Anam Ahmad: From Garage Startup To Award-Winning Experiential Agency

How do you build a global-level experiential agency from a garage in Dubai?

In this episode we speak with Anam Ahmad,  Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Hanging House, an award-winning experiential marketing agency transforming how brands connect with audiences through immersive storytelling, technology and audience engagement.

From dropping out of school and working odd jobs to launching a startup in her garage and now cementing her place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Anam shares her journey of building an award-winning agency focused on immersive brand storytelling and audience engagement. 

We discuss the realities behind agency growth, educating clients about experiential marketing, balancing big creative ideas with real budgets, navigating procurement-driven briefs and leading a rapidly expanding team.

The conversation also explores leadership, imposter syndrome, and why experiential marketing is becoming one of the most powerful ways for brands to connect with audiences today. 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx

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Transcript

Meet Anam Ahmad And The Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

In this week's episode of Event News DXP, we're talking to Anam Ahmad, founder and CEO of The Hanging House, one of the Middle East's fastest-growing experiential agencies. From dropping out of school and working on jobs to launching a startup in her garage, Anam shares her journey of building an award-winning agency focused on immersive brand storytelling and audience engagement. We discuss a number of topics, including the realities behind agency growth, educating clients about experiential marketing, balancing big creative ideas with real budgets, and leading a rapidly expanding team. The conversation also explores imposter syndrome and why experiential marketing is becoming one of the most powerful ways for brands to connect with audiences today. All this coming up in the next 35 minutes. If you haven't come across them already, Minus45DB are the team busy transforming noisy conference, exhibition, and event spaces into slick, sound-reduced environments.45dB builds modular spaces that are quiet, customizable, and completely turnkey. Check them out at minus45db.com. Event NewsDXB is also brought to you in association with Warehouse 4, probably Dubai's best independent event venue. And Podworks, a premium branded podcast production studio with officers in Dubai and Kuala Lumpa. So without further ado, let's get into the podcast. Anam, welcome to the podcast. Thank you very much for having me. Oh, you're welcome. I'm really glad you made it in. I'm gonna jump straight in. You've had a pretty unconventional journey to where you are now, and not just sat in that chair, but obviously your your current role with Hanging House. Tell us briefly, how did how did it all come about? How have you got to where you where you're at now?

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Wow, it's really been uh it's been one one, it's been one hell of a journey. No, I can tell I can say that. And you know, it's actually a great time to be reflecting, just because, you know, I've ended the year 2025 on such a high note, just got onto the Forbes under 30 list, um, which was which was great. And I think that was really an opportunity for me to really look back all the way. And um what I absolutely loved, I'd say, about my own journey in hindsight is that it just unfolded with it it seems very intentional, but at the same time, it it was it was me just sort of living in the moment and going from you know, going after what I was looking for, just one thing after the other. Long story short, dropped out of high school, started working at the age of 17, did a bunch of odd jobs from promoting bleach to working at real estate. You know, that was that was actually my first job. Lulu hypermarket uh ajman. But you know, all of these experiences have really just taught me so much. And so lots of so lots of little odd jobs of this nature. And then I eventually found myself saying, you know what, let me go back to sort of pursuing education. So went back, did a bunch of small, sort of shorter diploma programs, one in event management, and then um from there got into an agency where I was essentially, you know, doing everything I possibly could because it was a startup and I was at the age of 20, and I said, you know, I could do, I can do all of this. And then I'd say the hanging house was then born from there. And it wasn't so, you know, people from my experience, what you know, with most conversations that I have with individuals that are looking to start their own business, it has been usually about, I feel like I need to be making more money, or I'd like to, you know, it's uh I'd like to have some sort of like security for, you know, I'd or I'd like to be my own boss. There's there's these other sort of factors that are involved. And I'd say that at the age of 21, that was not what I was thinking about, right? That was just not what I was thinking about. What I was thinking about was that it's really been storytelling, I'd say, that I'd be that I've been passionate about. And I was like, okay, how do I take this and then actually just convert that into uh into something that's lucrative, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

So where did the impetus for hanging house come from then? Because I mean, obviously, look, a traditional route would be go and work for uh, you know, a big event company or experiential agency for a number of years, learn the ropes. Um, you've kind of bypassed that. You've got you've you've you start as I say you started hanging house at quite an early age. Uh and I'm guessing a lot of it has been trial and error along the way. So, but where did that in impetus come from? Where did you at what point did you kind of go, you know what? I'm just gonna give this a go.

