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I’m a founder of several software companies, including Involver, an enterprise social…
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Business Insider Highlights “Game-Changer” SV Academy’s New Collegiate Program with First Partners Arizona State U. & Florida International U.
Business Insider Highlights “Game-Changer” SV Academy’s New Collegiate Program with First Partners Arizona State U. & Florida International U.
By: Rahim Fazal As the first tuition-free, online vocational school focused on opening doors into Silicon Valley for…
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Rahim Fazal shared thisCongratulations to SV Academy for launching the Dialed In pod! After supporting 800+ growing employers, 40,000+ total learners, and 3,000+ program alums, you will find the SV community in GTM teams all across the AI tech ecosystem, from the largest companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, to some of the fastest growing startups backed by Insight Partners and many others. Every single day, thousands of SV community members roll up their sleeves and get on the frontlines to drive revenue for their teams. There's a vast amount of collective learning across all of these members, and the podcast feels like a great way to share these learnings widely! Thanks for having me on the first epi, Michael.Rahim Fazal shared thisI am so excited to announce the launch of the SV Academy Dialed In Podcast!! We kick things off with an episode between myself and Rahim Fazal where we talk about the journey of building SV Academy, lessons on leadership, and our impactful community. 📽️ Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gJ3dxdUW 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gQSgqTVC Be sure to click "follow" on either platform to make sure you don't miss any future episodes. Let us know your favorite part of the episode in the comments!
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Rahim Fazal shared thisSo proud of Ashley Artrip and Michael Colonnese for bringing together the incredible SV Academy NYC alums at Clay HQ last week. Love seeing our community flourishing on the east coast. I see a lot of familiar faces :), including the OG Akhil Cherukupally 🚀 from our very first cohort in 2017.Rahim Fazal shared thisHosting SV Academy at the Clay office was a full-circle moment for me—connecting the dots of my career in such a meaningful way. At Clay, my work focuses on enabling GTM teams to operate more efficiently, empowering sales teams and RevOps to accomplish more with less effort while fostering deeper, more meaningful connections with prospects through personalized go-to-market strategies. Seeing the impact of my current work align with the incredible impact SV Academy is making was both inspiring and deeply rewarding. Hearing from early cohort members about how SV Academy has transformed their lives was a humbling reminder of why this work matters—not just for business, but for creating real, lasting change in people’s lives. This is a special community to be a part of. Special thank you to Michael Colonnese, Tyler Y. and for the Clay team making this event happen! And of course, a very special thank you to my SVA day ones Rahim Fazal Joel Scott Noorin Fazal ❤️
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Rahim Fazal shared thisThanks for the love, Global Ismaili Innovators! What an incredible community to be apart of.Rahim Fazal shared this🌟 Ismaili Innovator Spotlight: Rahim Fazal 🌟 Meet Rahim Fazal, a visionary entrepreneur and tech leader whose career has spanned multiple successful ventures, all with a focus on innovation and impact. Rahim is the Co-Founder and former CEO of SV Academy, a leading edtech platform providing underrepresented job seekers access to careers in tech. Named the #2 Most Innovative Education Program by Fast Company, SV Academy has helped thousands of diverse graduates launch successful careers in sales and customer success at more than 400+ SaaS companies. Rahim’s journey in entrepreneurship began at a young age when he co-founded a web hosting company while still in high school, selling it for $1.5 million by the time he finished his senior exams. He went on to create Involver, an enterprise social media platform that became the go-to solution for major global brands, including Nike and Facebook, before being acquired by Oracle. At Oracle, Rahim helped build the first modern marketing software business as part of the Oracle Social Cloud leadership team. Beyond his entrepreneurial ventures, Rahim is passionate about mentorship and empowering others. Through SV Academy, he is transforming the lives of people from underrepresented communities by providing them with the skills, resources, and connections they need to thrive in the tech industry. Rahim’s dedication to diversity and inclusion in the workplace reflects his commitment to creating lasting, positive change. With accolades such as Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30, San Francisco Business Times' 40 Under 40, and recognition by the Kauffman Foundation, Rahim Fazal continues to be a trailblazer in tech, education, and social impact. #IsmailiInnovators #EdTech #Entrepreneurship #SocialImpact #Leadership #Diversity #TechInnovation #SVAcademy #GlobalChange - 👍 Like, comment, and repost to celebrate this Ismaili Innovator 🔔 Follow Global Ismaili Innovators to see who we showcase next 🖼 Follow us on Instagram at https://lnkd.in/g73CBHxD 🏆 Nominate an innovator to be featured at https://lnkd.in/g5uAAs4r 👋 Want to get in touch? Email ismailiinnovators@gmail.com
