Amir Roughani comes from Iran and came to Germany at the age of eleven as a war refugee without parents or any knowledge of the language. Today, the 48-year-old family man is a passionate entrepreneur, has created 500 jobs with the VISPIRON Group and is committed to a fairer world. His company specializes in mobility and energy, testing battery cells in e-vehicles, for example, building solar systems and fast-charging infrastructures and trading in green electricity. His motto: "We can only achieve the energy transition if we connect sectors and make energy available."

Mr. Roughani, your career is impressive. You have won numerous awards as an entrepreneur and stand for integration. What experiences inspired you to do what you do today?

At first, I wanted to make a career as an industrial engineer in a large corporation. After the insolvency of the Kirch Group, I then thought about self-employment, which previously seemed too uncertain to me. A lot of people in my family were self-employed. My great-uncle, for example, was a Middle East importer for Ford.

In the beginning, it was all about growth and making money. In 2011, I was on the verge of going public. Then a trip around the world intervened and changed everything. Non-profit organizations in Tanzania, Antarctica, Mexico and Panama showed me the extreme inequalities and environmental impacts. Back in Germany, I no longer wanted to be the successful entrepreneur striving for world domination and growth. I realized that I had done everything right in my professional life so far, but not the right thing. It was now a matter of consciously deciding on a meaningful topic. And that was justice.

And how does your company contribute to a fairer world?

Fossil fuels create a lot of injustice. For future generations and through wars. I had to leave Iran as a child because there was a war over oil. Even today, dictatorial systems are mostly financed by fossil fuels. Be it Russia, Saudi Arabia or Iran. Democracy and freedom of opinion do not exist there. Doing something about it as an entrepreneur is fulfilling.

So I turned my company upside down, pure profit maximization and a strong focus on growth were a thing of the past. From now on, we took a close look at which projects we accepted. Today, every plant that goes online makes me happy. Because with every plant we replace a piece of fossil energy in the world.

Is there a moment in your life that has had a particular impact on you?

When I said goodbye to my mother at the airport in Tehran at the age of eleven, she whispered in my ear that the separation would be very difficult for her and would only be okay if I became something. It was a formative moment that still spurs me on today and gives me guidance. A North Star that is like a compass for me.

What does wealth mean to you?

I used to want to become a millionaire so that I could return to Iran with lots of gifts. Today, I have built up a lot of wealth in the company, but I don't define it in terms of material objects and prestige. For example, I no longer own a car and mostly ride my bike. I would like to make a large part of my wealth available to society again. For more equal opportunities, for education and climate protection.

When did you start dealing with the topic of finance?

I started day trading as a student, buying and selling shares, making lots of profits and losses. Because the losses kept increasing, I cleaned up the portfolio at the end of my studies with sustainability stocks and lost sight of it for 20 years. At a shareholders' meeting, I rediscovered the portfolio, which had now grown to 40,000 euros. Money that I donated to political parties and organizations for refugee aid.

What investment mistakes have you made in the past and what have you learned from them?

A fellow student and I borrowed a loan from his mother, which was quite high by our standards at the time. We promised her a fixed rate of interest and gambled with it on the stock market. It went well for a while. But in the end we blew the money and had to pay it back. That taught me not to go to the stock market with borrowed money and not to bet on volatile individual stocks to the same extent.

What is your investment strategy?

My entire wealth is now invested in my group of companies, mostly in solar and storage systems, in charging infrastructure or in the company building. These investments represent my investment strategy and I am doing very well with them. I keep an eye on the stock market, but investing my money in other companies is not an option for me.

What financial advice would you give your younger self?

Always swim against the tide, think anti-cyclically and keep your nerve. Good wealth accumulation is always based on finding the right time to enter the market. Regardless of whether it's shares, real estate or another asset class.

Which technological innovations do you see as promising?

The energy sector in conjunction with AI offers us an incredible number of opportunities. The energy sector with solar and storage is already very technologically advanced with exponential development. AI plays a major role in the digitalization and flexibilization of electricity, for example in the demand-driven supply of electricity for the hydrogen economy or normal businesses. We use AI to map our customers' business model as a digital twin. As a result, we know how much energy we need at what time and can therefore optimize prices.

What do you want for the future?

For the future, I would like to see more people like the Patagonia founder who change the world through action and don't wait for political decisions. Of course, the energy transformation is also a political issue, but the facts are on the table and we can make ourselves independent by investing in our own projects, generate sustainable returns and make a positive difference for our children and grandchildren. We should have more confidence in ourselves and just get started.

Thank you very much for the interview.