Starting In A Garage

SPEAKER_01 4:55

It was at that point where I was at the other agency. And like I like I said, because I was so young, and I just had so much energy. And I said, you know what? I learned so much with that experience of being at that at that startup, you know, as as you do. And but at the same time, I think there was also limitations. And I think there was, you know, I was like, can we explore this? And it's like, oh, not so much. Maybe, you know, it's it might be a waste of time. It was, I just personally felt limited. And I said, you know what? Let me go and do this. Let me, you know, because I have all of these goals and ambitions and visions, and that's when and and Hassam, my co-founder, was a big part of that journey as well, right? So the two, so so I went to him and I said, Hassam, here's what I'm thinking. You know, I think that we can, I I think I can do more, right? In all honesty, at that, in that moment, it was very, it was a small, it was a small, we, I mean, we started in my garage, right? It was literally the already, you know, it was Hassam, myself, two other partners. We were literally in the garage, putting the throwing ideas around and kind of going, okay, for the next one year, here's what we'd like to do. And I would say that we were always grounded by this like bigger, bigger vision. You know, there was this bigger idea, but it wasn't so specific to a point where you'd say, okay, you know, because I mean, funny enough, I know I know it sounds silly to say this, but even at that age, I kind of recognized that if you're going to have a very set goal, once you reach there, then what? So there's always been this loose idea of here's where we'd like to head, but also immediate goals. Immediate, all right? So within the next six months, within the next one year, here's where we'd like to be. And that's that's that's really how we started. We're like, okay, we're going to start off with just very simple activations, right? Photo booth rentals, augmented reality, VR headsets, off-the-shelf games. These are it's we create an inventory, work it out with other agencies, and we saw that as an opportunity. And we said, you know what, there's event agencies that are so that that have so much going on, and they're they're caught up with like the bigger picture, the the operations of the of the event. And you know, you're putting these giant festivals together. You don't necessarily always have the have the time, or even sometimes the capability to get into the nitty-gritties of how are we engaging the audience from an activation perspective. So that's where we have the opportunity to become a partner. And we started with that, we started with that intention. The growth, I would say, has definitely been very organic, right? Because we've just kind of seen where opportunities come in and gradually over the years, um, very naturally transitioned to having our own client base and moved away from like sort of servicing agencies to then building our own.

The Hard Part Of Growth

SPEAKER_00 7:51

So I mean, look, I think there's there's one word to describe your growth, and that's explosive. Uh, and I'll come on to chat a bit more about that later because that I'm really interested in how you've if you've actually managed that. But if you're looking back now a little bit as well, was is there anything that you think you were underestimated? I mean, because you know, the exuberance of youth and the naivety of youth is a wonderful thing, isn't it? It totally is. But looking back, you kind of go, did I really do that? What's perhaps been one of the learnings that you've taken away so far that you kind of you've underestimated on the journey so far?

Why Experiential Becomes The Focus

SPEAKER_01 8:20

I would say definitely underestimated how hard it is, how difficult it is. And number one is keeping people happy. And I'd say that, you know, I mean, look, I I would probably say that's till date, one of the hardest things to do. Um, we've got a great team, and everyone, you know, I'd like to think everyone's happy. We do our best to keep everyone happy. However, um, you know, if it's I think it's it's so important to just uh keep in mind that yes, you've got your vision, but also when you have a team that's coming on to help you achieve your vision, how do we make sure that we're actually taking into consideration that all of these individuals have their own dreams and that those have to be then taken into consideration for us all to kind of be moving together in one in in one direction, really?

