Entrepreneurial Mindsets with Sid Mohasseb

Sara Sheehan’s guest in this episode is Sid Mohasseb, the "Entrepreneur Philosopher." Sid is a twice-bestselling author of two books: 'You Are Not Them: The Authentic Entrepreneur's Way,' and The Caterpillar's Edge: Evolve, Evolve Again and Thrive in Business.' He is also a university professor at both engineering and business schools. A two-time TED speaker, an advisor to Fortune 500 leaders, and an innovation thought leader who has built multiple companies and invested in many more.
Sid and Sara Sheehan explore and discuss many interesting mindset issues facing entrepreneurs today, both in business and in life in general. Using the analogy of a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly, Sid illustrates how gradual evolution is the key to personal and professional growth-change doesn’t happen overnight. Sid also explores the employer-employee relationship and the novel approach called the "whole life balance", where understanding the reasons behind employees' decisions takes precedence over a narrow focus on outcomes. His insights highlight how the mindset shapes how we define success, approach risks, and navigate leadership challenges. Sara Sheehan and Sid also emphasize the importance of self-awareness, trust, and listening as foundations for success in all areas of life.
Sid also shares his plans to launch an academy aimed at fostering personal development and entrepreneurial growth. This new venture will feature short videos on topics like fear, resilience, and finding one's reasons, designed to provoke thought and inspire continuous improvement. Sid invites listeners to join him on this journey of transformation and to stay connected for future updates on the academy’s progress.
About Sid Mohasseb
From a very young age, Sid learned not to leave change to chance. At 7, he learned to be self-sufficient in treating the genetic blood disorder (Hemophilia) he suffered from. At 14, he learned to balance intellect and humility and published his first book of poetry. At 16, he convinced his parents that his future must be shaped in America and migrated to the US without his family. Working through engineering school, he learned that self-sufficiency begins with selflessness; to succeed one must be able to continually deliver value to friends, family and society.
Embracing his entrepreneurial talents, at 21, Sid started and exited his first company while at college. Pursuing his curiosity about the purpose of life, he explored various spiritual and philosophical schools of thought. At 25, he taught comparative Eastern and Western philosophy. Sid’s professional career was built on being a trusted advisor. At 27, he became the youngest partner of a national management consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients.
Early in his career, Sid realized that trust, flexibility, agility and authenticity are the cornerstones of progress. During the next three decades, he supported large-scale acquisitions, and acted as the principal investor and operator in company turnarounds. As a serial entrepreneur, Sid founded and led several early-stage and hyper-growth companies from inception to acquisition. Many times over, he shouldered the responsibility for meeting payroll and wrote checks to acquire or invest in companies; learning to think both like an investor and a founder; facing, accepting, and overcoming his share of failures and successes in ideas and ventures. Along the way, Sid learned that the wounds of failures are the pathways to our next best version.
Resources discussed in this episode:
• You Are Not Them: The Authentic Entrepreneur's Way by Sid Mohasseb (www.youarenott...)
• The Caterpillar’s Edge by Sid Mohasseb (www.caterpilla...)
• “From Reason to Profit” Forbes Article by Sid Mohasseb (www.forbes.com...)
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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:
• SaraWSheehan.com (sarawsheehan.com)
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn ( / sara-sheehan )
• Meet with Sara (www.calendly.co...)
Sid Mohasseb | The Entrepreneur Philosopher:
• Website: caterpillaredge.com (www.caterpilla...)
• Instagram: SidMohasseb (www.instagram....)
• X: SidMohasseb (x.com/sidmohas...)
• Linkedin: Sid Mohasseb ( / mohasseb )
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Transcript
Sara Sheehan: [00:00:02] Hi there. I'm Sara Sheehan and welcome to my podcast, Transformational Thinkers with Sara Sheehan. Today I'm joined by Sid Mohasseb, who is known as the Entrepreneur Philosopher. Sid is a twice bestselling author of two books: 'You Are Not Them: The Authentic Entrepreneur's Way', and The Caterpillar's Edge: Evolve, Evolve Again and Thrive in Business'. He is a university professor at both engineering and business schools. A two time TE...