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Sulemaan Ahmed
Principal at Servo Annex
Professional Background
Sulemaan Ahmed has carved out an impressive career in the digital marketing landscape, showcasing his expertise with globally recognized brands such as Apple, Sears, and Air Canada. His journey through these leading organizations enabled him to hone his skills in driving notable initiatives in digital strategy, e-commerce, and social media marketing across North America and internationally. Through various senior positions, Sulemaan has proven to be a pivotal figure in managing online reputation and spearheading digital partnerships that have significantly elevated the brands he has worked for.
Today, Sulemaan brings his extensive experience to Servo Annex, where he serves as a Principal. In this role, he plays an instrumental part in educating senior executives on leveraging digital tools to achieve transformative business results. He finds great fulfillment in witnessing individuals lead by example and surpass their personal benchmarks of success, thereby creating a ripple effect of positive outcomes in their organizations.
Education and Achievements
Sulemaan's educational background is as distinguished as his professional journey. He possesses a Masters in E-Commerce from the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University. Coupled with this, he completed his Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Strategy, also from Dalhousie University, and another Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, Business, and Strategy from Concordia University. This solid academic foundation has empowered Sulemaan to analyze market trends effectively and devise innovative strategies to address consumer behavior, all while integrating the latest technological advancements into his work.
Sulemaan has also demonstrated a commitment to giving back to the community, contributing his skills and expertise on a pro-bono basis to various organizations, including the Arthritis Society and Conquer COVID19. In these roles, he has facilitated activities aimed at raising awareness and funds, demonstrating his dedication to social responsibility and community development.
Notable Contributions and Activities
In addition to his roles at Servo Annex, Sulemaan has an extensive history of service in various organizations and enterprises. He has contributed to the Arthritis Society's National Fundraising Council and played a crucial role at Virtual Gurus as a member of the Board of Advisors. As a Co-Founder and CEO of Conquer COVID19, he stepped up during a critical time to guide and manage efforts on a large scale, utilizing his knowledge of digital marketing to promote a significant health initiative.
Sulemaan was also instrumental in founding No Fly List Kids, supporting families affected by travel restrictions during challenging times. His efforts as a contributing writer for the Huffington Post allowed him to share insights and provoke thought on pressing issues within the community.
In his entrepreneurial journey, Sulemaan co-founded Kinetic Café, where he took charge of providing strategic marketing solutions. His tenure at Harlequin Enterprises as Director of Digital Marketing saw him implementing strategies that revolutionized the company’s approach to digital publications and customer engagement. Additionally, his leadership roles within organizations like the Canadian Marketing Association signify his commitment to refining digital marketing practices and fostering industry growth.
In various capacities, Sulemaan's influence is felt through his thoughtful contributions, from managing consumer relationship programs at Air Canada to overseeing online marketing efforts at Sears Canada. His collective experiences have equipped him with the unique ability to synthesize multi-faceted digital strategies, all aimed at elevating brands in a competitive marketplace, whether through social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or through search engine marketing initiatives.
Achievements
Sulemaan’s career is marked by distinguished milestones and achievements that reflect his dedication to the field of digital marketing. His role as Vice-Chair of the Digital Marketing Council at the Canadian Marketing Association further exemplifies his commitment to advancing digital literacy and strategy among peers. Notable transitions from eCRM management at Air Canada to Online Channel Management at Sears have established him as a transformative leader in integrating e-commerce with traditional business models.
General Skills and Specialties
Sulemaan Ahmed specializes in a multitude of areas:
- Senior executive training
- Teaching digital strategy
- Digital marketing practices
- Online reputation management
- Mobile marketing engagement
- Social media optimization in platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook
- E-commerce solutions and strategies
- Digital partnerships development
- Conference and keynote speaking
Contribution to Knowledge and Community
In addition to
Highlights
Politely Declining
What do you think is one of the biggest causes of stress for CEOs and Board Directors as it relates to actively using LinkedIn?
“What do I do about all these damn LinkedIn invites to connect that I receive Sulemaan?”
LinkedIn has skyrocketed to 1 Billion members and invites to connect have increased proportionately. My philosophy since I first joined:
"I have to know, like and trust you, in order to connect with you."
This ensures the integrity of my network and allows me to confidently introduce connections to others when asked or I proactively do it.
Quality trumps quantity.
So what do CEOs and Board Directors do when someone interesting they don’t know sends an invite to connect?
Well, replying to the invitation and asking to briefly chat (at a time of your convenience) before accepting allows you to determine if the sender sincerely wants to connect. Or do they just want access to your network?
I highly recommend this strategy as a filter since 90% of the time senders do not reply. The 10% who do will likely end up being a valuable part of your network based on my own experience.
My Dad once counselled me "You are judged by the company you keep." That still holds true today offline and online. The quality of your connections and relationships with them speaks as loudly as your profile does.
(If you have additional thoughts or a different perspective please share them in the comments section below.)
Do not be afraid to politely decline.
St. Maarten Folder
Recently I reached out to a CEO client to get their perspective on something. When I asked how they were doing there was an audible sigh. Followed by silence and they said they were “Ok”.
So I asked again “How are you really doing?”
They elaborated on some challenges they faced at the moment. It can be lonely at the top for leaders in the boardroom. You must be there for others and it can weigh heavily on you.
So I listened and remained quiet. Once they were done speaking; I asked if they were open to a suggestion or wanted me to keep listening.
CEO: “No, tell me what you think.”
Me: “Are you 100% sure? Because you may not like what I’m going to say.”
CEO: “Please go ahead Sulemaan.”
Me: “What is one thing that brings you pure joy?”
CEO: “When I’m in St. Maarten with my family.”
Me: “Consider creating a St. Maarten folder for your email. Go through your past emails and find ones where people thank you and say they admire you. Someone you helped find a job. A college friend who you flew down to see over a weekend because they were going through a hard time. It could be someone who you referred a major client to that helped save their business.”
CEO: “Ok…”
Me: “Stay with me. I know you may be wondering where is he going with this? Take all those past emails and any in the future and file them in your St. Maarten folder.”
CEO: “Then what?”
Me: “When you ever feel you are going through the gates of hell. When you feel overwhelmed and don’t know if it will end. Go to your St. Maarten folder and re-read all those emails.”
CEO: “So that gives me perspective?”
Me: “Bingo.”
Years ago I was sent a kind email and the sender said she would keep it in her sunshine file “…a place where I parked all positive, motivational feedback, collected over the years, that, in my time of need, has helped me out a great deal.“
Times are tough for many of us. Sometimes a little bit of gratefulness and reflection can go a long way to getting over the hump. If you have other ideas please share them in the comments section below.
Perhaps a St. Maarten email folder may be even better than the real thing?
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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