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Was the goal to move into experiential there from the very beginning? I mean, you talked about your passion for for you know for storytelling. Uh, was that something that you and your founders said set out from the very beginning that you said, you know what, we're gonna go down the experiential route versus say the conference at exhibitions?

Educating Clients On Real Experiential

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yes, definitely. Um, we we we always had these agencies that we looked up to, right? And that was on a on a on a global scale. And they were all experiential agencies. And there was something so exciting about being able to tell a brand story in this tactile, interactive, immersive sort of way. And like I said, back then it wasn't as mature a market, which then means that there was there were very few um agencies doing experiential work, especially so in the in the in this part of the world. So we then got kind of branch out and look at what's happening in in the US, what's going on in Europe, what are these like fun little stunts that people are doing? So we were we were always grounded by that vision because we knew that that was the that was the opportunity. Um and that was the reason that we said, you know, experiential is definitely the way that we want to go, that we want to go forward. And that it just opens up so many opportunities. We have technology in house, you've got the creative bit, how do you bring all these things together? Human insight, da-da-da-da-da, bring it all together to then be able to tell a story, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Now, and you mentioned also, didn't you? I mean, when you first started, you know, perhaps experiential wasn't uh the such the such a buddhist word that it is now and nowhere near as popular. So, how difficult a journey has it been to convince clients? Well, not just to convince clients, but I guess there's been a lot of education along the way as to what experiential is. I think we've all sat in on briefs with clients, and and sometimes they're not even sure what they want. Yes, you know, and it's about pointing them in the right direction. But when you add in something else, which is a something, a new, sort of like untangible concept, if you like, like experiential, which is very touchy-feely, and often it's it's difficult to work out where the real ROI is, right? So long-winded way of saying, how difficult a journey has that been in terms of being able to convince clients and then bring them on board.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Right. Look, I'd say, of course, like, you know, there's there's been a been a huge learning curve for the industry at large to understand also what experiential is. You know, we that I I remember these little moments that we've had where, you know, a few years ago we were putting that make creating our company profile. I'd I'd say we spend the majority of the time debating whether we start with, you know, sort of educating what the power of experiential is, and then talk about like how we're experiential and what do we do and you know our case studies and so forth. And that's essentially, you know, that's that's really been the path. And it's it's become so natural now that even when we're till date, when we're engaging with a client, what are your objectives? What is your what is your sort of broader marketing strategy look like? You know, who are you trying to reach out to? And when we're talking about target audience and such, and this is, you know, it's especially important to have our sort of finger on the pulse on just how audiences are changing and what their demand, what they demand for is changing. And thankfully, works out in our favor that people are looking to be engaged in more immersive ways. They're looking for ways to connect with brands more authentically. So, you know, that's a great segue to then telling our clients that okay, since this is exactly what you're looking for, here's where the world is headed, which then means here's what experiential is, and here's what we can do.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

What's been the biggest misconception, do you think, from clients about what an experiential agency does?

Risk, Culture, And Local Relevance

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Experiential is such a fun word. It is such a fun word. And but it's also such a broad term, right? I mean, you you've got experiential, you can you can talk about experiential hospitality, you can talk about experiential learning. And number one, sort of um really going into the depth of what bits of experiential is is within our sort of forte. So I would say that getting clients to understand what it truly means to be experiential, that having fun, you know, just great blue, green content on giant LED screens doesn't necessarily make something experiential, right? Um, and and especially since we've got that that that technology bit that, and that's a big part of our offering, um, because it just gives us the opportunity to innovate, right? You've got you've got all these clients that come in and say, give me something that's never been done before. It's like, yep, we've got you. Here's the RD bit, and let's, you know, let's create something that's never been done before. So since you have that arm, when we have clients asking about, give me technology, it's like, yes, but why? Yes, why what does that mean? Exactly. And what is it doing, and how is it elevating your your audience's journey? Um, that's really key too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

