When starting a venture there are so many questions you ask yourself. What did you ask yourself and what do you feel every entrepreneur should ask before starting a business?

I think I’ve been lucky that I’ve been an entrepreneur ever since undergrad and so I had the risk appetite right from the start which is what every entrepreneur should ask themselves. They should also ask whether they would do this for the long term (10 years+) and if they’re willing to face all the obstacles that will come their way and accept the results (positive or negative) of every decision they make?

I think in a startup, you have to be very agile but not to the point where you are constantly changing course. Also, be wary of all the advice you will get along the way because it will distract you and stray you off course. If I listened to all the advice I got over the years about how we should structure Manzil’s products and operate the business, we would not have the business we have today.

Turbulence is a side effect of entrepreneurism, what was your greatest failure and how did you overcome it? What advice would you give others based on this experience?

Not getting into Med-School. I grew up wanting to be a doctor because I wanted to help people not knowing there were other ways I could directly impact lives. When I graduated I had a below average GPA, got a horrible MCAT score and didn’t get an interview at any of the medical schools. At this time I had to find a way to redefine myself and create a new path with a new background and new experiences. Finance was that path. The advice I would give is don’t be afraid of change. In fact, the only constant in life is change and you need to embrace it, otherwise you will become extinct.

How do you define success?

Success for me is linked to the amount of people I can empower and impact. There is a whole community out there that is just waiting on the sidelines and eroding their capital because they can’t deploy it in a manner that is in line with their faith. Imagine if these products were available a generation or two ago? Where would this community’s wealth be now? How much more of an impact could they have made in this society through tax revenue via investment gains, increased employment because they can now own a business without 100 percent equity required. Not to mention the social impact because this community is a charitable one whereby they are religiously required to send 2.5 percent of their wealth annually to charitable causes and initiatives; this is most commonly known as alms giving.