An Interview With Chad Silverstein
A clear vision. No business that has a purpose or that seeks to create lasting value can make meaningful progress without its team having some clear idea of what they want the world to look like in a few years. And this vision needs to be specific to what it is their company does. Articulate this as clearly as possible. At Sol, our vision is “A world where billions of people are empowered to nurture deeper connections with something bigger than themselves, as well as others.
In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Nazar Yasin.
Nazar Yasin is the co-founder and CEO of Sol, the #1 spiritual and mental health app in the US. As a repeat entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, he has long championed the idea of doing “good” while doing “well”, and has organized his career around the goal of pursuing endeavors that seek to make a positive impact in the world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born in Greece. My mom is Greek and my dad is from Libya, so I was raised in a very “Mediterranean melting pot” kind of way — big, loud family with lots of food and debating. Growing up we lived in London, Silicon Valley, and Cyprus. The mix of those experiences really helps to explain a lot of who I am.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
A few years ago there was an interesting “full circle” moment where I got a chance to take a moment to reflect on the things I have been working on during the course of my career. Several years after I began my journey as an entrepreneur, my alma mater, Northwestern University, told me that they wanted to present me with the University’s “Distinguished Entrepreneur Award”.
This was a big deal for me for two reasons. First, it was a huge honor to be mentioned and included amongst the award’s other recipients like J. B. Pritzker (Governor of Illinois and namesake of Northwestern’s law school), Chuck Templeton (Founder of OpenTable.com), and Randall Kaplan (Co-Founder of Akamai Technologies).
But second, and more personally, it was a surreal “full circle” moment because it was while I was attending Northwestern as a grad student many years prior that I had originally pitched and worked with the faculty and staff on the idea of creating this award in the first place. As a graduate student, I was blown away by how many amazing entrepreneurs had once attended the school, so I thought it would be a great idea to celebrate these alumni as a way of highlighting good role models for the school’s current entrepreneur-minded students.
Little did I know that, many years later, the school would be celebrating me as an entrepreneur as well. It was a really special moment that I was able to share with my family. And an interesting reminder that little positive actions that you take today can repay you manyfold years later.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
When I left Tiger Global to start my own purpose-driven investment firm, I dramatically underestimated how hard it would be to fundraise for a fund whose sole goal was to invest in under-represented founders (minorities) from under-represented geographies (emerging markets). It turns out we were effectively creating a new asset class as the idea of investing venture capital dollars into geographies like Latin America or Africa was nearly unheard of at the time. So, finding investors for this idea was extremely difficult.
We had to start very small and scrappy and had to earn our way to respectability. And this taught me two important lessons:
- In the early days, it can be much harder to be a missionary (doing something for a purpose) than a mercenary (doing something just for the money), but eventually the rewards can be much greater. And
- Real value is built by resilience and perseverance
In retrospect, I’m very thankful that nothing was ever handed to us and that we’ve had to work very hard and earn the privilege to do what it is we do.
As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?
I always tell my kids that I love them no matter what, but that I will be proud of them only so long as they adhere to a simple code:
- Be nice
- Be honest
- Try your best
I think if you follow those three simple rules in life then everything tends to work out in the right way.
Being nice means not only treating others well, but treating yourself well, too. With dignity, respect, and compassion.
Likewise, being honest means being honest with the people you interact with, but also with yourself. Being able to look at yourself in the mirror in an objective way and call yourself out when you are in the wrong on something.
And finally, try your best at whatever it is you are doing. I honestly approach each day trying to be the best husband, father, son, friend, work colleague, investor, and entrepreneur that I can be. I try to be the best version of myself physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. I don’t always get it right, and occasionally I get it very wrong. But I think the important thing is the intention: to really try your best.
If I could recommend three principles that anyone could apply in their own life to make it more purposeful, impactful, and joyful, it would be those three.
What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?
My heritage plays an important part in how I think about purpose. My grandparents on both sides were incredibly civic-minded. On my dad’s side, his father was one of the founders of the modern state of Libya, and during World War II helped to lead the Libyan resistance against the Axis powers in North Africa. And on my mom’s side, her parents likewise fought against the Nazis in Greece, and went on to start schools and be very active in civic life. They all stood up for something bigger than themselves, and at great personal risk and sacrifice earnestly tried to make their communities and the world at large a better place.
I’ve always admired that about them, and have always thought to myself “what are you doing to try to make the world a better place?” I think my focus on living a life of purpose originally came from there.
Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?
People often talk about the “soft advantages” of running a purpose-driven company. You feel better about what you are doing when there is some purpose behind it. And you can attract more motivated employees who are attracted to that purpose. And so forth. And all of those things are true.
But what often gets overlooked when talking about a purpose-driven company are the “hard advantages” of being purpose-driven. Put simply, being purposeful in how you do business is now a real competitive advantage that helps your business to succeed more than your competitors. While it wasn’t always that way, today it is. Allow me to explain:
When I was growing up — in the days before social media — consumers did not have a direct relationship with companies. We only knew companies by the ads they showed us on TV or on billboards. It was impossible to get a sense of a company’s real behavior or “values” or “mission”, just their brand message. So distinctly not-purpose-driven companies like PhilipMorris (tobacco), Boeing (weapons), Coca-Cola (fizzy drinks), and others were widely considered to be some of the world’s “most admired” and “most successful” companies.