You mentioned earlier that you took a lot of your inspiration from you know overseas agencies. Yes. Now, I mean, look, I'm I'm not gonna say anything controversial here. I think we live in a region that is uh historically somewhat risk averse. Okay. So when you're looking at all these fantastic activations that are happening overseas, many of them are really quite adventurous, quite risky. Yes. What has been your experience in trying to bring those ideas to the Middle East and particularly to Dubai? Because, like you say, you know, you have clients coming, oh give me something that that's never been done before. Yeah, and I think we've all sat in on briefs on those. And then when you present, they kind of go, Oh no, that's a bit too much. Yeah, yeah. So how do you manage that? I mean, are we are clients still as risk-averse as perhaps they they have been in the past? Or are you seeing people wanting to be a lot more adventurous and willing to take risks?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Sure. Firstly, cultural relevance, local relevance, extremely important. And I can't stress this enough, especially in today's age, because let's be honest, the world's got their eyes on the Middle East. What's happening over here? You know, everywhere. There's there's there's opportunity, and it's and and rightfully so, right? There's so much going on in this part of the world. There is loads of agencies trying to make their way here, and they make this huge mistake of saying thinking that you can have this sort of cookie-cutter approach. What's been working somewhere else has been working, is what's going to work here. It has not been working. So when we were looking at these projects from agencies abroad, it was more almost like almost almost like a North Star, right? This is the kind of work we'd like to be doing. So that's that's where the inspiration came from. It's like, okay, now that we understand that it's it's the work that touches people, it's the work that like um people can interact with, it creates memories, it's all of these things. How do you take that and then translate that into what we're doing in um in the Middle East, really? So the way that we really go about it is that number one, here's what you're asking for. Here's uh here's something that is safe. It has a little bit of oomph or what we call the that that that wow factor. Here's here's what that is. But what if you were also able to layer, right? Add-on. So here's here's what it could look like if you were going for this, but here's what it would be if you were to really push those boundaries. Um, a lot of agencies usually operate in in industry models, right? So you'd kind of go in and you'd say that, okay, we've got the automotive industry, or we've we we work with the healthcare industry, or you know, you you'd segregate your clients in that sense. We've never done that. And and that's why we have this extremely diverse set of clients. But what they all do have in common is that they're all sitting there saying, I am open to pushing boundaries, I'm open to doing something that's completely new. So yeah, I would say that more and more and more clients are starting to be excited about the opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Take the reins off a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yes, yes.

Big Ideas Versus Real Budgets

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Take the hand handrails off a little. That's right. Yeah. How do you manage the how do you manage the creative ambition of clients with their budgeting reality? For want of a better way of phrasing that. Because we've all sat in on priests, won't we? Where they all want the sun, the moon, and the earth and the stars. And perhaps the one of the best analogies I like to use often is, you know, we want a Rolls-Royce, but we've only got the budget for a mini.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

Yep, yep, yep, yep. That's that's a tough one, isn't it? Where it's it's it's something that I think we're we're we're all navigating in uh in some way or form. You know, I've I've I've come to realize that a big part of it is that maybe it's just a lack of awareness, right? So you from a from a very human-to-human perspective, you're sitting across the table from a client. I understand they are passionate about what they're doing. They've gone on to maybe, you know, it might be social media or whatever, Pinterest, and saw something. They were like, yes, this looks great, but don't necessarily understand as to what that means. You know, and and and I understand why that's gotten you excited, right? However, they are not, obviously, because that's that's it's it's not their area of expertise, they're not actually aware as to what does that mean, what does it mean to achieve that, right? What are the financial implications? And which then means that there's an education process again. So if you're kind of working with the client and telling them, okay, I understand that you're really like this. However, here's where our our our limitations lie. But let's let's go back to your idea for a second, right? What is it about that specific sort of inspiration that really that really got you? And how can we try and achieve that within the limitations that we're working with, whether that might be budget space, I mean, loads of different things to take into consideration.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Do you try and manage that in the in the sort of brief process then? I mean, because I mean, I I used to work, I spent many, many years in in television production and and video production. And uh with varying degrees of success, I would always try and try and ascertain, you know, from the client, okay, what don't tell me exactly your budget, but at least give me it, give me some kind of parameters. Are we looking at, you know, 747 or are we looking at small Cessna? You know, how how difficult is a conversation is that?

