The Inspirational Rise of Fadee Kannah

In 2010 this Iraqi refugee came to America with a few thousand dollars in his pocket.

Today, he is the Co-Founder & CTO of a market leading vertical software company.

The inspirational rise of Fadee Kannah 🧵 pic.twitter.com/W7cd5FoFO4

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee Kannah grew up in a small village outside of Iraq.

He and his 2 sisters were raised in a Chaldean household by his two parents, a geologist and a caretaker.

Like most tech whizzes, Fadee took an interest in computers at a very young age—thanks to video games.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee would escape to his local internet cafe to enter the online worlds of Medal of Honor, Tekken, and others.

He eventually saved up enough money to purchase his first at-home computer.

He was so curious that he took it apart to learn how it worked. Then put it back together. pic.twitter.com/zCWIgXm8FM

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

While Fadee was tinkering with computers and small entrepreneurial projects, the US was contemplating invading Iraq.

It was right after 9/11.

Saddam Hussein was growing riskier by the day, and Iraqi families were feeling nervous.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee’s family made the difficult decision to flee Iraq when he was just 13.

They went to Turkey as refugees, with just a few dollars to their name.

Fortunately, the family had some relatives in the US. They worked hard to receive refugee status in the states. pic.twitter.com/WIFhBvJrpH

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

In 2008, that dream came true and they packed their bags and moved to San Diego, California.

A big change from their small Iraqi village.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

The family settled in San Diego not knowing a word of English.

Fadee enrolled in school, but was immediately sent to the non-English speaking program, where they encouraged the students not to learn English but instead to learn a trade.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

He saw this work well for many of his classmates. But he wanted something different for himself.

Studying every day, he taught himself English in 12 months. To his teachers’ amazement, he received a full-ride scholarship to a San Diego University. pic.twitter.com/RYxABXLFyh

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee studied computer engineering and computer science. He kept tinkering with small entrepreneurial side projects.

He built web apps for many businesses within his Caldean neighborhood and even sold computer parts to help the family pay rent.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

In 2014, Fadee faced what many students do at California State colleges: the inability to enroll in classes due to seats being taken up too quickly.

This is bad news, as it pushes out your graduation date past four years—something Fadee wasn’t willing to do.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

So, he built Aztec Course Snatcher, a software that automatically enrolled him into classes BEFORE his registration date. 😉

It worked so well that he packaged it up online and started selling it to his classmates.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

The University newspaper ran an article on it, and although it was obviously a genius idea, Fadee was suspended from school. 🤯

Fadee was distraught.

All that work to only get thrown out of college, without the degree he needed to earn a living to support his family. pic.twitter.com/6rmrpO2hqT

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

I got lucky enough to hear that story through the grapevine.

I tracked him down, convincing him to build an education technology business with me.

It took some persuasion, but he agreed.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

We focused on blue-collar education just like those non-english-speaking students Fadee had met in his early days of American class.

We found that there was almost no education technology supported blue-collar education, even though it made up 1/4 of the US workforce. pic.twitter.com/IdZzaVkOjb

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee led the technology side of our business, building the first prototype while myself and a few others dug in and focused on getting our initial users.

It was a trade school in California that credentialed 5,000 blue-collar healthcare professionals every year.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fast forward to today.

The software Fadee initially built is now used by ~300 SMB, MM, and ENT businesses across the country!

It has become the blackboard .com of the blue-collar education space, and we recently announced our Series B and ~$20M in venture capital funding. pic.twitter.com/K7YSd0uNn0

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Fadee supports his entire family today, recently building a custom home for the five of them.

Fadee is a successful entrepreneur. Most importantly, he’s an incredibly talented and stand-up guy.

I’ve never met anyone else like him.

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

10 years ago he was living as a refugee on the streets of Turkey.

Today, he’s a successful tech entrepreneur.

The American dream is there and up for the taking, for anyone who’s willing to work hard and put in the time.

Here’s to you, Fadee! 🥂

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023

Thanks for the read.

If you enjoyed this, I would greatly appreciate a like/rt so others can check it out too.

If you want to hear more entrepreneurial storeis, give me a follow @lukesophinos. Many more on the way. https://t.co/2wlROIGLvS

— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) April 19, 2023