Client Impact: A Conversation with Rizwan Sheikh

At Clearsight, we sought to discover the broader effects of our team’s work. As such, we explored one of our core values, Impact, to try to assess the “greater good.” We learned many of our former clients have put their post-transaction resources and time toward community and philanthropic engagements. We are proud to have played a part in enabling these individuals to fuel their passions and enhance the broader community. This Client Impact series highlights these entrepreneurs, their positive works, and the greater effect on the community.

Rizwan Sheikh is a founder, entrepreneur, and former Clearsight client. Rizwan served as Managing Partner of AustinCSI for twelve years, leading the firm to the pinnacle of the digital transformation consulting landscape prior to the firm’s acquisition by Cognizant in November 2022. Clearsight caught up with Rizwan to learn about how he approaches making a difference, specifically in improving educational opportunities around the world. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Clearsight Advisors (CA): Rizwan, thanks for joining us. Can you discuss what initially motivated you to become involved in philanthropic activities?

Rizwan Sheikh (RS): When we talk about philanthropy, it really is too big of a word. I think it is part of my responsibility as a human being. I’m not doing anything special. It isn’t a conscious decision, but rather a way of making sure I have an opportunity to give back the intellectual, spiritual, and financial resources I’ve been gifted. If age, time, and experience give you something in life, you then have a responsibility to teach and deploy your resources. And it’s not just a singular resource, like writing a check. It’s about engaging in something near and dear to your heart.

If you consider all the places in the world where you have an opportunity to make an impact, it is overwhelming. You just cannot wrap your head around it. So my family and I made a conscious decision to first look at where we could make a difference, and then understand the micro-solutions we could provide to get closer to the beneficiaries. From a macro perspective, you can give your resources to larger organizations that are executing a long-term strategy. But from our perspective, having the opportunity and the gift of time that we’ve been given as a result of a transaction, has prompted us to be particular in the way we give. Hopefully, these interactions will change the course of their lives and eventually allow them to multiply the impact.

CA: As you mentioned, there are so many good causes you can get involved in that it can become overwhelming. How did you narrow your focus to improving educational opportunities around the world?

RS: I utilized similar skills learned from having run AustinCSI, including how to focus on and qualify an opportunity. Education is very important to me being a son of two teachers. My wife and I have also had the opportunity to live in multiple countries. Those two things were at the forefront as we narrowed our focus to countries where we have a connection. Tanzania or Kenya, where my wife and I are from, or India or Pakistan, where we speak the language and share our culture, rose to the top of the list. We focused on areas where we have expertise, relevance, or an ability to have a significant connection where others can benefit. That’s how we thought to narrow down to where we wanted to be thematically and geographically. Then we further narrowed to where we could provide relevance and an ability to make an impact.

CA: How or when do you define what success looks like when you embark on a new project?

RS: I think impact, by nature, is a nebulous term to measure success with. Your success, in my opinion, is primarily driven by, do you feel satisfied at the end of the day about actions you took to make an impact in someone’s life? It is not going to be a KPI that can be measured. I learned this from my father in my childhood, that planting a tree whose shade you will never benefit from is a hell of a way to give. So why look for results when your ethos is always not to look for that level of success? What I try to do is be present, do the work that needs to be done, and then let the universe take care of the rest. Some initiatives are successful, meaning they live on, get ingrained in society, and become self-sustaining enterprises, while others don’t work out. That’s just part of the deal.

CA: Can you discuss an initiative or project that you’ve been involved with where you’ve been happy with the outcome?

RS: Yes, a few things come to mind. One of the projects in Islamabad we provided better housing options to students, both young men and women, from the northern parts of Pakistan. These students are very bright and able to get into college, but often can’t find housing conducive to their needs. The situation becomes more problematic when young men can get radicalized while living under someone else’s roof. And worse, some young women get victimized. Now, what kind of world do we want to live in where parents send their children to learn then find themselves in horrific situations?

We looked at that issue and said, “How about we create a micro solution: a safe learning environment.” We dreamed of building something from scratch, but that didn’t materialize for various reasons. Instead, we pivoted to renting places to house young men and women in multiple facilities. These places are safe and secure with libraries and computer rooms, creating a cocoon of learning. We developed that through a heavily subsidized model with a view that it will become self-sustaining. It has been very successful, with hundreds of students in the program on an annual basis.

CA: Do you have advice on where to start or how to approach integrating doing good into your life?

RS: A good friend gave me this piece of advice: “Before you think about a transaction, think about what you’re going to do next.” I realized this is rooted in the fact that we entrepreneurs go ninety to nothing and don’t think about what’s next. We, at times, are just trying to get through the day. My perspective would be to not forget why you were put on this Earth, you may not get the next moment to do the things you want. I find myself enormously fortunate that I was made to understand that very early in life. More importantly, we now have the wherewithal to take care of the things that need to be taken care of, to not rush through conversations, and look to do things that have a multi-generational view.  A transaction gives you an opportunity to create endowed giving, not just from a financial perspective, but also from learnings from living.

CA: It’s clear you’re doing your best to not waste your time. How do you think through these efforts so they last well into the future?

RS: As an entrepreneur, you always look at sustainability. It allows you to make good decisions. You don’t cut corners, you don’t accept reputational risk, and you don’t do things that will set up your team for failure. It’s no different outside of business. When our family looked at these opportunities early on, we put financial resources in donor-advised funds to try to build a pot that, over time and then of course through our transaction, could build an annuitized giving program. We earmarked a certain amount of dollars and committed to generating a certain amount so our initiatives could be financially supported beyond our lifetime.

Secondly, through this ethos of giving, we wanted the ethos of responsibility ingrained in our two children. The only way we can expect others to follow is if we engender that mindset within our own family.

The third piece, which I am very grateful for, came from a friend who is an estate attorney. He gave me a blank page to become part of the will and said, “Write freely so that, someday, when others are wondering what Grandpa Rizwan actually meant, they can read your words.”

I find some of these activities can, sometimes, be difficult, it looks right at mortality, yet it also brings the greatest amount of clarity to you and hopefully those who come behind you.

I absolutely believe, and hope we’ve taught our children, that if you’ve been given the gift of wisdom, if you’ve been given the gift of financial freedom, if you’ve been given the gift of time – these gifts come with a call to remain accountable to helping others.

Rizwan Sheikh is a former Clearsight Advisors client. The names and marks of other companies or their services or products may be the trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify such companies or their services or products and not to indicate endorsement, sponsorship, or ownership by Clearsight Advisors. The information, views, opinions, and positions expressed by in this conversation are those of the individual who made the statement and do not necessarily reflect the policies, views, opinions, and positions of Clearsight Advisors.