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Truly difficult. I can tell you, you know, we do our we do our best. We really, we really do our best.

Procurement And Escaping The RFP Trap

SPEAKER_00 19:50

I think those conversations are probably easier to have with with the clients that you have long-term relationships with you, where you've built that level of trust, where you you've got the insight into what the client, you know, how far the client's willing to go, both creativity and you know, in terms of budget as well. We seem, you know, our industry, like many, goes through cycles, and we seem to be very much at the moment in a in a phase of procurement-driven briefs. I wanted to ask if if this is something that Hanging House are experiencing, and how much more difficult does it that creative, does that make the creative process for you?

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Procurement.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

I hate procurement. I'm going online. I'll I'll I'm saying it for you, right? Procurement, please. Everybody get rid of your procurement teams.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

Look, the the at the hanging house life, like I said, we've our our um clients very diverse. Um, more so than you know, what do they sell is more about how do they think. That's the way that we that we build our relationships as well. I can say we've been lucky enough to have built the relationships with the clients, where in fact, one of our key clients, um, procurement's actually involved in in the creative process and are actually excited about getting the best, best work out there, as opposed to just crunching the numbers and having zero um idea on what else is happening. It is a pain point, and uh, in all honesty, is something that we're still we're still trying to work out. What has worked really well in the past for us is being is is kind of getting procurement to also have a stake in the project. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Are you finding more more uh you know more jobs are coming through procurement now than perhaps in the past?

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Um I would say it's um the reason I hesitate is because I feel like it's a I feel like it's a half and a half sort of sort of a situation. I I cannot necessarily say that that's exactly what we've been facing because interestingly, we've actually also got a lot of um requests from the marketing side of things and then routing it to to to procurement. Yeah, and I think that this also comes. Down to whether as an agency, whether we're proactively pitching or whether we're reacting to a breach brief, right? Because I do not consider as a sort of traditional event agency where it's where we've received an RFP, you have a list of requirements, we're going to answer your brief exactly the way it is. I'd say it's very rare that we would do it that way.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

So, which then means that we're usually getting in earlier on in the process when we're we're aiming to understand, because that's where our strategy bit really comes into play as well. So we're really aiming to understand as to you are about to release an RFB for XYZ project. Is is the format of an event maybe even the right way to go about it? What if you what if it's not? What if, you know, so if you're just able to bring in and have the more strategic conversations and be part of that process and see and and and kind of position yourself more as a partner than just a a a vendor, that's that's it's a win-win. You know, and then procurement is on your side too. They're they're with you because they they've understood that also there's a bigger, you know, it's not just at face value. Here's the RFP, here's the response, let's go with it. And and we're we're fighting the good fight. We really are. We're we're doing our best to sort of avoid going down that route.

When The Business Suddenly Feels Real

SPEAKER_00 23:14

And that's really encouraging to hear. I mean, I I I do realize that for you know many people out there, sometimes it's impossible to avoid RFPs. I must admit, when when I ran my production company, I I wouldn't enter into an RFP. I I said I will happily sit down with you, and I am sure at the end of however many conversations, we will be able to meet your goals both creatively and you know, and within budget. But no, I'm not being one of, you know, however, and it's an increasingly long list of people that are invited to ask for RFPs. Um I just want to backtrack a little bit. Uh, what just back to the business. At what point do you think Hanging House felt like a real business versus just a series of projects? Was there a specific, for example, was there a specific project where you went, where you kind of went either, okay, now it's just got serious, or was it a moment of reflection perhaps where you look back and went, oh, hold on a minute. We're not just putting a few gigs together now, are we? Where are you know?

