In this episode, Rustam Irani shares his personal journey from engineering to marketing, and how pivotal moments shaped his passion for higher education marketing. Dan Sanchez interviews Rustam to uncover his origin story, exploring how early career experiences, family influences, and meaningful professional shifts led him to dedicate his work to transforming student lives through education marketing. Rustam reflects on the dual meaning of ROI—not just institutional returns, but the life-changing return on investment for individual students.
Resources Mentioned
- Simon Sinek on "Start with Why" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
Timestamps
- 00:01 – 02:23: Rustam’s early career in engineering and decision to pursue an MBA in marketing
- 02:30 – 04:03: Family influences and discovering a passion for marketing
- 04:19 – 06:25: Transition into education marketing and the blend of data-driven and creative work
- 07:49 – 09:40: Why Rustam stayed in higher education and the importance of purpose
- 09:51 – 11:20: Emotional moments at graduations and realizing the true impact of education
- 12:56 – 14:46: Memorable campaign using early Facebook lead ads and its ripple effect
- 14:48 – 17:54: Insights from working both agency and in-house marketing, and the importance of marketing-admissions alignment
- 18:00 – 20:42: Expanding ROI beyond metrics to include personal and team transformation
