The young entrepreneur gets real about finding his passion, dealing with burnout, and making his teenage self proud.
By Caro Rolando
Ziyaan Virji used to think of himself as an average kid. He loved sports, podcasts, and hanging out with his friends. Schoolwork? Not so much.
“I was that student who never used to submit his math homework on time,” the Torontonian recalls with a chuckle. “I was just trying to be the cool kid in class.”
Raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Virji moved to Mombasa, Kenya in 2016 to attend high school. It’s there that his outlook on life — and himself — changed forever.
The following year, when Virji was 15, he was hospitalized for dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus that in severe cases can lead to life-threatening organ damage. While ill, Virji lost his memory for three weeks. He says the experience led him to “think about all these existential questions, like what is my purpose, and how do I want to be remembered? I knew I wanted to do something bigger than myself,” he reflects.
We sat down with Virji to learn how this pivotal moment led him to entrepreneurship through the creation of Leaders of Today, a digital youth-focused opportunities platform.
On the moment that sparked inspiration
At school, I was required to do a personal project about anything I wanted. I was scrambling for ideas until I watched a documentary called Menstrual Man, about period poverty [in India]. As a 15-year-old boy, I didn’t fully understand, so I asked my mom, who told me that when she was younger, she didn’t always have access to menstrual products. I was inspired to do more research, and I found out that in Kenya, up to 65 per cent of menstruators don’t have access to menstrual products. I thought, “I have to do something about this.” So, I created an organization called For the Menstruator. By the time I graduated high school, we were providing menstrual products to 25,000 people in several countries.
On challenges he’s faced
When I was starting out, there were so many times where I would try to fundraise money for our nonprofit. We would apply to all these different things, and never meet the age criteria, or reach out to investors and funders and a lot of them would just laugh at me and say, “Why can’t you just be a regular student?” Eventually, I moved to Vancouver for university. I was tired from all of my non-profit work, but instead of taking things a little slower, I went even harder. I only realized how burnt out I was when I failed my first course in university and almost lost my scholarship. So, I took a step back to prioritize my well-being a bit more.
On recalibrating after burnout
I went to business school. I always had this entrepreneurial bug, and I was trying a bunch of random ideas as they came, and most of them failed. Eventually, I asked myself: “What would my 15-year-old self want?” So, I started a Google sheet of youth-focused opportunities and posted it on LinkedIn, and it reached three million people. That led me to start a newsletter, and eventually, to found Leaders of Today, which is an AI-powered platform that inspires young Canadians to be leaders and global citizens. The website lists tons of opportunities for youth, including grants, fellowships, conferences, and mentorship programs.
On making his younger self proud
I think my 15-year-old self would have gratitude for my 24-year-old self. Looking back, I had my first major opportunity when someone I knew shared an application with me to attend a youth leadership program that changed my life. I spent a week in New York with 36 other young people who were all passionate about making an impact. I remember being surrounded by them and thinking, “Whoa, there’s a whole world of things I could do.” Attending that program opened so many doors for me and if I could do that — even for one other young person — then that’s success right there.
Explore the Leaders of Today database!