SPEAKER_01 24:13

Yeah, yeah. I do have to say that when you're running the hamster wheel, yeah, you know, it's it's it's hard to look to have have things, I don't know, look at things through a certain perspective. So it does have to be a collection of moments. Yeah. Um, and at some point, you know, it was, I'd say, um, you know, I have to really backtrack, huh? Um real business. Wow, that that question could catch me off guard. But I'd say, you know what? I think it might have been one fine day when we sat there and your partner look, yes, you and my partners, and we sat there and we looked at our accounts and looked at payroll.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Where did that number come from?

SPEAKER_01 25:02

That is the problem. We're like, oh, okay, wait, one second. And you know, and I say this I I say this in good faith, 100%, because I think there was this sense of like responsibility that came that that that came on, right? You're you're just like, okay, it's you we're we're we're doing good work, we're enjoying what we're doing, everyone's fed, you know, the the business is running, the lights are on, we're okay. And then once suddenly one day you're sitting there and you're looking at about 50 people and you're just like, one second.

Cash Flow Discipline And COVID Bets

SPEAKER_00 25:33

Yeah, and then there's a sobering moment, isn't it, where you kind of realize that you're responsible for these people's livelihoods for their you know for their life and well-being, you know? Uh-huh. And that, like you say, that becomes a yeah, that can be quite a sobering moment. On the same subject, how have you managed that growth? Because your growth has been phenomenal over the last few years. How have you managed it? Because obviously, you know, we live in a region where it's very difficult to go out, for example, and get loans from banks. Yeah. You know, and you talk about payroll there, you know, and these things, you know, we've all fallen foul of cash flow problems. So how have you managed that process?

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Sure. First of all, thank you. And uh no, really, thank you. It's uh it's it's and I'll say it again, it's been one hell of a journey. Yeah, um, it it really has from a from a financial perspective. I have to say I 100% owe this to um my co-founder Hossam. So he he's the chief operating officer, and we we we kind of uh we always uh joke about being yin and yang, and we sort of balance each other out. And fun story, where actually that's that's where the name the hanging house comes from, as well, by the way. Okay. So there's always been this thing about me having my head in the clouds as that creative and the visionary. And and Hassam, he's an ex-banker, actually, very grounded, very, you know, has has got his ducks in a row, if you yeah, if you can say good analysis. So um, I'd say that tension between the two of us is really where the where the house hangs. So suspended in ideas, grounded in reality. That's essentially what we that that's what we say. So um I do owe a big part of that area to Hassan because he's the one that's always been having it's it's it's about the numbers, right? Crunch crunching those numbers. Yes, let's dream, but also do we have sort of three months in the bank? Are we safe? When we talk about sort of vision and ambition, yes, let's continue to chase that, but also from a very grounded perspective, where are those sort of financial decisions that we need to make? Growth is growth is fantastic and we can get really carried away by that as well. But you know, what's what's really been always very grounding is that, and and I'd say it's almost just rule of thumb, right? You know, if there was absolutely nothing coming in, are you able to make it for the next six months? Yeah. Do you do you have that sort of cash flow? If you don't, you have a problem, let's crunch those numbers, let's look at what what needs to be done.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

