Alim Maknojia

University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business

“Passionate go-getter, fueled by ambition, kindness, and an unwavering optimism, with a penchant for productivity and laughter!”

Fun fact about yourself: I have Black Belt in Taekwondo and I’m an Eagle Scout!

Hometown: Houston, Texas

High School: William B. Travis High School

Major: Entrepreneurship & Finance

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: ENTR 4320 Entrepreneurial Revenue

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

W.R.E.V (Real Estate Roundtable) – President

Wolffest – CEO

W.C.N (Consulting Roundtable) – Co-President

Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship- Student Representative

Plank Scholarship Award Recipient

Reynolds & Reynolds Scholarship Award Recipient

Where have you interned during your college career?

Centigrade Service – Houston, TX, Product Consulting Intern

Santa Monica Technologies- Houston, TX, Marketing Consulting Intern

Where will you be working after graduation? I will be working on starting my own real estate company!

Who is your favorite business professor? My favorite business professor has to be Read Boles. What sets him apart is his unique approach to teaching. He uses the case study method that deviates from the conventional classroom setting and has made his class an exceptionally engaging and intellectually stimulating experience. The case study method, under his guidance, transforms the classroom into a dynamic forum for critical thinking and lively discussions. This departure from the traditional teaching methods has been a breath of fresh air in my college journey, providing a more immersive and interactive learning experience. It is this innovative and engaging approach that has not only set Read apart as my favorite professor, but has also left a lasting impact on my academic journey.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Try everything and don’t be afraid to fail! Get involved and join as many organizations as you can for areas you’re interested in and talk to people in the field you’re interested in. Business has a variety of industries you can pursue and there are an ever-growing number of opportunities for you to explore, so if you’re interested in a business-related field you should absolutely do it!

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I always thought business was always about facts and figures, but it’s also about people. Relationships and network are such an important part of business, if not the most important. Throughout college, I found multiple different organizations, classes and opportunities that helped me develop these interpersonal skills, which will undoubtedly come in handy in the future.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? If I could go back, the one thing I would have done differently would have been to join the Program for Excellence in Selling (PES) at Bauer College early on in my college career. Sales is a huge aspect of business and PES does an amazing job of preparing its students for sales related positions while providing them with ample hands-on experience. After a couple interactions with PES students, I firmly believe it would have set a stronger foundation in my entrepreneurial and business endeavors.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? One of my proudest accomplishments during my college journey is buying my first house at the age of 22. Real estate has always been a personal passion of mine, and never did I imagine I would be able to make such a significant purchase while still in college. With the support of my peers and mentors, we seized the opportunity to acquire a distressed property I had found. Through hard work and dedication, we renovated and transformed the house, ultimately successfully flipping it for a profit!

Which classmate do you most admire? Argentina Guerra. Argentina is an extremely hard worker and pushes me to challenge myself and work harder on an everyday basis. I met Argentina in my first semester at the Wolff Center and quickly learned how active and involved she was on campus through multiple different organizations while also being a Bauer Ambassador. Despite all her commitments, we worked on W.R.E.V (Real Estate Roundtable) together where she served as my VP and helped me push it into new heights it had never seen before. All the late nights spent working on WREV or other WCE projects showed me her true tenacity and grit, and despite all the stressful situations we faced she always showed her resilience and found a way to laugh it off and have a smile on her face.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? Countless people have made an impact on my life that I cannot put into words, from family and friends, to professors, and even the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship have all changed my life in more ways than I thought possible. However, I’d like to thank my dad for instilling in me my core values, which I believe have propelled me to where I am today. He taught me the importance of a strong work ethic and showed me why things such as humility and patience have such an importance in today’s world, and why you should always follow your aspirations and never give up on your dreams.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

• Start and grow my own business!
• Obtain an MBA after a couple of years!

What made Alim such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Everything Alim does he seeks to make it better. He’s in a select program with a cohort of amazing students and every one of them in some way is better because of the energy and thought that Alim brings to our program. For example, he volunteered to run a “Real-Estate” Roundtable. Rather than having some boring experience, he came into my office and developed the idea of “working with a real property.” “How about we buy a property, fix-it up, list it and actually do a flip?” He found financing through one of our mentors, got a fellow student who is trying to start a construction company to do the remodel and another of his classmates who will be starting his own real-estate company to do the marketing and handle the sale. His roundtable hosted a lady who ran a session on owning and operating an AirBnB…he had 136 students from across campus attend the event. His quest for excellence has him performing at a high level in the classroom, double majoring in Entrepreneurship and Finance and carrying a 3.7 GPA. Every team he leads or is a member of is better because of his intelligence, sincerity and selfless effort to help it be better. While every student in WCE changes their lives through personal and professional growth, Alim has been a powerful force that elevates his class and all the teams on which he participates. Finally, he is one of the few students who has made me better. Alim has a habit of dropping in and discussing issues that help me lift and innovate a program that thrives off the spirit of change. Alim, his classmates, our leaders and our program are all better because of him.”

Dave Cook
Executive Director of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship

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