Guest: Sid Mohasseb is known as The Entrepreneur Philosopher. He is a published author, serial entrepreneur, venture investor, university professor, innovation leader, business thought provoker, and public speaker.

At 16, he migrated from Iran to the US without his family. At 21, he started and later sold his first company, and at 25, he taught comparative Eastern and Western philosophy. Before the age of 30, he became the youngest partner of a national management consulting. Over the following two decades, he supported large-scale acquisitions and acted as a principal investor in middle-market companies leading company turnarounds. He also founded and led several early-stage and hyper-growth companies from inception to acquisition. His latest book is “You Are Not Them: An Authentic Entrepreneur’s Way,” where he shares how he approaches entrepreneurship as a master craftsman: an iterative lifestyle rather than a final destination.

Episode in a Tweet: You are already an entrepreneur; now learn how to be a great one by leading authentically, creatively, and by navigating risk.

Quick Background: I was introduced to Sid through a fellow YPOer and was immediately drawn into his story. His rise to success as an Iranian immigrant is inspiring and insightful. As an author, adjunct professor, a venture capitalist, a few times over corporate CEO, Strategic Innovation lead in Strategy for a conglomerate, a Harvard-trained negotiator, a veteran board member, and a featured TED Speaker. He truly is an entrepreneur philosopher! Sid’s real expertise is in connecting theory and reality and helping people see the bend in the road ahead and make visions a reality. Sid and I talk about how to bring out the best version of yourself and navigating risk. Leadership is situational, personal, and unique for every leader, but Sid shares his belief that there are five universal elements that all leaders are impacted by. I love these because they are in alignment with reflecting forward. They are:

1. Three-Way Trust
2. Variable Communication
3. Overarching Courage
4. Situational Awareness
5. Constant Competency

Sid and I also talk about his love of poetry and how he uses it to express his leadership philosophy. He also shares his thoughts on being an immigrant in America and how immigrants have shaped America and are critical to American entrepreneurialism, job creation, and overall society.

You can find Sid, the entrepreneur philosopher, on his website and on LinkedIn.

You can learn more about his new book here.

Like this? Check out my podcast with Paul Rees who shares his journey from success to failure to success again by finding his authentic self.