“When I die, I would like to be remembered by people as someone who was on balance more good than bad. If people are able to see more good in me than bad when I die, if I am remembered fondly by a certain majority, that is the legacy that I am content with leaving behind.”__ Adam Azim
Adam Azim’s entrepreneurial journey is deeply rooted in his relentless pursuit of truth and knowledge. His early experiences, including an inspiring mentorship from a charismatic philosophy teacher, ignited his intellectual and entrepreneurial spirit. Choosing to abandon conventional career paths, Adam embraced the challenges of entrepreneurship, guided by a vision that blended financial awareness, storytelling, and strategic decision-making. His insights into global financial systems and economic structures have shaped his approach, allowing him to navigate the complexities of business with a unique perspective.
In this exclusive interview with Business Upside, Adam delves into the driving forces behind his journey, the lessons he has learned from failure, and his approach to leadership. He shares candid thoughts on motivation, resilience, and the systemic challenges that entrepreneurs face today. From handling rejection to securing funding, Adam offers a compelling narrative on what it truly means to build a business with purpose and vision.
Edited Excerpts from the Interview
Business Upside [BU]: What drives you to keep going, even when things get tough?
Adam Azim [AA]: It is actually the pursuit of the truth that had me going up until this point in time. As someone who decided to read and write extensively as soon as I finished grad school, the decision meant abandoning everything in order to pursue the truth. That pursuit had me going until now. It propelled me forward, even when things were very tough. Abandoning everything for the truth actually puts you into a very dark tunnel. It is very depressing because it is a very lonely pursuit. But the only thing that kept me going in that very dark tunnel and in that loneliness was the pursuit of truth.
[BU]: Do you think entrepreneurship is something people are born with or something they learn?
[AA]: This question is very similar to the “nature versus nurture” question at the heart of science. I believe nature and genetics have a lot to do with it. But then again, inspiration can set it all off, even if those genes or that underlying entrepreneurial nature is dormant in a person. In my case, it was all dormant up until the eleventh or twelfth grade, until I was inspired by a philosophy and psychology teacher who was also a very charismatic Gulf War veteran. That inspiration I got from him changed my whole personality. That was actually my first initiation into the intellectual and spiritual world.
[BU]: How did you handle rejection or failure in the early stages?
[AA]: I handled it very poorly. But the more you fail, the better you get at handling it. So, all the failures enabled me to handle everything so well that at this point in time, a lot of what I do is on cruise control per se.
[BU]: How do you test and validate new ideas before implementing them?
[AA]: In all honesty, there is really nothing new. Everything that is said has been said before. Old is gold, as they say. It is about traversing chains of tradition and corroborating everything you read, research, and experience with what you derive from chains of tradition.
[BU]: What role does storytelling play in your brand’s success?
[AA]: If it were not for storytelling if it were not for sharing my life experiences with people, I would be in a lot of trouble by now. Let’s put it that way.
[BU]: How do you maintain quality and consistency while expanding?
[AA]: In all honesty, a lot of it has to do with downsizing and making life as simple as possible from a material standpoint. And then, the intellectual aspect of it all is a ‘dialectic’ of sorts, and the dialectic has rules or laws, as Engels argued: the reconciliation or ‘interpenetration’ of opposites, the ‘negation of the negation’ as he put it, and the transformation of quantity into quality.
[BU]: What’s your advice for entrepreneurs looking to secure funding?
[AA]: Entrepreneurs must first and foremost understand what is going on at a systemic level. Entrepreneurs must understand what is going on from a ‘world system’ standpoint. And from a ‘world system’ standpoint, aside from war, all of it is accumulation at the very top. Thus, it is a matter of convincing people at the top that you are worthy of what they have accumulated and are clinging onto with their lives. And, like we said before, the pillars of the economy are inflation and interest. We are not resolute or fully sure of the exact cause of inflation. But you can bet that interest will go up when inflation goes up.
[BU]: How do you keep your team motivated and aligned with your vision?
[AA]: I try to communicate with them as best as possible, and I try to be as honest and truthful with them as best as possible. Of course, there are always certain cards you will hold close to your chest, and there are certain feelings or secrets we will never share with anyone, even with our parents or loved ones. But communication and being as honest and truthful is key.
[BU]: What’s your strategy for avoiding burnout?
[AA]: Burnout is unavoidable in entrepreneurship and perhaps even in the corporate world. But in the corporate world, people seem to be wired differently. One Columbia scholar called the corporate world “genocidal and sociopathic.” To be genocidal and sociopathic in the corporate world is the most basic and fundamental way of avoiding any kind of burnout. We are governed and ruled by a bureaucratic-corporate alliance. But all of it catches up to us eventually and in some peculiar way. Mental health is the biggest issue in our country. According to certain statistics, about 90 percent of the entire country believes we are in the grip of some sort of mental health crisis. Our mental health needs to be our number one priority. At least in my case, mental health is my number one priority. I try to relax meditate and pray and sleep as much as possible.
[BU]: What legacy do you want to leave as an entrepreneur?
[AA]: When I die, I would like to be remembered by people as someone who was on balance more good than bad. If people are able to see more good in me than bad when I die, if I am remembered fondly by a certain majority, that is the legacy that I am content with leaving behind.
More Information
Company URL: www.adam-azim.com
LinkedIn URL: http://linkedin.com/in/adam-a-azim-94bb111b2
