Payam's book is coming in 2024
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After many years as an entrepreneur and investor, I’m driven to create new realities in the business world. It’s time to expand our measures of success beyond solely financial.
By considering the impact of our work, I believe we can add a layer of meaning to our professional lives. If we blur the line between for-profit and non-profit, we will build better companies, better products and better societies. This version of “spiritual capitalism” will create more valuable and more profitable businesses and will elevate our everyday work to the service of humanity. This is what brings joy to me and, I hope, to those I get to work with.
My goal is to invest in visionary entrepreneurs, operate innovative companies and collaborate with like-minded professionals that share these principles and are committed to transforming the business world for the betterment of humanity. I would love to hear from you.
One Planet Group was founded in 2015, but my story begins much before that.
One Planet Group was founded in 2015, but my story begins much before that, with the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
I met my wife, Gouya, at a Baha'i inspired conference on ethics in business. She intrigued me from our first conversation, which continued for five hours. She is my equal partner in life and my grounding. As a fashion designer and entrepreneur herself, we have very spirited discussions about life and business and rely deeply on each other’s counsel and advice. Together we have raised two strong, smart, kind, and talented daughters, both of whom will, I know, go on to do amazing things in this world. I've been blessed with parents, siblings, and extended family and friends who have supported me during all phases of life.
As the saying goes, gold becomes more pure when it is thrown into fire. So is the case with humans. We all have our share of challenges in life – as a kid born to a Baha'i family in Iran, dealing with the severe persecutions in that country, getting smuggled out of the country alone when I was 16, and then ultimately coming to the U.S. as a refugee – I've had by far more challenges than wins in this life.
I am a firm believer in self-induced challenges, big audacious goals that are designed to be difficult. I try to push myself through challenging experiences, get out of my comfort zone, and add a jolt to my everyday routine. Whether it’s learning to fly, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, or starting a practice of cold plunges, I want to keep pushing myself to the edge of my comfort. It’s only there that I believe that we truly grow.
In 2021, I contributed a chapter to this book by J. Goosby Smith and Erin D. Renslow. It’s somewhat of an unusual book – one about how management, leadership, spirituality, and religion show up in organizations. Produced by The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, I wrote a chapter offering a Baha’i perspective.
Want to hear from Payam directly? He is available for a few speaking engagements every year.
Payam has spoken to audiences around the world. A straightforward speaker, he leads with humility and respect, with expertise that ranges from the future of the automotive industry and the future of mobility (he's an avid aviator), and online commerce. His favorite subjects are the importance of embracing a new form of capitalism and sharing his life's journey which will soon be a subject of an upcoming book.
Capital should serve humanity. By considering the impact of our work, we have the opportunity to add a layer of meaning to our professional lives.