But fast-forward to today, we now interact every day directly with companies via social media. So when you miss a flight you can tweet at the airline and see how they respond. Are they understanding? Are they compassionate? You find out instantly, and their behavior and values are there for all the world to see. So since we now have a direct relationship with the companies whose products and services we buy, we as consumers now very much want those companies to be “good people”. The same way that we want to surround ourselves in our daily lives with other people who are “good”, we also now want the companies we interact with to be “good” as well. They are in our daily feeds and our daily lives. So their behavior, purpose, and values now matter a lot more to us.
As a result, the world of business has very much shifted to one where consumers are choosing to buy the products and services of companies who they perceive as “good” or “purposeful”. Being purposeful in how you run your business now not only helps you attract better employees, but more customers, which generates more revenue, which generates more market share, profitability, etc, etc.
In short, being purposeful is now just good business. Period.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
The holistic wellness company I co-founded, Sol, would not exist without its purpose. The entire mission of Sol is to help anyone, anywhere, develop a life filled with more purpose and connection that aligns with their own core interests and values. Sol was built to combat the increasing levels of loneliness, isolation, and aimlessness we see in the world.
Every feature we build at Sol has that mission in mind. And users see this in our product. It has been so exciting to see our users “vote with their actions”, leaving us glowing reviews and propelling us to high rankings on app stores.
While Sol is a very young company and still has a lot to prove, its early success, I think is a direct reflection of how purposeful and authentic we have been in building it.
Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?
Shortly after we launched Sol, we received a note from a user that read: “I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate this app. I was involved with a narcissist — my husband for 20 years who was extremely violent mentally and physically. I ended up in ICU fighting for my life for 3 months before I left. this app has saved my soul.”
When we read that we were blown away. We realized that Sol is actually materially helping people to find more purpose and belonging in their life. It is truly moving the needle for real people, and helping them to find more purpose, belonging, and joy in their own lives. That resonated with us immensely.
Hearing user stories like that are why we do what we do.
Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
For sure. As I mentioned earlier, being a missionary (doing something for a purpose) can be much more challenging than being a mercenary (doing something just for the money). At least at first.
Making sure that you act in accordance with the mission or purpose of your company can be limiting at times, because you aren’t just grabbing every dollar available to you. Particularly when you are a young startup, dollars are scarce, so saying “no” to some dollars can mean that the going can be slower at first. This is painful, because as a startup you are incentivized to grow fast. It requires discipline to stay focused and purposeful.
But eventually, the pain turns into gain. As users recognize the purpose and authenticity of what you are doing, they tell other users. They become more loyal users. And the flywheel you build by sticking to your purpose becomes unassailable. It becomes a competitive advantage that other companies simply cannot copy or compete with.
This is the message I deliver to everyone when times start getting tough or progress gets a little slowed.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business?
Do it. You won’t regret it. While it may be more challenging (at least at first), when your company has a purpose that you deeply believe in then no amount of adversity can defeat you. When challenges arise, you find yourself attacking them joyfully, with the same zip in your step as when key milestones and objectives are reached.
You wake up every morning excited and driven about advancing your company forward. You look at yourself in the mirror and are proud of what you are building and what you represent as a person. And you can look at your loved ones or children in the eyes and be proud to candidly share what your company does with them.
Professionally, there really is nothing so rewarding as helping to build a company with true purpose.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . A clear vision. No business that has a purpose or that seeks to create lasting value can make meaningful progress without its team having some clear idea of what they want the world to look like in a few years. And this vision needs to be specific to what it is their company does. Articulate this as clearly as possible. At Sol, our vision is “A world where billions of people are empowered to nurture deeper connections with something bigger than themselves, as well as others.”
2 . A clear mission. Once you have a clear vision articulated, write down in specific terms how your company plans on bringing that vision to life. At Sol our mission that helps this vision become a reality is “To enable anyone, anywhere to develop a deeper sense of purpose and belonging that aligns with their own core interests and values.”
3 . A clear strategy. Now that you have a clear mission, write down as clearly as possible what specific approaches you will take in order to achieve that mission. Our strategy to achieve our mission is to create the world’s most personalized spiritual and mental wellness tool.
4 . Clear tactics that support the strategy. The tactics that we use at Sol to execute our strategy involve creating product features that reinforce someone’s sense of purpose and belonging. These can be tools to help them explore their feelings and get personalized suggestions on how to start feeling better right away. Or tools to help them connect with other like-minded people who share their feelings, personality traits, or core interests. Or tools to help them build more inspiration, support, positivity, and authenticity in their friendships.
5 . Relentless communication and reiteration of what is contained in numbers 1–4.
I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?
Building team culture in a world of remote work is very challenging. And that’s the world we live in at Sol and at my investment firm Rise Capital. My work colleagues at both organizations are spread across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India. People from all kinds of cultures and backgrounds, in all sorts of timezones.
The real key to creating a sense of teamwork in any kind of organization — single location or remote — is relentless communication (#5 from the list above). It is incredibly important for me as a founder to find every opportunity I can to reinforce the company’s vision, mission, strategy, or tactics. For example, by sharing user feedback with our developer team at Sol, so they can understand how the software they are building is impacting real peoples’ lives. Or by sharing insights or anecdotes from other markets with colleagues who are far removed from that geography, as a way of helping them understand a market trend better.
All of these little acts of communication help people to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves that is making a real difference in the world.
Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
Two years from now I would be thrilled to see that Sol has started a bit of a global movement, where millions of people are feeling better because they are feeling a greater sense of purpose and connection in their own lives.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be to seek more purpose and connection in your own life. If you want to change the world, you have to start with the people around you. And if you want to help the people around you, you have to start with yourself.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
Please feel free to visit us at Sol at www.getsol.app.
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Purpose Before Profit: Nazar Yasin of Sol On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.