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Rahim Fazal shared thisThis has been a hard week for me. On Saturday, I learned that the great Preetish Nijhawan suddenly passed away. Like he did for so many others, Preetish gave me my start in Silicon Valley. He wrote me my first check (even before I had an idea), sat on my board (he hated meetings), taught me how to drink a proper 🥃 (or three), and "interviewed", and thereafter commanded me to marry, my then girlfriend (and now wife). When I was a young 20-something who knew nothing and had very little, he took me wherever he went. Opened doors for me. Brought me behind the velvet rope. Introduced me to the big world of business and tech. And, later on inspired me to start a company to do the same for others. With Preetish, things weren't always rosy. In our work, we didn't always see eye-to-eye. We would fight from time to time. One of us, both of us, would say something we'd later regret. Preetish had a big heart and carried it on his sleeve, so a few days later, we'd usually hug it out and move on. As the years passed, we drifted apart. Far enough apart where we didn't talk as much as I wish we had or see each other during some of our big life moments. I admired him from afar but now I really wish we had stayed closer. Life is too short to not be around those you love. I'm so thankful to have met you. You played a huge role in my life. I miss you. Until we see each other again, RIP, my dear friend ❤️ . cc Neeraj Gupta, Cervin VenturesRahim Fazal shared thisWe are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Preetish Nijhawan ('85) our beloved BITSAA Chairperson. Preetish held several esteemed positions, including Managing Partner at Cervin Ventures , Senate Member of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani , Founder of Akamai Technologies , and Distinguished Alumnus of BITS Pilani. He tragically passed away from a heart attack on the morning of August 31st, around 8 a.m. PST. Preetish’s visionary leadership, unwavering dedication, and lasting commitment to BITS and BITSAA have left an indelible mark on all of us. His legacy will continue to inspire generations to come. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. May his soul rest in peace. BITS Pilani Alumni Relations Official
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Rahim Fazal posted thisI'm thrilled to announce that Michael Colonnese is SV Academy's new CEO. Michael is no stranger to our mission. He has spent the last decade building and operating companies that close the gap between education and employment, including one of the first tech sales training companies, and a recruiting marketplace for skilled trades. He also just got married! (If you're not connected to Michael, please add him as a connection now. He's working on a string of follow-on announcements, including a breakthrough for how we serve employers and workers. Hint: Back to the roots). In our first seven years there have been so many teams, companies, careers, and lives transformed. I want to highlight five sets of partners that have played an outsized role in helping us experiment with different workforce models, galvanize the employer community in creative and powerful ways, and change the molecular fiber of the industry from the bottom-up: Insight Partners - Nalanie, 🦄Pablo, Danielle, Richard Diligent - MarKeith, Greg, Brian Gainsight - Nick, Robin, Nadav, Ruben, Don Salesforce and Coursera - Darryl, Shravan, and so many at SF over the years InsideView, A Demandbase Company - Tracy, Jenny, Kelsey Together with you, and your ecosystems, we've driven real economic growth for our people: - 10,000+ workers used our courses - 800+ employers hired - Millions and millions of revenue generated for companies (in some cases entire teams staffed with SV alums) - $2B+ of lifetime income expansion for graduates It's impossible to thank every single partner, alum, team member, investor, and advisor that has helped build SV Academy in its first seven years because we've been lucky to have so many of you in our corner and on the field driving our mission. I know who each and every one of you are, and have immense love and gratitude for you. I do want to give a special shout out to Joel, Noorin, and our most-active alums for helping create a community so many of us will continue to benefit from through the arc of our careers. There's so much more to say, learn from, celebrate, feel inspired by, and look forward to on the SV Academy journey (and I hope to tell these magnificent stories in future posts). As for me, SV Academy is my life's mission, and I will continue to serve as a board member, and champion of our community in the ecosystem. More to come. Right now, my focus is supporting our wonderful new CEO. Let's go Michael!
