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| Pazhman Nawzad: From selling car washes and Iranian carpets to a multi-billion dollar investment |
Recently, the name of an Iranian man whose journey from poverty to the Emirate started in Tehran has become popular in the investment world.
Football-loving Pazhman Nawaz has been included in Forbes magazine's 2023 list of investors in emerging companies in the world of technology.
It should be noted that every year Forbes collects all the data related to the investment of technology companies and evaluates the investment value of these companies based on their performance.
The US state of California has long been a destination for gold prospectors. Many of them had never even seen gold. But the large-scale migration of these immigrants enriched life in the region, and now the state is one of the largest economic centers not only in the United States but also in the world.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the list of most successful technology investors published by Forbes is named 'Midas'. Midas was a Greek god who was reputed to be able to turn anything into gold.
Pazhman Nawzad, too, has similar skills. The companies he has invested in over the past two decades are worth more than $50 billion.
Dropbox, a computer file storage and sharing service provider, has been performing well in the stock market for a long time. Dropbox was started by Pazhman Nawaz in collaboration with Arsh Ferdowsi, another Iranian.
Similarly, there is 'Sound Howand', which Pazhman started working on with Kevan Mahajar. The SoundHound app helps you find your favorite music.
The company 'Guardant Health', a leader in the medical world for cancer treatment, is also one of the ventures that Pazhman Nawad started with another Iranian named Dr. Amir Ali.
In an interview with the BBC, talking about Iranians in the technology sector in Northern California, Pazhman Nawaz proudly says, "Now the Iranians have established themselves here and their names are familiar."
He says that Iran is one of the countries in the world that has the potential to become one of the important centers of technology and technology. Iran is excellent in terms of human resources in the field of technology and if it had better conditions in terms of working environment and infrastructure, it could have been more profitable for itself and the world.
According to him, "Iranian universities and students studying there have high potential, but because they are not provided with ideal conditions, most of them are forced to leave Iran and work in another country."
"No one in California washes cars better than me."
Unlike some Iranians living abroad, who are not interested in communicating with their former compatriots, Pazhman Nawazd thinks differently.
For them, a conversation about common points, like talking about traditional dishes or drinking tea together, can always be the beginning of a new relationship between two Iranians. The secret of their success is also hidden in this relationship.
Telling the story of his arrival in America, Pazhman says that after arriving in Germany from Iran, his brother tried several times to get an American visa but failed.
Once his brother took him to the US embassy where Pazhman got a US visa.
But when he first arrived in America, he didn't have much money and no work. But familiarity with football players came in handy.
Pazhman, who once collected the ball at Tehran's Amjadiya Shiroudi Stadium, loved football since childhood. In Iran, he used to run a radio program about football. Before that, he worked as a sports reporter for many years in sports newspapers. He has covered three football World Cups as a reporter.
Pazhman Nawaz also played for a local team for some time and won two local club champions with that team.
In California, he found Iranians who had been associated with football in the past. With the help of one such former coach, Asghar Sharifi, he got his first job.
It was a car wash job. "I bet nobody in California still washes cars better than me," he says, recalling that time.
After that, he worked in a supermarket for some time. Soon he got a job in a carpet shop and that was the real start of his journey to success.
Pazhman proved himself to be an excellent salesman and during this time he became acquainted with successful Iranians in California.
He was invited to lavish parties due to his interesting personality. Pazhman Nawaz realized that San Francisco's rich people like to invest in technology in addition to buying Iranian and antique rugs.
He convinced the owner of his shop to also invest in the technology sector. But Pazhman, who was initially unfamiliar with the technology, faced problems.
He says that he did not know a single line of computer programming. But Pazhman's skill was reading people's personalities and connecting with them.
Instead of focusing on the products, he recognized the capabilities of the individualsVashish and gradually became a name in the investment world. He is now recognized as one of the best investors in technology companies in America.
When I asked him how he sees the future after reaching this point, Pazhman said that his goal is to help build a better world, and one of the best ways to achieve that goal is through technology. is used.
Recently, he arranged a $432 million investment for a new project.
All these years his love for football remained intact. He is associated with Iranian football and tries to attract his investors to it.