From serial entrepreneurs to tech founders, here are six inspirational Muslims who have made great strides in not only creating wealth but making a positive impact on the world.
From serial entrepreneurs to tech founders, here are six inspirational Muslims who have made great strides in not only creating wealth but making a positive impact on the world.
From tech giants to entrepreneurs, Muslim business leaders are making a name for themselves in the business world!
Muslims need to make a mark in all available (and halal) fields! If Muslims are at the top of the tree in areas such as business, science and politics, they can make meaningful changes and make it easier for other Muslims to follow suit.
In the world of business, Muslim thinkers have made significant strides and impact. Here are our top eight founders.
Jawed Karim (YouTube)
Did you know Jawed Karim co-founded YouTube with Chad Hurley and Steve Chen whilst the trio worked at PayPal? In fact, the first-ever video uploaded to YouTube was of Jawed visiting the zoo. Jawed is of Bangladeshi and German descent and moved from Germany to America in 1992 after experiencing xenophobia in his home country.
Not even Jawed could have thought that uploading his daily activities on YouTube would lead the site to where it is now! Today, over 3 million videos are uploaded to YouTube daily.
Shahid Khan (Serial Entrepreneur)
Shahid Khan is a name that many know for his incredible business success. He immigrated to the United States from Pakistan at an early age and put himself through college with hard work, determination and some ingenuity. Today, he is one of the richest owners in professional sports through his ownership of the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars and Premier League football club Fulham F.C. His ambition and expansive portfolio earned him seventh place on Forbes’ list of wealthiest Americans, where he currently stands amongst other impressive names.
Since making his fortune, Khan has focused on giving back in his adopted home of central Illinois. He donated $10 million in 2011 to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The gift funded the new Khan Annex, which houses the university’s Center on Health, Aging, and Disability.
LaunchGood
LaunchGood is a phenomenal platform that promotes incredible causes from around the world. It allows innovative ideas to come to life by providing access to crowdfunded campaigns. Whether you are giving your own donation or spreading the word of others’ causes, LaunchGood puts you at the center of inspiring global action.
Muslim trio Chris Blauvelt, Omar Hamid and Amany Killawi are responsible for this amazing platform that has funded over 5,000 projects with a combined sum of $60m!
Shahzad Younas (Muzz)
Muzz (formerly muzmatch) is a fantastic platform for single Muslims looking to meet their perfect match. It’s aimed at providing a safe and supportive environment, as well as encouraging meaningful conversations with your potential partner. You can create your profile with all the information you want to share, including photos and details about hobbies, education, lifestyle choices and more, allowing those viewing it to understand you better.
Shahzad quit the finance industry and instead learnt how to build apps and had Muzz ready for both Android and Apple in six month! Earlier this year Muzz lost a lawsuit which saw them having to change their name from muzmatch to Muzz.
All in all, Muzz has been a huge success and is considered world’s biggest Muslim marriage/dating app, having over 4 million members and is responsible for over 100,000 weddings!
Hoda Katebi (Blue Tin Productions)
Hoda is founder of Blue Tin Productions – America’s first apparel company run and managed by women of colour. Aside from her business ventures, Hoda is known for speaking up against worker rights in the fashion industry. You can visit her blog to find out more about her activities and appearances. She has also authored a book titled ‘Tehran Streetstyle’ and features in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, TNT, Mothering Jones, and Refinery29.
You might recognise Hoda from her famous CNN interview, when she was told she didn’t sound American to which she provided a fantastic and sobering response.
Abdul-Rahman Abbas (Pillars and Med Mentor)
After the November 2020 scandal reported by VICE around privacy sharing and Muslim apps, Abdul-Rahman decided it was time Muslims had an app they could trust – so he co-founded Pillars.
Pillars is an alternative Muslim prayer app with a focus on privacy, no ads and beautiful design. The app is used by over 180,000 users across the world and has been covered by the likes of BuzzFeed, Good Morning America and Yes Magazine.
Abdul-Rahman is also in his final year studying medicine at UCLE and is Director and Founder of the social enterprise Med Mentor. Med Mentor aims to empower any and every aspiring medical student with all the tools they need to gain equal opportunity at a career in medicine.