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Rahim Fazal shared thisCongratulations to my friends at Aug X Labs on announcing their oversubscribed $3.1M seed round this morning! Aug X is working on an AI-based "Prompt-to-Video" platform. I've been a believer in democratizing access to content creation, especially video, since I moved to Silicon Valley (in fact, my last business started by trying to solve this problem). Now, with the advances in AI, Aug X is able to offer a solution that can automatically derive context from images and clips, using a combination of computer vision, metadata, GPT, and NLP technologies. Congratulations Jeremy Toeman and team, and thank you for letting me be a small part of your journey! https://lnkd.in/gCnUua2x #AIVideo #Video #GenerativeAI #GenerativeVideo #VideoCreationAug X Labs Secures $3.1M in Seed Funding to Democratize Commercial Video Production for Businesses and ConsumersAug X Labs Secures $3.1M in Seed Funding to Democratize Commercial Video Production for Businesses and Consumers
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Rahim Fazal shared thisThe last few years working with all the great people at Insight Partners has been one of the highlights of my career. Why? Real. Tangible. Impact. Congratulations to so many incredible humans at Insight Partners, SV Academy, and all the portcos for creating the most incredible win-for-all across jobseekers, hiring teams, companies, investors -- and local communities and ecosystems. It's really true that great talent is evenly distributed, but opportunities are not. I love how this program has already changed this for 100+ reps and dozens of teams. Let's keep going!
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Rahim Fazal shared thisMarkets are changing quickly, so SV Academy is working even more closely with our employer partners to build for the future. Today, in partnership with Diligent, we are excited to announce a special program that will provide 100 Baltimore residents hands-on training to break into the tech industry in a customer success or sales role. No degree required. No cost to jobseekers. Again: No degree required. No cost to jobseekers. Baltimore is one of the most exciting but underserved communities in our country. This program will empower residents to build a meaningful and fulfilling career in their hometown working for a large progressive company with a global footprint that's been in business for 30+ years. As for the future, we hope this model will begin to disrupt the traditional recruiting strategy and become a blueprint for a more diverse talent pipeline across the workforce. Please share this opportunity to reach as many Baltimore residents as you can! Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gvcYDS7b Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g_JKKnBt Thank you to Brian Stafford MarKeith Allen Greg Vargas, SPHR Andrea Spillmann-Gajek Nicholas Olmo Christina Hanna and so many more who have lent their vision and expertise to get us here. And another big thank you to Insight Partners for helping kickstart this partnership over many years, through their JumpStart initiative, and to all our other partners who make our work possible, including Salesforce, Salesloft, Seismic, Gainsight, Talend, and Demandbase. #techforeveryone #customersuccess #saassales #techcareer #career #careergoals #careergrowth #jobcoaching #salesjobs #salesrep #diversity #diversityintech #customerrep #newjob #newrole #careerchange #newcareer #svacademy #baltimore #baltimorejobs #hirebaltimore
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Rahim Fazal shared thisCongratulations to Roy Bahat, James Cham, Karin Klein and the team at Bloomberg Beta on closing their 4th fund! 🚀 Thank you for helping us advance our big vision for the future of work at SV Academy from Day 1 🙏🏽. With your help, we're changing the DNA of the workforce from the ground up (and expanding wages by the millions).Rahim Fazal shared thisIt’s a funny thing how exciting it can be to … stay the same. Today we’re announcing our next fund, our fourth since we started Bloomberg Beta almost a decade ago. We’re grateful to all the founders who invited us to back them. --- What’s staying the same... almost everything! We still... > Want to serve extraordinary founders who define the future of work. > Put #foundersfirst. > Invest as early as day zero, and as late as our up-to-$1M-or-so first checks allow (i.e., pre-seed and seed). > Define the “future of work” to extend beyond productivity tools, to how work can serve everyone. > Commit to making the startup world welcome to people of all backgrounds. > Our three equal partners: Karin Klein (who continues to run the “Acela corridor”), James Cham, and me. > Modeled on Bloomberg, we still aspire to be the most transparent investors. And we’re here whether the market goes up or down. > Because Bloomberg LP is our sole LP, returns we earn (still) go to