Set the Universe in Motion — Dinner with Azran Osman-Rani, Founder of Naluri

Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their lives and career.

In a perfect world, you can be equipped with all the resources and skills you can ever need — with a great team to boot.

But even if you everything you needed, setting the universe in motion is not a task that can be done without imagination and grit. You need to look into a pair of binoculars with curiosity, stare right into the future you can envision, and actually DO something about it.

With big ideas and a great eye for identifying gaps in the present market, Azran Osman-Rani has achieved a career many would covet. Currently, he’s the founding CEO of Naluri, a new digital health technology company that helps its users manage chronic disease risks through behavioral and psychological coaching and incorporating digital tools to make it accessible and affordable!

Who is Azran?

With his passion for entrepreneurship and disruptive technology, Azran is currently active in 6 companies as co-founder, investor, and advisor: Naluri, iflix, MoneyMatch, Cognifyx, Adventoro and YellowPorter.

Previously, he was founding CEO of AirAsia X, the world’s pioneer low-cost long-haul airline — leading the start-up team that developed the business plan, raised capital, secured relevant licenses and more. Their first flight took off in November 2007 and within 6 years, AirAsia X became the first ever long-haul LCC airline to become a public-listed company.

More recently, he was the CEO of iflix in Malaysia and its Group COO — a disruptive internet television video-on-demand service launched in May 2015, now operating across over 30 markets across Asia, Middle East and Africa.

In addition to pursuing his own entrepreneurial passions, Azran is currently a Non-Executive Director of Apex Investment Services in Malaysia and held past Board positions with PT XL Axiata in Indonesia and Tourism Malaysia. He also chaired the Advisory Board for the Asia Business Centre and Curtin Business School in Australia, and advises start-ups and high-growth businesses through Endeavor Malaysia and LeanIn.

His life philosophy

“30 days of curiosity, 30 years of purposefulness.”

This quote is not only the name of Azran’s book on entrepreneurial culture, but it’s also the guiding principle of his life. On one hand, life is about short bursts of iterations, curiosities, and experimentation. On the other, however, it is also guided by a long term compass of purposefulness.

Azran’s philosophy demonstrates that in setting short term aspirations, we are aligning ourselves towards a cosmic timeline of purposeful growth.

Importance of purposeful growth in work

When asked “How can businesses can improve employee retention?”, Azran once again replied with the concept of purposeful growth.

“The one currency we can offer in the startup environment is the ability to stretch people and grow.”

For many in the start-up industry, their priorities don’t necessarily lie with job titles and salaries. The possibility of being part of something potentially groundbreaking is what makes people attracted to start-ups in the first place. In this environment, many thrive against the unknown but they would still place their confidence in what they do.

Hence, Azran has no qualms with taking a 24-year-old employee and making them present to a corporate CEO. He gives young talent opportunities to make a difference and learn through experience.

The infinity loop of struggles

“Problems today that seem insurmountable may be fixed, but there will be more coming tomorrow.”

Azran keeps it real — you never run out of struggles. This is especially true with businesses, which are very result-oriented. Somehow, we would continue living our life so Azran advises us to just roll with it.

His final piece of wisdom comes from the long-term practice of working with purposefulness. Oftentimes, we fixate on productivity because we set excessively high expectations, overestimating what we can achieve in a year.

Azran encouraged us to keep working towards our goals for 10 years. A decade on, even if we make progress bit by bit, it’s very possible for us to be surprised at the outcome!

Thank you so much to Azran for raising 147 volunteer hours and all the volunteers who dedicated their time for charities such as Yayasan Generasi Gemilang and more!

For more amazing opportunities, visit Time Auction Kuala Lumpur to volunteer and meet inspiring mentors!

Special thanks to Time Auction Kuala Lumpur’s City Sponsor: Fave!