From Immigrant to CEO: Zahir Khoja’s Journey with Wave

In this episode, Zahir Khoja, CEO of Wave, shares his inspiring journey and insights on The Urban Income Show. He discusses the importance of authenticity, investing in your field, and driving financial inclusion. Zahir highlights key qualities of successful CEOs, the benefits of Wave as a financial management solution for small businesses, and the impact of partnerships like the Shorty Awards and Elevate Creatives Fund. The conversation also delves into remote work, side hustles, wise money management, and the satisfaction of helping others succeed.

Zahir Khoja, Chief Executive Officer of Wave, brings a wealth of experience to the podcast episode. With previous roles as General Manager at Afterpay and Executive Vice President at Mastercard, Zahir’s career trajectory highlights his expertise in global merchant solutions, partnerships, and market development. Tune in to hear his insights on leadership, financial management, and driving innovation in the industry. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

Zahir’s background and family values shaped his career and success.
Zahir encourages individuals to be themselves and embrace their uniqueness in business and life.
Empathy for your team, career development, and a shared vision are essential for success as a CEO.
Don’t be afraid to charge premium prices if you offer premium services.
Wave helps small businesses manage their cash flow and provide coaching and bookkeeping services.
Thinking long-term rather than seeking quick gains can lead to significant financial growth.
Having a financial plan and setting goals are important to achieve financial stability and prosperity.

Watch Zahir Khoja’s Interview Shorts

Quotables from Zahir Khoja:

24:30 – “And that would be my advice is, you know, whatever you’re going to do, just be the best. Be the best. There is no role in this world that is to be ashamed of, every role is part of our ecosystem today. And I th ink you should be proud of it.”

24:53 – “Small business entrepreneurs typically don’t know how to price, right? How do I price my service? And there’s also a mindset of, well, I’m a small business, I’m not the big guy, or I’m not a big corporate, I don’t trade on a stock exchange or anything, so maybe I can’t charge as much. Well that’s not necessarily true. A majority of jobs and a majority of the GDP that’s generated in this world today is from small business. So collectively, you are the biggest in the world collectively.”

33:49 – “Look at Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast is like one of the like totally crazy money, but he’s being himself, right? And you know, and it just literally goes back to the advice that you gave. He wasn’t trying to be anyone else. And a lot of these creators that that’s what they’re going out and doing. They’re being themselves. They have a very unique angle on what they’re saying, whether it’s an influencer and I think some people, you know, hate that word or, or they think bad, bad about it. But you even see it from a business standpoint, LinkedIn, there’s a ton of people now out there that are growing their brand.”

43:02 – “I wanna share this with you real quick because yeah, I think it’s important, at Growth Skills, we believe in using our skills for good and, and building things that allow our team, our employees and staff to do that. So we built spreadlove.org, which is just a tool that allows people to spread hope and inspiration via anonymous email. So let’s say, I know I have your email, I heard that, you know, God forbid someone in your family has cancer, I could send you just a little kind note and all it asks, and it’s anonymous because when someone receives this type of email, they don’t know who it’s from.”

34:44

Lavall: “So let’s talk about AI. How is any of this, are you using this to weaving in AI or anything like that to help small businesses within Wave?”

Zahir: “Yeah, so I think, you know, there’s, AI is obviously a hot topic this year. a lot of buzz around it. And I think it will have, it’s going to have some positive impact for There’s small businesses. It will help them create efficiencies to work smarter and spend more time really doing what they do best. And instead of, you know, some of the, the menial tasks that they don’t like doing. Yeah. You know, as a company, we’re always listening to our customers and figuring out the best way in which we can add value to what we offer to them.”

Continue the conversation on social by following Urban Income, Zahir Khoja, and Lavall Chichester.

Urban Income

Learn how to improve your income & finances

Zahir Khoja

CEO of Wave

Lavall Chichester

CEO and Founder of Growth Skills & Host of The Urban Income Show

The Urban Income Show discusses topics on finances, business, entrepreneurship, and career growth with minority leaders. Watch and listen to The Urban Income Show on all podcast platforms.