Bloomberg Philanthropies, ensuring better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. To founders, we’ve learned this matters. And it matters that we bridge the tech world to the world beyond. > Organizing trips to public schools teaching entrepreneurship > Hosting everyone from labor organizers (thank you Siena Chiang) to novelists to members of Congress to CEOs to activists to academics > Convening business leaders who want to chart better ways to relate to organized labor, in the The Aspen Institute Business Roundtable on Organized Labor (thank you Maureen Conway, Liba Wenig Rubenstein) We were the first VCs to focus on the future of work, and artificial intelligence -- we like to be early, and we like to stay. > And we continue to collaborate with those who have worked on our team, Shivon Zilis, Dan Strickland, Minn Kim, Lisa Wehden, Harley Sugarman, Shaina Conners, Morgan Polotan etc.! ----- So our 2022 fund is the same as 2019, 2016, and 2013. What’s new? > In addition to a new early-stage fund, we're announcing a new $75 million opportunity fund, led by James (who will focus on his ongoing investments out of our core fund, and add this), to back our existing investments at later stages. > We’ve already invested in a small number of companies at the later stage – Newfront, Flexport, Replit, AtoB – and we want to do more of that. > We’re also focused on startups in new areas: "hot-swaps," the American "abundance agenda," those enabled by large machine learning models, tools that support working people (including in their demand to organize). > Our team now includes Angela Martin, Sydney Tiedt, Amber Yang, Mark Schulz (and assists from Meg McCormick Bolger!). ----- For me personally, when I first started as a VC, I was unsure if I’d like it. I had mixed experiences with VCs, and was uncomfortable admitting I moved money for a living. I quickly came to love it: running a customer service business where I admire my customers, founders.
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7h
Thank you for pouring your heart and soul into every one of our students, and sticking with this community through thick and thin. You and Jane have left your a mark on all of us.
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisRahim Fazal reacted on thisAfter 6 meaningful years, I’m wrapping up my time with SV Academy and making some space for what comes next. It’s hard to summarize what this chapter has meant to me because, somewhere along the way, it became about so much more than a job. During my time at SV, I became a mom… I learned how to balance, hustle, build and adapt in ways I genuinely didn’t know I was capable of. I grew alongside a company that was constantly growing and changing itself, and connected with so many wonderful people along the way. I’ve had the privilege of sitting beside people as they took a chance on themselves. I’ve watched candidates walk into conversations unsure of what they had to offer and come out with careers they didn’t know were possible. Watching each of you bet on yourselves has easily been one of the best parts of this job. I’ve worked with incredible employers, built programs from ideas, solved more messy problems than I can count, and learned a lot about the kind of work I want to keep doing. To the incredible instructors who made sure our learners felt cared for, seen, challenged and supported: working alongside you has been such a thrill. So much of what makes SV special happens in those classrooms. Andrew Lyness Aaron Cornejo Lionel Poole Dallal S. Faris Alrabi Greg Dworkin Luis Cazares I’m also incredibly grateful to Rahim Fazal and Joel Scott who share in my belief of rooting for the underdogs and whose vision started all of this. And to Susan Cates, whose unwavering support and belief over the years has meant more to me than I can adequately explain. Michael Colonnese and Blake Robinson thank you for the teamwork and many, many conversations over the last few years. Mike, your restless optimism has taught me a lot. I’ve watched you prove over and over what grit can do: open conversations, change the energy in a room and find a path forward when one isn’t obvious. And then there’s Jane Gardner. It’s pretty rare to find someone you can build with, disagree with, laugh with, problem-solve with and know they will always show up. Jane has been that person for me. She is an exceptional partner, an even better human and someone who has become incredibly important to me. I feel pretty lucky that our partnership doesn’t end here. So, as for what’s next, I’m giving myself permission to follow more of what I’ve been most passionate about all along… helping leaders and organizations make sense of complexity, build what’s missing and actually move good ideas forward. And continuing to build Great Minds Collective alongside Jane. There will be lots more to share about that soon 👀 For now, I’m just taking a ridiculous amount of gratitude with me.
