June 16, 2022
Seneca News
HELIX entrepreneur sells startup to Canadian unicorn
TrainHub prepares recruiters to help international students make informed decisions
When Jimmy Battaglia joined HELIX, Seneca’s innovation and entrepreneurship incubator, he was looking for guidance from like-minded people to take his startup to the next level. He had developed a web platform called Panda Portal to help postsecondary recruiters learn more about the institutions they promote to international students.
“The journey of an entrepreneur is very lonely,” he said. “I was looking to expand the offerings I had. I was not looking to sell my company.”
That was last year.
Since then, the HELIXer has developed the first and only online international education industry training platform for recruiters and has sold his company to ApplyBoard, a Canadian edtech unicorn company valued at $4 billion.
The acquisition also included the condition that Mr. Battaglia join ApplyBoard to head up his platform, now rebranded as TrainHub, which currently works with more than 150 partner educational institutions worldwide.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the students,” he said. “When you are choosing education, you are choosing your future. Recruitment agents really need to have the knowledge to help students make informed decisions.”
Mr. Battaglia moved to Canada from Venezuela 13 years ago. He learned English at a language school in Toronto and supplemented his advertising degree from Caracas with a diploma in advertising and graphic design from Humber College.
For his internship, Mr. Battaglia worked at the International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC). He was eventually hired by ILAC, becoming its head of marketing before leaving to start his own company.
“I’ve been working in international education for many years,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot, and it’s close to my heart.”
While with ILAC, Mr. Battaglia had the opportunity to work directly with Seneca. He came to HELIX four years ago with an idea to create a social platform for international students.
That idea didn’t work out, and Mr. Battaglia pivoted to the training platform, which he brought back to HELIX.
“I reapplied to join HELIX because it gave me a structure,” he said. “It taught me the fundamentals and helped to pull my ideas together.”
Mr. Battaglia says he benefited the most from pitch events and interactions he had with fellow entrepreneurs. He also met regularly with his HELIX coach, Shelly Markel, who worked with him on perfecting his pitch and coached him on how to protect himself in negotiations.
“HELIX takes entrepreneurs anywhere in their journey,” said Ms. Markel, Professor, School of Human Resources & Global Business and School of Management & Entrepreneurship. “Jimmy was a bit further along in his venture when he came to HELIX the second time. This helped him focus his efforts. I’m thrilled he’s now an important part of a growth company like ApplyBoard.”