Episode 129: Rahim Fazal

Notable Quotes:

            “I think a lot of sales professionals identify with an unconventional path, and we often
                        feel like we’ve been lucky. Somewhere along the road, someone’s believed in us,
                        along with some type of serendipity, some type of luck, we might call it, that
                        propelled us into this career.”

                                                            – Rahim Fazal

“I think that’s more perception than it is reality that in order to even have a chance to get
                        at bat, to even swing at the ball, there is a certain set of circumstances in one’s life
                        that have to be true that often aren’t.”

                                                            – Rahim Fazal

“When you are, in our case, 60% female, 40% African-American, Latinx, 70% low to
                        middle income, you have not likely had much in your life given it to you. You’ve
                        had to earn it. And oftentimes you have earned it both through hard work and
                        building partnerships with other people. And that makes the diversity component
                        of what we do I think very sticky to the employers that we work with.”

                                                            – Rahim Fazal

     Brief Summary

            The tech industry’s gates are generally closed to anyone but a certain stereotype. And people who don’t fit that single stereotype suffer the brunt of that kind of elitism. The good news is that Rahim Fazal and his team at SV Academy are working to change that.

Today’s Guest: Rahim Fazal

                         Rahim Fazal worked at McDonald’s as a teenager, where he got fired early on. After that, he started his first company with a childhood friend, which was later sold for a hefty sum. Acknowledging the struggles of the lack of opportunities, he and his now co-founder Joel Scott took it upon themselves to help give people opportunities that would otherwise be more difficult to access.

The episode touches on the following key topics and ideas: 

• Check out VanillaSoft (00:00)
• Tenbound’s Sales Development Conference 2020 (00:18)
• David introduces the episode’s guest, Rahim Fazal (01:10)
• Rahim Fazal, sales development, and SV Academy (01:42)
  • Catapulted from a place with limited resources (02:12)
• The transition from getting fired from McDonald’s to starting a company (04:20)
  • Hesitation on transparency of identity (06:46)
• Getting over the initial anxiety over ethnicity and the elitism in tech (08:22)
• Brining value that brings in money and being able to call the shots (09:55)
  • Change the game and break the system from within (11:37)
• The other side of being aware of the opportunities after coming from an unconventional background (12:18)
  • The travesty of under employing qualified people (14:00)
• Acknowledging the struggles and equipping people for Silicon Valley (14:58)
  • Reflecting the presidential elections and wanting to create more equality (16:12)
  • Creating a real change in the system by matching what the industry specifically needs and working to deliver it (19:11)
• The value of human-centered skills in the future (21:22)
• Growing SV Academy to continue to get better and better (23:10)
• The benefits of the companies working with SV Academy (25:25)
  • Providing a burstable pipeline all year round (26:24)
  • Continuous support post-hire (27:00)
  • Diversity is power (28:10)
• How SV Academy’s model works (29:10)
• The future for SV Academy, expansion, and further focus on quality (32:05)
• Where and how to get in touch with Rahim (35:26)

List of Resources Mentioned in the Episode 

• Rahim Fazal
• LinkedIn | Twitter
• SV Academy

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