How much uh of a how much of a wake-up call in that respect with regarding to sort of cash flow and you know, cash on hand was uh an incident such as COVID? My God, COVID was um not that I want to spend a long time talking about COVID. It's been expl explored to death. But I think it was a wake-up call for many people. And I think, you know, myself included, it really caught me by surprise just how little contingency some multinationals have. And you're like, really? Yeah. You know, where it seems like the the shareholder is the primary, you know, objective and and primary point of importance versus the actual people who are driving that revenue.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Yeah. And again, same same thinking, because when COVID did hit, we said, you know what, for the next six months, we're we're okay. Now what does it come down to? Right. So we did not let go of any staff. We said, you know, we actually doubled our team uh at the time. And that was the risk that we had we we were able to take because we had that sort of like um almost safety net, I would say. And and it had to be done. We knew that there were agencies all around us closing down. So in that moment, we actually had to make the decision. We wondered whether, you know, are we going to go down the lane off like let's downsize and you know, potentially go down that route, or we have to take a risk and let's double our staff force. And that's essentially what we did. So we doubled our staff force, having that sort of financial backing, which honestly I um am very grateful for that we were able to have that sort of that that that financial sense, I'd say, yeah, to to be able to do that because we are an independent agency, we are self-funded. It's not like we have these deep pockets to sort of go back into, which actually worked out well for us as well, because it gave us that agility, gives us, give, gives us autonomy to be able to make um what could be considered a very risky decision. But that's essentially what we had. We had um we were we were able to double our staff force, um, invest in a sales team, which we didn't have up until that point. And that honestly, for the hanging house was the turning point. That's really where you know our growth doubled, our our our sales doubled, and um, we were able to uh to to to not just sustain COVID, but actually thrive through it.

Leadership Style And Imposter Syndrome

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Wow, that's fantastic. I mean, yeah, it was a challenging time to say that to say the least. Yeah, you talk about doubling your team and your workforce, which which kind of l lets me dovetail into sort of leadership.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

Um going back, and as you say, you you've spent a limited number uh number of years working for somebody else. So where do you turn to for your inspiration when it comes to your own leadership style? You know, and uh and listen, I think we all suffer from it, and how much does imposter syndrome uh play a part, particularly when you perhaps haven't had the 10, 15 years working for a uh you know a multinational agency? So so how would you describe your leadership style and what where have you got the origins for that from?

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Yeah, thank you for asking that. No, it's uh it's a it's it's a great question. Well, people are important, right? So yes, for sure. So at the beginning of the at the beginning of the journey of running the hanging house, it was definitely about uh some of myself looking inward and saying, what would we want? Right, right. Even when we started the agency, it was with that, you know, there was definitely this intention of let's not do anything that we wouldn't want for ourselves. So that that that really was, I'd say, the base. And keeping that philosophy, uh philosophy in mind, it's evolved over the years, right? And my god, imposter syndrome, let's, you know, we has uh someone who very uh often actually has people reporting to me that are potentially you know have have have more years of work experience than I do life experience. It has not been easy, I can tell you that. However, I would say that it's always a great reminder that you've come this far, you know, that let's let's look back and let's look at like, okay, have you know that there have these been these moments of learnings and so on and so forth. However, we figured it out and and and and we're here today, and regardless of who might come in with whatever amount of experience, the core vision of where we would like to go sits here, which then means that you know where you want to go, and now you just need to get everyone else to align as to where we're going and then adapt their sort of skill sets to to that accordingly. And you know, when when and when we talk about imposter syndrome, it's something that used to bother me so much, so much up until recently, when I actually had this realization that you have imposter syndrome because you are unsure of what you're doing. You're not, are you making the right decision? Who put me here, who put me in front of a mic on a podcast, who asked me to, yeah, you know, what what am I what am I doing here? Yeah. Um, but the reason that you're feeling that way is because you're uncomfortable and you're uncomfortable because you're growing. It's because you're constantly growing, right? If you sat here and said, ah, this is I I got this, which then means that you're in your comfort zone, which then means that maybe needs maybe it's time to get out of it. Maybe, maybe it's time to yeah, yeah. So so that's really, you know, it's just about I'd say shifting perspective on the way that I see imposter imposter syndrome. I'd say it's it just means that you're growing, it means that it's and it's okay.

Awards, Validation, And What Comes Next

SPEAKER_00 33:50

That's a really good perspective. Just moving forward a bit, 20 2025 was a bumper year for you, wasn't it, both professionally and personally? I think you you went through a phenomenal series of award wins with Hanging House, I think, which culminated in, was it the campaign independent agency of the year award? And then for you on a personal level, you were being named in the Forbes 30 under 30. So how important are those milestones for you?

