It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to sit down and listen to the experiences of a successful, inspiring person, especially if they are a prominent person in the business world who has developed themselves with heart and passion.
The students of the Rio Piedras Campus of University of Puerto Rico (UPR)who asked questions of the successful Puerto Rican businessman on Wednesday afternoon Noah AssadCo-founder and CEO of Rhymes music entertainmentto start an interesting conversation UPR Theater.
At the invitation of the Faculty of Business Administration, this visionary of the music and entertainment industry shared for almost two hours his career, setbacks and the philosophy that led him to represent global stars such as Bad Bunny and Karol G. He led the university community in a question and answer session.
With a focus on time, care and effort, Assad inspired students to pursue their dreams without excuses.
At first he reacted with a “nervous and phenomenal feeling” in front of the audience of young people who were apparently excited to hear his success and career stories, but over time his nervousness subsided when he received the questions asked via a QR code, which they opened led to a pleasant conversation moderated by Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Carmen Espina.
The 33-year-old, who considers himself a “workaholic”, is not only addicted to music and reggaeton, but also talks about what these first steps were like since his youth. When he developed a deep passion for reggaeton culture and started promoting parties and hiring local artists. That’s why, after graduating from high school and just starting his studies, he decided to concentrate on music.
Likewise, he spoke about the setbacks when he didn’t even know that he would start Rimas Entertainment in 2014 as a digital marketing and distribution company, until later becoming a successful independent label, one of the largest in the Latin American market, with a focus on urban music. Compete face to face with other multinational companies.
Under his leadership, this entrepreneur – who prefers to be called just “Noah” – has become an industry powerhouse, representing a variety of artists, from established stars to promising new talent. including the world star Bad bunny and the Colombian singer Karol G.
He admits that the good relationship and communication with his artists is part of the success that he shares with his work team, all graduates of the Río Piedras campus, who accompanied him right in the front row of the University Theater.
There are three words that Noah repeated throughout his communication about what should be invested in any project or desired dream and which he always used to his advantage: time, affection and effort. He shared this constant in his professional life as an encouragement to the assembled students of the Rio de Janeiro campus, especially those in business administration, social sciences and education.
“Despite the circumstances and obstacles, everything is possible, even if it sounds cliché, boring or similar. “I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t put time, love and effort into something and hasn’t been rewarded for it in the end.” he repeated.
The questions to Noah Assad were submitted via a QR code, which paved the way to a pleasant conversation moderated by Dr. Carmen Espina, Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. (David Villafañe/Staff)In a way, his goal there was to inspire others, and he was also motivated thanks to the advice he received at age 14 when he met the first Puerto Rican baseball player to win a Gold Glove. Victor Pellotwho asked him what he wanted to do just weeks before his death in 2005.
“I don’t know, work and keep going,” Noah said. Faced with this reaction, the former baseball player Big leagues and seven times Gold Glove responded, “I want you to know something. I have a neighbor here, six houses next door, who wanted to work there POT and he works at NASA because he wanted to. You have to want to do what you want to do, but you have to do it, not talk about it and leave it at that. Everything is possible. If you want to be an astronaut, do it. “You have no excuses.”
These words from this player touched Noah deeply, without him even knowing at that moment that he was one of the best outfielders in the history of Major League Baseball, better known in the United States as Vic Power.
“That stayed with me. There are no excuses. There are many circumstances, many situations, many problems, many barriers and obstacles on the way. If there is something you like, devote time and love to it. It happened to me, at first I had so much that I didn’t know what to do, but I focused on one thing and today I can do different things within my work. But it’s important to focus on one thing first and give 500,000 percent to it.” While sharing, he expressed that he took advantage of every opportunity that came his way without letting any slip away.
For this reason, while you have a plan or project in progress, you may have indicated that you prefer to work on it quietly, without raising great expectations, and then announce it. Likewise for the winner of the “Executive of the Year” award, as he was the first Latino to receive this award given by billboardIt was important to let them know through anecdotes that at the beginning he had no money, was in debt, had plans that did not turn out as expected and even stayed in Colombia without returning a single cent.
All the situations he experienced created the perfect storm to believe in what he had done and push through. And although he assures that he would not change anything about what he experienced, if he could go back in time, he would do the same thing as before, but in a more organized way. When asked how he dealt with the dramatic growth of his company, he viewed this situation as a “good problem.”
“When we started, we were a place where you came and solved all your problems at once. Little by little, we realized that in many multinational companies, when it comes to working with an artist, the artist does 70 percent of the work before delivering a product. As for us, until recently we were a company that basically did everything from 1% work to 100% work as a team. The difference between us and what you have come to realize over time not only in Puerto Rico but around the world is that we are a company developed here. We invest the same time, affection and effort that the artist dedicates.”he explained, pointing out that given that size, he knew when he should have hired a team that he expanded and strengthened.
The father of three daughters admitted that he has achieved the desired work-life balance in the last two years and therefore knows that he is doing well.
“My girlfriend would say I don’t cope well with it, but I think I’ve coped better with it over time. Undoubtedly, I am a workaholic; my work is very fulfilling and gives me a lot of joy. You have to remember that it’s the simplest things that make you truly happy, and that’s part of balancing work and personal life. I think that in the last two years of my life I have been able to take time for myself and enjoy it. “At the end of the day, I have three daughters who need my time, my affection, my presence every day and this gives me that balance,” he added.
Aside from that, Regarding shows, he emphasized that you don’t necessarily have to make a lot of money producing concerts, as in many cases, such as concerts, a lot of money is made “P FKN R” on the Hiram Bithorn offered by Bad Bunny, 3.2 million were lost. However, it is more than clear that the experience they offered to fans and the contact created between the artist and his audience surpasses everything.
Noah said he wanted to continue working and investing in his country, which drew applause from the students. At the moment the plan is to continue to fly the flag and further diversify activities.
An example of this diversification this year was the creation of the company Rimas Sports, which operates as a sports management agency and offers a wide range of services aimed at helping athletes achieve their maximum potential on and off the field. Since 2021, they have entered the sport with the takeover of the Cangrejeros de Santurce National Superior Basketball.
Part of the conversation that excited the students was that Rimas Music Entertainment will be offering internship opportunities. “Every day we are looking for people from Puerto Rico who are hungry, willing to learn and pursue long-term goals, rather than people who want to achieve the goal without giving up their effort, sacrifice, dedication or affection,” he explained.