Growing up in two worlds – Maziar Nodehi
Growing up in two worlds – Maziar Nodehi: Stockholm is sometimes called the Venice of the North. It’s historical, it’s beautiful and it’s inhabited by one of the happiest people in the world. But whilst there is certainly merit to these claims, there is another side of the city that not many visitors experience. I know this, because I’ve seen it firsthand.
Growing up in a rough suburb of Stockholm, the youths didn’t have much on offer. Out of boredom and lack of meaningful activities, many used to hang around malls and shopping centers and many of them started to develop socially unacceptable behaviors.
The natural reaction of the authorities was to ramp up control and increase the presence of neighborhood watch, police and security guards. It was clear to me that we were heading for a conflict of some sort.
Seeing this imbalance I decided there and the to do something about it. I approached the municipality and a little bit later I found myself managing a youth club, giving kids a place to hang out at.
Hitting rock bottom teaches resilience
Not very long after this achievement I stumbled on some challenges that forced me to grow up much faster than I was supposed to. The result was that lost it all, including my home and my family.
Living on the street as a teenager is much harder than you might think. I had to manage school, work to pay bills and find somewhere to sleep. And Stockholm can be a very cold place for the unwanted.
But these hard times have also shaped me to become the person I am today. Realized that the only person who could help me get back on my feet was none other than me.
I had to figure out my goals in life, then navigate myself back to normality and became a survivor.
Fast forward a couple of years and I was managing a team of sales professionals. I had found my true calling.
Everything starts with sales
I believe sales is the purest of all functions inside an organization. Everything flows from this function. Without sales, no business can survive. And I knew how to survive.
Armed with an undying amount of belief in the art of the possible, I have helped companies ramp up sales.
I have invested in start ups and I have helped ideas move from being a sketch on napkin to being ready to ship. And smack in the middle of all of this was marketing and sales.
So when I heard about the concept of Marketing Mix Modeling and Proof being in the process of adding automation to it, I simply had to join the team.
Today, I lead sales in EMEA.
Today, it’s time to supercharge marketing.
Maziar Nodehi – Head of Sales – Proof Analytics