SOPHIE AZAM, What it takes to be a Great CEO for the Next Generation
By Jules Lavallee
Sophie Azam – Serial Founder, Shareholder, Award Winner, Group Chief Executive of IgniteQuals Group and its Subsidiaries.
Over 15 years’ experience in both UK Government Education Regulation and Regulatory Education Compliance, as well as ex-Chairperson of the Chartered Management Institute’s Regulatory Educational Compliance Sub-Board.
Ranked #19 as the most popular article written, as a UK Start-ups Expert, for the Authority Magazine.
Winner of the Women of Hearts Awards for 2024 and various runner-up accolades and nominations in innovation, leadership and female empowerment.
The first UK Start-ups Business Expert to be featured in a USA Podcast – Stall Talk.
Achieved my first ever international trade mission to Malaysia, as Founder and CEO of Skills4Startups®, achieving a 4-city Skills4Startups® Festival Roadshow with wippd and the Malaysian Start-up Ecosystem.
Tell us about the journey that took you into creating your ultimate enterprise.
On 7th July 2014, after caring for my mother for 15 years, I lost the love of my life, my mother. My angel and my protector who stroked my hair and comforted me in my hour of need was gone. I was there right up until she took her last breath in hospital and never left her side. That experience never leaves you.
It was later that I learned, at the funeral, that my mother had confided in one of my relatives, the week before she passed away, and stated that she didn’t want to leave knowing “… that my Sofia would be alone…I worry for her more than the other children”. My mother knew that I chose a path of total dedication to my education and my civil service careers, and the difference I wanted to make creating livelihoods through education.
It was one evening that my mom said “…why not start your own educational company and create the products you think would make a difference to society”. You work long hours anyway so starting a business would be a smooth transition for you”.
And so, the journey of resilience and perseverance began in business.
What worked in my favour, was my commitment to creating an empire that my mother would be proud of.
It is important to point out that my mother was a great believer in giving children opportunity and supporting those who were experiencing hardship and deprivation. My mother was illiterate and would have loved to have received some form of education in Pakistan, but this was not the norm way back in her days. So, it made perfect sense to honour my mother’s memory by creating a group of educational companies connected through robust values and an educational mission to level-up the pursuit of success through a clear strategy redistributing the wealth back into purpose-led initiatives. This has been my ultimate goal.
Tell us about your group of companies.
I have been running my independent businesses – IgniteQuals Group (IgniteQuals Young People’s Education – 2021), EduEco+ (2023) Skills4Startups® (2024) and – for over 3 years as a Founder and Chief Executive Officer and single shareholder with no investment. I have just appointed new advisory board members across the 2 subsidiaries with business backgrounds and I am looking to recruit for IgniteQuals Corporate Business Board (ICBB) over the next 14 months.
The key to my success has been self-funding for the first 3 years to set the example for those female-led business owners that you can make it on your own and grow your business with minimum financial backing and then be in a strong position to bring in an investor that will respect and value what you have achieved so far.
IgniteQuals Group was born under Covid-19 and started trading within the USA from 2022 – generating a revenue of 120k thus far before costs. I saw that commercially IgniteQuals could be hugely beneficial across the alternative education market with unique targeted skills-centric learning products, and this led me to focus on creating an educational programme for early inception start-ups that were not too familiar with the business world.
Out of IgniteQuals both Skills4Startups® (Britain’s First Mobile Business School Festival) and EduEco+) the new digital membership body for Start-up’s requiring on-going training and on-demand learning) were born to change the landscape for thousands of early inception startups and the ideas generation, by using the power of education and skills.
What do you think are the key top traits of a good high-performing CEO?
I apply the ‘Thinking Fast and Talking Smart’ strategy in my everyday business affairs. So, what does this mean?
- The faster I think the more quality my decision-making, which reduces waste of resources.
- My problem-solving becomes much more accurate. As I think fast, I start to make quicker decisions, especially under pressure.
- Due to my quick action, I am often referred to as a very smart or a clever strategist and this has now elevated my confidence over the last 3 years. This skill has been in existence from my career in regulation within the UK Civil Service.
- My communication is not just effective, it is authoritative, which is very important when you are a start-up CEO. Sometimes this can be mistaken as ‘aggressive’ because I am a female-leader, but the reality is that I am very passionate about the power of education and how this can change people’s circumstances and environment.
- This approach has also helped me to minimise my need to delve into the details and keep my focus on the bigger picture, as many experienced CEOs do.
- When I do interact with stakeholders, I automatically create a collaborative approach.
What Skills are most important for those starting out in Business Leadership?
I believe in leading by example and thus I exercise the following key skills:
- Setting The Vision for My Enterprise
As a high-performing CEO, I am consistently passionate about helping others achieve their goals through my clear vision for the company’s future both behind the scenes and in public life. This applies to all the partners and supporters that work with me in some capacity. I enjoy discussing my vision at the grassroots level with young people, founders new to businesses and established organisations.
- Knowing when to adapt and be flexible
I now can adapt my strategies and plans to stay ahead of the curve. I started with one Covid-19 baby – IgniteQuals Ltd – and this has now branched out into 2 subsidiaries, Skills4Startups® and EduEco+. This was a critical move for my business, as separate companies can perform much better with their own boards and leaders.
- The Power of Consistent Reliability
I show up everywhere. I run my enterprise. I have performed at nearly 80 business events in the last 18 months to showcase my vision and mission for my start-ups. I have always been reliable as the face of my companies.
- Effective Interpersonal skills:
I enjoy building and nurturing strong relationships with stakeholders and always communicate effectively.
- Decision-making skills
As I have mentioned earlier, my start-ups exercise a fast-paced decision-making approach to minimise resources and burden.
- Humility above all
This is a trait embedded in me as a child and a daughter of an immigrant. To remain humble, as you become more and more successful is a quality skill to have and people want to then support you further.
- Risk-taking
To be a high-performing CEO, you have to be prepared to take risks. As a high-performing CEO, I have taken my fair share of risks from pitching my first business under Covid-19, to taking a new business (Skills4Startups®) on its first trade mission to Kuala Lumper, Malaysia. I must point out that Skills4Startups® caught the attention of the Malaysian start-up ecosystem, which was an incredible confidence boost for a young company. Currently, the largest project we are working on is taking our Skills4Startups® Festival Roadshow Model to LA, USA through our good friend, Celebrity Writer Jules Lavallee. This is a positive and good move for us, as there is great synergy between skills4Startups® and the third start-up ecosystem in the USA – Los Angeles.
We look forward to working with some great homegrown start-up business talent in Los Angeles as headline speakers, industry experts, academics, Inspiring keynotes, panel members and workshop creators for our upcoming Skills4Startups® Festival Roadshow – USA, June 14th, 2025.
As a CEO, I am proud to be working with my colleagues in the USA who are equally passionate about supporting our vision to create 100 000 financially sustainable start-ups by 2034. I hope to create a Skills4Startups® Office in the USA, by 2026.
For further information about Sofia’s companies or if you want to get involved in the upcoming Skills4Startups® Festival Roadshow – USA, then click on the following links:
Email: hello@skills4startups.com
Website: www.skills4startups.com
Website: www.eduecoplus.com
