Pearls of Wisdom

OPEN Washington DC - News and Announcements OPEN DC Announcement No College, No Experience -All Business: Breakfast with 18 year old CEOs Date: Jun 9th, 2007
OPEN DC invites you to meet two dynamic and young entrepreneurs who will help you answer this question: “Are you born an entrepreneur?”

Omar-Mohammed Faruk (18) and Raakin Iqbal (18) are both in high school but one thing that sets them apart from others is that they both have their own businesses that have been acknowledged by the likes of Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Washington Post.

We are planning to have a lively discussion with Faruk and Raakin so that we can understand the spirit of entrepreneurship that drives these young individuals. This will be a good opportunity for you and your children to observe and be inspired by these confident young men who have set their eyes on achieving success with a head start over many of their peers. We expect an insightful discussion in which we will hear about Faruk and Raakin’s unique journey and their aspirations and goals. To register, go to www.openwashingtondc.org. More details ahead….

Venue
Randolph Towers – Community Room (Map)
4001 9th Street N,
Arlington, VA 22203
This location is also metro-accessible.

Time and Date
9:30am, Saturday, June 9th, 2007
Event Fee Schedule
• OPEN DC Member: $10
• Non-members: $15
• OPEN DC Annual Membership plus Free Event: $55 (special offer)
You can register online for this event at www.openwashingtondc.org.
For more information, write to us at info@openwashingtondc.org.
About the Speakers

Omar-Mohammed Faruk
Omar Mohammed Faruk is the founder of BlueStream, a company that offers various technology solutions to nonprofit organizations, and the founder/chairman of The Action Network a non-for-profit organization that collaborates with other entities to mobilize people to volunteer in communities around New York City.

At 17, Omar was the youngest winner of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He is also the winner of the 2006 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Bank of America Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and various other reorganizations for outstanding community service.

Omar, one of ten children, immigrated to the United States in 1997 with his family knowing no English. He currently works and lives in New York City

Raakin Iqbal
From the Washington Post Article titled “South Asian Music’s Booming Beat Drives a Mogul in the Making” dated September 1st, 2006: “Raakin Iqbal is 17, a clothing store employee, high school newspaper editor and up-and-coming mogul. His office is his bedroom in his parents’ Prince William County home, and next to the entrepreneurial accouterments are a few youth basketball league trophies.

Iqbal is getting in on the ground floor of the nation’s South Asian entertainment scene as it matures with a booming immigrant audience. Half Pakistani, half Indian and born in the United States, Iqbal is trying to position himself in the industry as a promoter — an indispensable middleman who connects overseas music groups with concert organizers in this country and abroad. A rising senior at Woodbridge Senior High School, Iqbal finds himself at that precise moment when the South Asian music business is big enough nationwide to make money but also small enough that a high school student can elbow his way in and become a mini-player.”