Vishen Lakhiani

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Vishen Lakhiani
Vishen Lakhiani 2012.jpg
Born (1976-01-14) January 14, 1976 (age 45)
NationalityMalaysian
EducationBachelor of Engineering
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur
  • Author
  • Speaker
TitleCo-founder
Spouse(s)
Kristina Mänd
​
​
(m. 2000; div. 2019)​
Children2

Vishen Lakhiani (born January 14, 1976) is a Malaysian entrepreneur,[1][2] author, and motivational speaker, of Indian descent.[3] He is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley and the author of two books: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass.[4]

Career[]

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Lakhiani attended Malaysian government school. After graduating from high school, he moved to the United States and attended the University of Michigan where he received a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2001, he moved to Silicon Valley.[5]

Mindvalley[]

Vishen Lakhiani addressing audience in a seminar (2018)

Mindvalley is an educational technology company co-founded by Vishen Lakhiani and Michael Reining that publishes products focused on personal spiritual development and lifelong learning[vague], such as the meditation app Omvana.[6] Founded in New York in December 2002, Reining and Lakhiani were forced to relocate Mindvalley to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2004 when the United States declined to renew Lakhiani's work visa.[7] Mindvalley is an education company that offers teaching programs on mindfulness, meditation, personal growth, fitness, and health.

In late 2020, Mindvalley added a course on accessing altered states of mind and intuition called the Silva Method hosted by Lakhiani.[8]

Dealmates[]

Dealmates was a Malaysian-based e-commerce site that Lakhiani founded in Nov 1, 2010 with Patrick Grove as part of a joint-venture between Catcha Group and Mindvalley.[9][10] Dealmates allegedly offered discounts from fashion, beauty, cosmetics, electronics and other vendors with allegedly over 30,000 visitors a day. Their website does not exist anymore.

Blinklist and A-Fest[]

Blinklist was a social bookmarking service, allowed users to organize their bookmarks based on keyword tags, see how others rated their bookmarks and view recently added, popular, or hot public bookmarks. The site has been turned into a tech-related blog featuring stories about startups and apps.[11]

Lakhiani has also founded A-Fest, an invite-only conference offering training in entrepreneurship and mindfulness.

Book[]

In May 2016, Vishen Lakhiani published the self-help book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind through Rodale, Inc. In the book, Lakhiani argues that a person's outlook on life is shaped by conditioning and habit, and offers 10 laws to help readers break free of this mindset. After its release, the book reached #10 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous.[12][13][14]

In 2020 Vishen’s second book “The Buddha & the Badass'' was published by Penguin-RandomHouse. The book peaked at number #1 on the Wall Street Journal Business Hardcover List[15] and #9 on the New York Times How-To list.[16]

Recognition[]

At XPRIZE's Visioneering Event in 2015, Lakhiani was a member of the team that won the audience's vote for the best new XPRIZE Idea, involving housing for refugees,[17]

Lakhiani was named "Most Strategic Entrepreneur" in the SME & Entrepreneurship Business Award, Malaysia, in 2017. The Award is an annual recognition program organized by Yayasan Usahawan Malaysia.[18]

Lakhiani is an AIESEC alumnus who speaks or advises in active support of both AIESEC and AIESEC Alumni International endeavors.[19]

Vishen Lakhiani was a recipient of two awards at Estonian Startup Awards 2020[20] for his work on Mindvalley. Foreign Founder of the Year and Bootstrap Badger of the Year for scaling Mindvalley with minimal venture capital. The Foreign Founder of the Year award was presented to him by Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.

References[]

  1. ^ Borzykowski, Bryan. "Meet the man who finds solace in a 25-hour commute". BBC. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  2. ^ "Be slightly mad, Mindvalley’s Vishen urges entrepreneurs" Digital News Asia, Published 21 April 2014
  3. ^ Hyland, Tim (2014). "The Power of Rethinking Everything". Speaker Magazine. pp. 14–17. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Kay, Michael F. "How Your Money Mindset Can Improve You (And The World)". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  5. ^ "How Malaysian 'brain hacker' went from meditation student to self-help guru". South China Morning Post. 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  6. ^ "Business that 'blurs work and play'" BBC News, Released 20 July 2013
  7. ^ "Luring Workers to the Middle of Nowhere'" BBC News, Released 8 October 2014
  8. ^ "The Silva Ultramind System".
  9. ^ Catcha Group JV Dealmates to get Intel Funding" The Edge (Malaysia), Published 6 September 2014
  10. ^ "Dealmates pivots its way into a stronger footing" Digital News Asia, Published 8 September 2012
  11. ^ "What Happened to the Social Bookmarking Site Blinklist?". Lifewire. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  12. ^ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Bestsellers for the week of May 29, 2016". New York Times. May 29, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  13. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: 10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed on Your Own Terms by Vishen Lakhiani". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  14. ^ "How Malaysian 'brain hacker' Vishen Lakhiani went from meditation student to self-help guru". South China Morning Post. December 29, 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Bestselling Books Week Ended June 13". Wall Street Journal. 2020-06-18. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  16. ^ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books - Best Sellers - Books - June 28, 2020 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  17. ^ Human Dignity - Vishen Lakhiani & Jessica Banks - 2015 Winner (Visioneering 2015), X PRIZE Foundation
  18. ^ SME & Entrepreneurship Business Award Malaysia
  19. ^ "Leadership For A Better World – AIESEC Alumni International". Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  20. ^ "Estonian Startup Awards 2020 - The Winners, The Nominees". www.tallinn.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 2021-04-08.
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