Young Change Makers: Why and How Pierre Subeh Is Helping To Change Our World

Your corporate life is not the centerpiece of your life, it’s just a big part of your journey: It took me years to understand that although work is a huge part of my life, it’s not the main focus of who I am as a person. Hence it’s crucially important to recognize that your work is not your personality. That way, you could create a stronger and more solid life for yourself.

As part of my series about young people who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pierre Subeh.

Pierre Subeh is an author, business expert, and award-winning executive producer. He is mostly known for advocating Middle-Eastern representation and pushing the U.S. Department of State & The White House under the Biden-Harris administration to recognize April as the national Arab American Heritage Month. He has been featured for his business expertise on Forbes, The Washington Post, Yahoo News, CNBC, and The New York Post.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series, Pierre! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit how you grew up?

I grew up in three different countries with so many unique and conflicting cultures, it shaped me to become a messenger for connection and a translator of traditions. Today, I’m convinced that I am a citizen of the world rather than of just one country. I was born in the mediterranean coastal city of Latakia, Syria. Then we moved to a beautiful Caribbean island called Curaçao when I was just 11-years old, leaving my entire family behind. As a teenager filled with passion and dreams, I wasn’t able to travel until a few days before I turned 18 when I finally received my European citizenship. As a young adult, I made it my mission to travel and explore the world. My childhood was not normal, it was difficult and challenging, just like an adventure movie — filled with obstacles with a very happy ending.

Is there a particular book or organization that made a significant impact on you growing up? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Apple. I will always and forever be grateful to Apple for inspiring me and allowing me to dream. I’ve always left whatever I was doing to watch the annual keynote that took place every year in early-September. Even back in highschool, my teacher allowed me to borrow a MacBook and sit somewhere private to watch the live show. That’s how important it has always been to me. The technology never failed to impress, and the representation of dreamers and creators making magic has always given me goosebumps. Apple is a brand that stays dormant for months and then surprises everyone with new releases that aren’t always cutting-edge, but are much better than the products anyone else in the market has to offer — they are elegant, they know their value as a company, and are always very secretive about their next move. That is exactly the type of leader I aspire to be every day.

How do you define “Making A Difference”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

Making a difference to me is when someone stands up against the stream and chooses to utilize their influence, knowledge, and power for a cause they believe in. This doesn’t exclude anyone no matter their position in life. To make a difference is to be brave enough to do what has not been done before for a positive and noble cause. An example of making a difference apart from all that we do at my company, is when I chose to take on a difficult and challenging mission a few years back to better represent the Middle-Eastern culture in Western societies. I stood up earlier this year to criticize the Academy Awards, otherwise referred to as “The Oscars”

Ok super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an organization that aims to make a social impact. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?

X Network is a modern take on digital marketing and strategy. We have built a marketing & research firm aimed at creating bridges between successful first-world corporations and professionals with a passion from developing communities. We often seek to hire and recruit newly graduated students from universities who have developed experience and knowledge throughout their careers, and are unable to find opportunities elsewhere. At X Network, we offer incredibly professional services with a philosophy that inspires our employees to become as creative as possible. Marketing firms across the globe turn a job that is supposed to be creative into a boring and restricted robotic position; overworking creative individuals into roadblocks. We approach it differently by only measuring our employees’ work ethics by results rather than focusing on the process.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

I was never fond of traditional paths. For as long as I can remember, I did not want to live a “normal” life, and when it was time to graduate high school and jump on to a university education, I took a gap year and immediately found myself with marketing director opportunities. My first job was magical in the sense of control that I received, however, I highly disliked the toxic work environment in what you consider a corporate environment. I immediately wanted to get out of there and start my own marketing firm; one that respects individuality, creative craftsmanship, and unique opinions. I wanted to make a workplace I wished existed when I graduated from high school as an experienced marketing genius. I say genius not because of arrogance, but rather because I’ve invested days and nights to educate myself with technology before universities could even keep up with the ever changing industry of digital marketing.

Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?

I’m an immigrant, I never felt comfortable or settled anywhere I lived for as long as I can recall — that was a big part of why I was always very persistent with turning my dreams into reality. However, the secret of not procrastinating and getting up to follow and execute your dreams is understanding how short and uncertain life is. I was overwhelmed by the stories of regret I heard all around me of everyone who once had a dream or an idea, but never did anything about it. I wanted to live and die happy, satisfied that I tried everything I once created in my wild and vivid imagination.

Many young people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?

Successful people don’t always share the “how-to”, and although we live in the time where self-help and success courses have become very mainstream, they are still not enough to teach someone how to start a new organization. Truth is, I was barely educated regarding anything to do with legality, contracts, or accounting; but I knew I could hire the people that did. Elon Musk didn’t become the second-richest person in the world because he’s a genius in every area; his secret is the power to cultivate and create teams of experts and finding ways to fund the ideas he believes in. Hence, to start any project, you must create or raise the monetary resources needed and proceed to recruit the best professionals in industries you’re unfamiliar with. Create a unique philosophy and make sure to make a team that shares the same vision, has open communication, and remember to measure your progress weekly, while optimizing your way to success. Part of my

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?

