It’s not difficult to walk away feeling impressed when meeting Nazar Yasin. He holds a combined J.D. and MBA from Northwestern University. He’s the founder of Rise Capital, a venture capital firm that funds internet related business within emerging markets. He previously was a co-head of European internet coverage at Goldman Sachs.
Nazar hired me to cover The Entrepreneurship Law Conference at Northwestern Law School. He moderated the event, delivered a keynote speech and was recognized for his work and contribution.
As robust as his business credentials and accomplishments may be, what impressed me most about Nazar were two things: his enthusiasm for launching MarcoPolo Learning, and his gracious demeanor towards everyone he met.
MarcoPolo Learning is a mobile-based, early childhood education company. The company serves greater than 5 million children in more than 150 countries, creating premium animated content for pre-school aged children. The curriculum covers core literacy and math skills within a full STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) curriculum.* The applicaiton is unique in that it encourages parental participation. I sensed that Nazar invested more than money into this company. Clearly, he’s emotionally invested and passionate about offering an educational head start for everyone at a reasonable cost.
I observed him interacting with people ranging form AirBnB executives to graduate students. In each case, he was gracious, approachable, an outstanding listener and willing to extend himself. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him. His approach reminded me of how important it is to respect everyone we meet in our daily interactions.
* Source:marcopololearning.com
