Today we’d like to introduce you to Owais Raza.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Owais. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a 20-year-old Muslim immigrant and first-generation college student studying Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin.
When I was 12 years old, my father abandoned my family, leaving us in a financial crisis. He evicted us from our home and for a brief period of time, we didn’t know where or how we would afford a place to stay. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and my siblings and I were not old enough to get a job.
That’s when we turned to the internet. Over the next six months, my brother and I scoured the web to find ways to make money. He went down the route of building and selling websites. I went down the route of creating, growing, and selling Instagram pages.
This helped us stay afloat for four years, after which I realized I just needed a few high ticket clients to balance school and my expenses. But no one would pay a 16-year-old the amount that I needed unless I could prove my worth and credibility.
So I spent the next year writing and self-publishing my book “The Social Media Specialist.” My book went semi-viral in my community and thus Mysterious Media, a cost-efficient Instagram marketing agency, which I run to this day, was born.
In hindsight, I’ve realized this is only easy to talk about because I’ve weathered the worst of the storm. In my synopsis, I fast forwarded eight years of my life in two sentences like it was nothing, but those days have been burned vividly into my brain. I was financially, mentally, spiritually, and academically broken down to my core. In those days, I promised myself that I would never let anyone go through what my family and I went through.
That if I found someone in the dark place that I so dreadingly remember, that I would do everything in my power to pull them out and show them that there is light on the other side.
After coming to UT Austin, I realized I wasn’t alone in this struggle – that’s why I launched Crushing It – a podcast that answers how students can pursue their ventures no matter how audacious they are, without sacrificing their mental health and academic caliber. It debunks the myths of what it takes to be a successful student entrepreneur by showcasing what goes on behind the scenes of running a business.
It’s my way of giving back to the entrepreneurship community by addressing a problem in a demographic that is often overlooked – student entrepreneurs.
Crushing it will be more than just a podcast. I will interview and compile advice from successful student founders around the world – from the Harvard’s to the Oxford’s of the world – and develop a movement that pushes the limits of student-driven change through entrepreneurship on college campuses globally.
I want to be the voice that helps guide student entrepreneurs out of that dark place in their life. To show them that there are many of us who are living and breathing examples of what can be accomplished when you push through and make it to the other side.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I struggled with the realization that I was growing up too quickly – that I wasn’t going to be able to live a “normal life” like everyone else at school.
But this all changed when I learned that everything is a matter of perspective. That everyone has their own path and is going through a set of challenges and hardships that no one else can see.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mysterious Media story. Tell us more about the business.
Mysterious Media is the leading solution for businesses to effectively generate leads and sales through Instagram at an affordable price.
No longer do business owners have to work with digital & Facebook marketing agencies who charge tens of thousands of dollars per month, for results that we can get, at a tenth of the price.
We have developed a reliable process with the help of software, our network (cumulative reach of 200M+), and core strategy, to effectively market small businesses on Instagram, long-term, for a very affordable price. We provide everything from account growth and management to explorer page rankings (which is similar to SEO on Instagram), content creation, and operating micro-influencers at scale.
With the rise of new technologies, the noise in the business world is louder than ever before. It’s time to adapt to the blooming culture of visual & transparent storytelling on Instagram and cut through the noise.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
About 60% of the time, luck (good or bad) is the primary factor that determines the outcome of someone’s life – whether they believe it or not.
Being at the right place at the right time is everything.
I don’t say this to neglect hard work, persistence, and passion – but I believe there’s a limit to how influential these factors can be in one’s success or failure.
That being said, a lot of what my family and I have endured has been the result of “bad luck” and a lot of the incredible things we’ve accomplished has been the result of good luck.
Our roles and actions tip the scales in our favor by putting us in a position to receive good or bad luck, but in the grand scheme of things luck, in itself, is the primary determinant of the outcome of our lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: whoscrushingit.com
- Email: hi@mysteriousmedia.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/owaisxraza/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whoscrushingit/?ref=settings
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/owaisxraza
- Other: https://mysteriousmedia.co
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