Ever since I was young, I always wanted to become an entrepreneur. When I was 8 years old, I came up with business ideas such as starting an interior car washing business and a restaurant that delivers your food in 2-3 business days. Although these ideas didn't work out due to practical challenges, they sparked my entrepreneurial spirit early on.
At 10 years old, I started a YouTube channel called AarizMawjiYT, which gained 1,500 subscribers and almost 300,000 video views. Despite shutting it down two years later due to the difficulty of maintaining a stable audience, this experience taught me valuable lessons in data analysis, target audience engagement, marketing, and creativity, all of which have been instrumental in my demand generation career.
Everything really took off when I was 13. In the 8th grade, I pitched a fundraising idea to my principal. This idea led to the creation of a fundraiser for The Ben Stelter Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer. My initial goal was $1,000, but we ended up raising $8,000 in a week, making it the biggest fundraiser in the school's history. This achievement garnered media attention, leading to my first TV interviews and the beginning of an annual fundraising competition among schools in Edmonton, with a grand prize of a visit from Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
In the spring of 2023, I met Hanif Joshaghani, who introduced me to Generative AI. Under his mentorship, I developed GPT-Genius, a generative AI course teaching both kids and adults how to create their own chatbots. Hanif also helped me secure an internship focused on AI lead generation, which I completed at Combine VB in the summer of 2023. This internship provided me with hands-on experience in building comprehensive reports and software solutions on AI lead-gen.
Following this, I continued to work on my demand generation skills by working with various startups. I also hosted the second year of the Ben Stelter School Fundraiser, expanding it to multiple schools. The next BSSF is scheduled for December 2024. I did another internship in the summer of 2024, learning more about RevOps, demand & lead generation, and AI.
In the fall of 2024, the third annual BSSF took place, raising $74,000. It was wrapped up with an incredible McDavid assembly which took place at Ottewell school in early December, capturing the attention of 8 media companies and inspiring many students.
Directly after the fundraiser, I joined Symend to do another internship, this time with my mentor Hanif. Throughout the 3 week internship, I built a comprehensive database with over 3,000 companies and enriched it with personalized AI insights using AI agents.