From Cold Calls to a Hospital Contract: Building from Zero in Calgary
Mariya Kucherenko landed in Calgary in January at minus forty, with no network and a family to support. She had a job interview the next day. Two decades later she is the VP and co-founder of a technology company. Her story is a masterclass in starting from zero and refusing to fail.
Get the first job by being specific
Before moving, Mariya emailed companies in several Canadian cities. Only Calgary replied, with a single blunt question: where do you live. That started a conversation that became a mentorship and a job. Once hired as a technical sales rep, she built a client base in three months by working through the directory, calling architects and designers, and offering to help them make money and create something beautiful together. She was not asking for favours. She was offering value, and it brought her major projects, including a children's hospital and the airport.
Knock on the door
Her advice for job seekers is direct: sending resumes by email rarely works, because the people hiring receive a hundred a week and cannot read them all. Instead, research the companies where your skills genuinely fit, then show up in person and say you want to work there. Connections help, but only as a nudge. The legwork is still yours. As she puts it, the wolf is fed by its feet.
Employee to entrepreneur is a different game
When Mariya went solo, she assumed her existing clients would follow, since they knew her work. Many hesitated. Could she deliver alone, on time, at scale, if something happened to her. Joining the family business gave her the image and backing of a company, and forced her to learn everything, because in a small business you do not get to choose your lane. More stress and more responsibility came with it, but so did growth she would not trade.
Reputation travels in a small village
Calgary, she says, is a small village. Do one job badly and everyone knows. Do one well and that travels just as fast. So you guard your name, you deliver, and you are careful about what you say and about whom.
Persistence is the real skill
Mariya is quick to say she is not a genius. What she is, is persistent. She sets a level, reaches it, then sets the next one. Through a near-breaking point that threatened both the business and her marriage, persistence and learning are what carried her. Her advice to newcomers: be ready to start from zero, work hard, learn constantly, and never give up, because the salary and the standing come later, not at the beginning.
Key takeaways
- Be specific in your outreach and offer value, rather than asking for a favour.
- Show up in person. A hundred emails lose to one real conversation.
- Expect the jump to entrepreneurship to be harder than it looks. The skill set changes.
- Protect your reputation. In a connected city, news travels both ways.
- Persistence beats talent over a long enough timeline.