I grew up in Dubai, where almost everyone is from somewhere else and every dinner table has three accents at it. That's probably where I learned to listen before talking. That curiosity eventually took me to the other side of the world, to study business at UBC Sauder in Vancouver.

I came in with a passion for finance, but what excited me most were the decisions behind the numbers. That gave me the confidence to explore entrepreneurship. Building a business is a long journey, and it asks you to be self-sufficient in every building block, from understanding the customer to winning the sale. That's where my passion for marketing and sales grew: the more I did it, the more confident I became, and the more I enjoyed it.

Outside class I tutor high school students in AP Economics and Statistics. I'm at the gym most days, and I box and shoot archery. On the technical side, I trade on my own time, mostly because I'm hooked on the economics of how things move.