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisRahim Fazal reacted on thisToday I’m wrapping up an incredible chapter with SV Academy and getting ready for a new one that I’m very excited about. When I joined SV, I had no idea how much the experience would shape me personally and professionally. I’ve had the opportunity to build programs, lead amazing teams, work with incredible instructors and partners, and, most importantly, support so many talented people as they launched new careers. A huge thank you to Michael Colonnese for the opportunity, trust, and room to build over the years. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished and very grateful for everything I learned along the way. I’m also incredibly grateful to Rahim Fazal and Joel Scott, whose vision created SV Academy and the opportunity for so many people to change the trajectory of their careers. And to Susan Cates, thank you for your support, encouragement, and belief over the years. It has meant so much. One of the very best things to come out of my time at SV has been my partnership with Heather-Lynn Erais. HL and I have spent a lot of years building, problem-solving, brainstorming, laughing, and figuring things out together. Somewhere along the way, an incredible working relationship also became an incredible friendship. Which makes what comes next especially exciting. HL and I have decided to take everything we’ve learned from years of building, leading, and navigating growing organizations and put it toward something of our own, Great Minds Collective. More to come on that very soon. For now, I’m leaving SV feeling incredibly grateful, very proud of the work we did, and more than ready for what’s next. And finally, a big thank you to the teammates and instructors I’ve had the chance to work with along the way. You’ve been a huge part of my SV experience, and I’m grateful for all of it. Andrew Lyness Aaron Cornejo Dallal S. Luis Cazares AJ MacQuarrie, MBA Greg Dworkin MOISE MOODIE Lionel Poole Faris Alrabi Allison Raaker Blake Robinson
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisRahim Fazal reacted on thisI'm moderating A New Era in VC at the Venture Futures Forum this Friday at Oakland Tech Week, with Scott Beechuk, Saydeah Howard and Drew Glover, on what happens when networks outperform capital. Presented by Google for Startups and hosted by Transparent Collective and Black Ops VC. Details and registration: https://lnkd.in/gpS_ygm2 #OaklandTechWeek #OTW26
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisRahim Fazal reacted on thisSome of the craziest, wildest things that have happened in my career have happened in the past month. I'll save these stories for the (next) book, but one thing is worth posting about 👇 Relationship Capital. I was reminded (yet again) that it's the single most valuable, energizing, and meaningful "asset" any of us can build. ❤️ I absolutely LOVE that I have relationships that we've together built over not just years but decades. And new relationships? These are what keep my work and life fresh and interesting. ❤️ I absolutely LOVE the people in my life who I can go for months (or years) without talking to, but where we can pick things up as if it's been just a few days. ❤️ I absolutely LOVE that the most valuable startups right now are being spread in private group chats vs. by thought leadership. It's truly ****people**** who make it possible to dream, build, try, workshop, fail, succeed, and try again and again and again and again. As I'm writing these words, so many people come to mind who I want to tag in this post. Except I am not that douche (at least not today).
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisRahim Fazal reacted on thisWhether you are someone who wants to help the next generation of professionals or have friends and family starting in their career, we'd love to have you and your connections be part of this next chapter. Our goal is simple: Help people feel seen, supported, and inspired in their career; no matter their experience and background.Join our community: Work-Tree goes live in 7 days!Join our community: Work-Tree goes live in 7 days!
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Rahim Fazal reacted on thisThis time it's Raleigh/Durham!! Apply now to start your career in Tech Sales!Rahim Fazal reacted on thisAnother week, and another city with a massive hiring push (nearly 50 SDR openings!!!) 🤯 We’re hiring 47 entry level software sales reps in Raleigh-Durham, NC. ASAP. Our client is a late-stage growth private SaaS company in the business compliance space. The SDR team here hits quota and gets promoted to AE! How to land one of these 47 open roles: 1) Apply to train with SV Academy (Free, Link in the comments) 2) Interview with this employer client (with coaching and support from SVA) 3) Offer & start date in October (!!!) **** This company is willing to pay for relocation! **** To have your application reviewed sooner, you can reach out to Chrissy Lowery, SHRM-CP or 💜 Hannah K. Let’s kick off your SaaS sales career! #Sales #Breakintotech #SaaSSales #SDR #BDR
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