Raised analog.*
Groomed digital.*
Currently straddling the two.
*I believe we brave few are called xennials now.
Unbeknownst to me, my crooked and sometimes circuitous path to anything useful and fun in my life has really been about nurturing a career while trying to live an interesting life.
It’s been about finding a reason to explore in a time where everything’s been found.
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It's been about clean shaves
And strong beards
It’s been about creating moments that didn't have any effect on the length of my life, but certainly altered the depth of it.
It’s been about tinkering incessantly on weeknights & weekends, because you are what you do when no one is looking.
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It’s been about drinking from the swill of vulnerability and curiosity.
That goulash hasn’t always been tasty*, but it sure has been hearty.
*e.g. I deal with a slight stutter
And I've learned to make it about more than just me.
It’s been about creating environments where businesses can stay human in an ever-connected world.
It’s been about helping the driven do the things they say they want to do by not only diving in, but diving down.
It’s been about discovering opportunities for people to feel comfortable in a routine, while still being able to touch the leading edge on the bell curve of experiences.
Want to work together?
Maybe you don't know who you want to be.
Maybe you want to lead with more confidence.
Maybe you can't figure out how to do the things you say you want to do.
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Send me a note: bassam@colipera.com
Ok. Now the actual bio
My name, Bassam, means: the smiling one.
I feel like I couldn’t have a better fitting name.
Well, other than one that meant, “Leave no burrito behind.”
I’m a degreed mechanical engineer and was a nuclear engineer at Pearl Harbor as my first job out of college.
Then a few screenplays, a sunny California detour, and a financial crisis later, I landed in NYC with a new opportunity.
For almost 10 years I helped helped steer the cultural and strategic ship of an NYC based construction company (Omnibuild) as their, among other things, Director of Business Strategy (growing from $12 million to $275 million).
Meanwhile, on the side,
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I got a Green MBA
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Created a motivational framework called Colipera after getting the Eureka! moment in a sketch comedy writing class in NYC
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Wrote The Accountability Effect, In 5 Years You'll Be Wrong, and Borders, Bandits & Baby Wipes
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Gave a TED Talk
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Created the online course: Ready. Set. Finish.
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Co-founded The Nomading Film Festival
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Co-founded The Ignition Lab
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Created the networking event: Magnet, which continues to connect thousands.
All of these experiences left with me with a mashed concoction of adaptability, accountability, and finish-ability, which happen to be the 3 most important* -ilities in the life’s toolkit.
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Under the Colipera banner I coached and consulted with various individuals and entities on finishing, creative writing, strategy, leadership and communication.
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Currently, I'm an executive coach andthe Director of Marketing & Product Strategy at ChangeAnalytics.
*A fact decided by me
An explora-preneur at heart, I’ve also traveled to all 7 continents and 75 countries, having had such memorable experiences as:
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Getting to Everest Base Camp and the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro
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Standing face-to-face with Fidel Castro while he held my Passport
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Living on an Alaskan glacier for 8 days
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Being hunted by a pig-tailed macaque in the jungles of Borneo
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(Long stories. We’ll need some Scotch for those.)
For now, you can follow along on Instagram.