I always had a big fascination with business cards, as the world becomes digitalized, physical items have become more valuable than ever before. I created these stunning plastic cards with my name and details engraved in golden foil. The story goes that one day, I met with a renowned businessman in the Caribbean and offered him my card; he instantly fell in love with it and promised me that we would be doing business together. A year later, I get a call from the owners of the largest trading company in the region for a meeting with me. When I proceeded to ask how he heard about us, he told me that he was golfing with the business man I met a year prior and my business card fell from his wallet, when he saw the gold reflect to the sunlight, he asked for my details to market his portfolio of his companies. The power of creating quality and planting seeds for the long term is the secret of success.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made starting out was the one time I threw an event hosted by a famous influencer to gain traction to the marketing firm and bring in new corporate leads. We threw a party that was very fancy and everything top-notch, however, we didn’t think about the financials too well. Hence, it was a total flop revenue wise, but we ended up making more money in the long term with the connections and local press it gave us. The lesson to take here is that long term is the way to go. Success isn’t achievable overnight, it takes time, planning, and a lot of strategy. Also, getting to know people and growing your network is so valuable. The networking I did at the event allowed me to make friends and partners, who today, I consider my best on the list.

None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?

You are unable to thrive in the digital marketing and technology industry without constant adaptation and education. My biggest mentors were not people I knew in real life, nor were they on webinars I watched. My mentors were videos on YouTube, books I read, and podcasts I heard while working. Everything I watch and follow isn’t really about marketing, but rather about leadership and decision making. I truly believe that our success doesn’t come from our knowledge in a specific field, but rather from the way we balance our emotions and make decisions. I’m currently working on a brand new education show titled, “Pierre Explains Everything” which will offer frequent episodes discussing incredibly diverse topics about business with a fun and exciting twist. My philosophy is that business is the core of the world we live in and the more educated we are about how companies around us function, the more opportunities we could find for ourselves. I will end with this quote I recently published in an interview about my upcoming show: Business is the skeleton of today’s society; learning how to master it gives anyone, regardless of their race, age, or background — the tools to leverage opportunities around them and upgrade every aspect of their lives. I make it my mission to help educate through a modern and intriguing journalistic approach.

Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?

When the pandemic began, we lost everything. The majority of our client portfolio was in the tourism, luxury, and hospitality sectors; and at the time, we had hired a big team to expand our workforce that now had no work to do. This pushed me to reinvent the company and create new ventures that are recession-proof. We began expanding our business into the printing world with the most personalized printing service in the world, XarbonPrint. A company that I founded to offer companies and small businesses printing services that are personalized directly with our design team as I found millions of consumers are unhappy with their current printing; due to long turnaround times, faulty printing, and horrible customer service. Our company is not yet public, but we are working on that for later this year. However, when we did start the new venture, one of our employees was from the Philippines and his name is Orly. He is a brilliant individual who had impressive skills in graphic design and so much passion for excellent collaboration. After training him for a few months, he excelled in his line of work and beat every record we previously had at the company, working with us allowed him to improve his life, provide for his entire family back in the Philippines, and even start his savings account. The power to change and improve people’s lives is a blessing I’m grateful for.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of the interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each).

1. Your corporate life is not the centerpiece of your life, it’s just a big part of your journey: It took me years to understand that although work is a huge part of my life, it’s not the main focus of who I am as a person. Hence it’s crucially important to recognize that your work is not your personality. That way, you could create a stronger and more solid life for yourself.
2. Hard work doesn’t create success, strategy does: Many people spend their lifetimes working hard blindly without dedicating enough time to properly strategize, that’s wrong. Playing the game intelligently is far greater than years of hard work with no purpose. Shortcuts do exist in life, those who cause you to dedicate your work into the right direction and get there faster.
3. Creating an emergency fund is crucial for crisis management: You read that right, never hire an employee if you don’t have 3–6 months of their salary set aside in a vault (in this case, a savings account for example). It will help you surf any crisis trying to repair and grow out of bad times, rather than focus on failing and meeting due payments.
4. Creating a company culture is the secret to creating a productive team: Having a team and depending on them can help you scale and grow your assets in whatever industry you’re in. However, many leaders don’t create a vision and address certain factors that could shape a culture for the employees to feel comfortable, creative, and willing to contribute to the growth of the team.
5. Multitasking is a lie. It does NOT exist: God, it feels great saying that, no matter how brilliantly focused you are and young your brain is, you cannot multitask. My best friend and mentor, a Hollywood actress named Heather Jocelyn Blair, who took a brain science course in UCLA last year told me all about how multitasking is not real and that it takes up to 26 minutes for someone to regain focus when distracted. I could immediately make the connection that I’m not the multi-tasker I always claimed to be. The fastest way to get something done, is to go through the list, one item at a time until you get it all right. ,

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

Living a life with purpose may not be the easiest thing to do, however, it will always lead to optimal happiness and satisfaction. My generation might think that social impact is making a positive impact is too complicated and isn’t necessarily needed. I would love to share that no matter how much income you might be earning, how many friends you have supporting your journey, it will never equal living a life with a purpose. Making a positive impact creates this fulfilling and motivating feeling that pushes you to do greater things in life and makes your inner flame stronger than ever. So what I’m saying is that when you do good, you’ll be rewarded with the motivation to do even more in your professional life. Also, a big bonus is being recognized for your philanthropy.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

The one person I would love to have a private conversation is the one and only, Arianna Huffington. Her books are always a breath of fresh air, I credit her for helping me balance my work life with my private life. My favorite quote of hers is, “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.”

How can our readers follow you online?

It would be my pleasure to connect with everyone reading this! They can follow my journey on Instagram through @PierreSubeh and Twitter @Pierre_Subeh. Additionally, for those who enjoy watching educational videos about intriguing topics, they can follow my YouTube channel, simply search for my name. Oh and also, I’m so excited that some books I have been working on for years will be published on Amazon later throughout this year. Every book is about self-improvement in the corporate world and finding the perfect balance between our emotions and dreams. I write my books in a conversational form and I would be honored to share my work with everyone reading this.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!