SPEAKER_01 34:16

I have to say that you don't really recognize the gravity of the situation while it's happening. So it takes a while to process. And if if I was to sum it up in one word, it would be it would be validation, right? And it's validation to all the gray hair that I've had, you know, it's the it's it's just the culmination of that jury and not of not just mine, right? And or not just the founders or the partners, it's not just about it's all the team members and everyone that's put in like their heart and soul into the work that I've been doing, and to be able to get that validation. And we were talking about this earlier as well, about how just you know, it's it's one thing for for the bus to stand up and say, guys, we're a great agency, we're doing great work, you guys rock, you know, and I mean they expect that. I meant to be saying that, right? But so not not to say that it goes on deaf ears, but it's completely different for and for external parties to come in, and you know, these are these are these are judges that have been that have that have seen the world, you know, and they've seen so many different agencies and they've seen all this great work, which then means that it's gone through a process and it's actually being validated through a scoring mechanism. And as someone that's been on the judging side as well, I understand that's a it's a it's a long, tedious process, right? And for you to have gone through all of that and then come out on the top, that really means something. And that's it's it's great to be validated individually as a as a founder, but also what that means for what that means for the team too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

And looking ahead, uh, is there anything that you there's still on your list of of things to achieve?

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Oh, loads. I can't, I don't even know where to get started. Um from from both a personal and professional front, there's oh no, I would just say like there's we're we're only getting started. There's so much more to do. You know, we're like I said, I'm you know, I mean I'm a huge believer of sort of turning your passions into businesses. It's it it was a starting point. Like, what are you passionate about? How do you turn that into something that you can that you can actually turn into work?

SPEAKER_00 36:39

And on a personal level, any personal goals goals that you want from the 2026 of the 2026.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

I am actually currently working on uh a book. We're we're trying to squeeze in time here and there because last year was this incredible journey. And you know, I've had this um, I've had on a personal level so much growth as well. And and I thought it would be really interesting to be able to tell that story, but through the process of building a home and what that means, you know, whether it's you know, whether that's home inside myself or home inside, you know, in a in a space and yeah, how how that evolves. But that's an enough set there. Yeah.

Playlist Picks And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_00 37:16

So we gotta look out for that. Well, we've got to keep our eyes peeled on Amazon and Kindle for uh for Anam's book. Okay. Before we finish, I I always end on this one with a guest with with all uh all my guests. I'm sure you're a music fan. I am too. My vinyl collection is growing once again. We all use music for different means. I I love it just at the end of the day, just to put, you know, it's usually when I'm cooking, actually. I I love to cook, so I'll always have something on in the background. What about yourself? What's on your playlist?

SPEAKER_01 37:42

What's on my playlist? Uh currently, I've been listening to a lot of RB Soul. All right. That's that's that's definitely something that it uh puts me in a good mood.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Anything else? What's on in the car at the moment, at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 37:58

What's on in the car? I'd say Masago. Oh have you heard have you heard of Masago?

SPEAKER_00 38:03

You've you've I would say that you've moved out of my comfort zone there.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

He's a great he's a great artist, and I really enjoy his music.

Credits And Subscribe Reminder

SPEAKER_00 38:08

So untouched the Masago, yeah. Right. And I'm thank you very much for coming in and being on the podcast. Thank you very much for having me. It's been a pleasure. Event News DXB is brought to you by Minus45DB, the team transforming noisy event spaces into slick, sound-reduced environments. It was also brought to you in association with Warehouse 4, probably Dubai's best independent event space, and Podworks, a premium branded podcast production studio with officers in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. The podcast was presented by myself, Ian Carlos. The studio engineer and editor was Manny Penamora, the executive producer was myself and Joe Morrison. And this podcast was produced by Podworks, one of the industry's leading branded podcast and content studios. And if you haven't done so already, please do click that follow or subscribe button. It really does help us reach a wider audience. Until next time, stay safe.