holding onto, hear real stories from professionals who’ve been there, and leave feeling grounded, seen, and supported in your next chapter.
We'll be talking about:
Building confidence in the workplace (even when you don’t feel “ready” yet)
Navigating imposter syndrome and self-doubt
Setting intentional early career goals
Finding mentors, advocates, and people who genuinely get it
Set over a family-style dinner, this evening is about slowing down, sharing space, and building connections that extend beyond a LinkedIn follow.
📍 Event Details
Date: Saturday, February 28
Time: 6:00–9:00 PM
Location: Cafe Landwer (Front), 33 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M5E 0A9
🎟️ Your Ticket Includes
Entry to our private event space at Cafe Landwer
Access to an intimate fireside chat with featured professionals
Family-style dinner and free-flow networking with members of The New Hire community
🍽️ Dinner Menu (Family-Style | Subject to Change)
Starters
Mezza Platter: Hummus, halloumi sticks, labaneh, falafel, and pickled vegetables served with freshly baked focaccia
Moroccan Cigars: Crispy phyllo rolls filled with spiced ground beef/lamb and pine nuts, served with pickled onion, tomato relish, tahini, and schug
Salads
Mediterranean Salad: Mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, radish, basil, mint, green onion, Kalamata olives, and feta with lemon-garlic dressing
Halloumi Salad: Halloumi cheese, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, mixed greens, pistachios, red cabbage, and radish with lemon-garlic dressing
Mains
Shawarma Plate: Landwer’s shawarma-spiced chicken with onion and amba aioli on focaccia, served with pickled vegetables, schug, and hummus
Pesto Chicken Pappardelle: Pappardelle pasta in pesto-mascarpone sauce with roasted cherry tomatoes and broccoli
Landwer’s Famous Schnitzel: Served with French fries
Dessert
Rosalach: Nutella, Lotus, and Halva
🎤 Who’s Speaking
We’re bringing together professionals across consulting, tech, entrepreneurship, and marketing/design to share candid experiences, career pivots, and lessons learned the hard way.
Shayandeep Das
Senior Consultant, EY
Shayandeep Das is a healthcare and life sciences strategy consultant focused on venture capital, innovation, and growth-stage investing. He blends clinical, operational, financial, and digital expertise to drive healthcare transformation and scale impactful solutions.
Ilana shulman
Senior Sales Enablement Manager
A Senior Sales Enablement Manager who began her career in fitness before transitioning into tech sales. After leading SDR and sales teams, she moved into enablement, where she now partners with leaders to drive onboarding, performance, and a culture of confident, continuous growth.
Mehul Adlakha
Founder & Creative Director, Vibn
Mehul Adlakha turned a passion for thrifting into Vibn®, one of North America’s leading vintage mystery box brands. Now a $10M+ business, his journey is rooted in creativity, resilience, and building confidence before feeling “ready.”
Kima Sargsyan
Strategy Director, Huge
Kima bring 15+ years designing CX platforms, scaling DTC ecosystems, modernizing brand architectures for Fortune 500s and startups. She is a writer, educator, mentor, cook and traveler. Here to help you find your through line.
Moderated by:
Rio Alegre
Founder, The New Hire
Launch & Implementation Program Manager, Uber Canada
Rio Alegre is the Founder of The New Hire and a Program Manager at Uber Canada. Her career spans public health, government, and tech — shaped by pivots, purpose-driven work, and a belief that early career professionals deserve rooms built with them in mind.
🕰️ Agenda
6:00–6:30 PM: Check-in & arrival
6:30–7:15 PM: Fireside chat
7:15–9:00 PM: Family-style dinner + freestyle networking
We saved you a seat at the table (no catching up required!).
If you’re early in your career and craving honest conversations, thoughtful connections, and reassurance that you’re not behind, you belong in this room.
if you can no longer attend, please let us know so we can open your spot for another community member by emailing: [email protected] or responding on Luma.
Please note attendees must be over 18+ to sign up for this event. Our social networking club is catered towards post-secondary graduates and early career professionals.
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About The New Hire:
We’re creating a community for rising professionals to grow, connect, and thrive through the early stages of their careers.
Every month our social networking club hosts events for us to connect. With a supportive group of professionals we lift one another up, while keeping each other accountable through:
💼 Networking and fostering relationships
💼 Career development and learning
💼 Mentorship and support
💼 Community engagement and belonging