From Employee to Entrepreneur: Mr. Mohammed Naeem Reveals His Story of Ups & Downs!

Understanding the inescapable vicissitude of life pushes an individual to achieve his dreams with more equanimity. That’s what the journey of Mr. Mohammed Naeem speaks of. He founded the esteemed and fastest developing regional healthcare group, Sunrise Group of Companies. The organization has a growing portfolio of companies, including Sunrise Diagnostic Laboratory, Sunrise Clinical Services, Sunrise Second Chance Foundation, SmartGen DX and Sunrise Care. They offer comprehensive treatment, preventive and diagnostic services, specifically in cases of substance use disorder. 

Since 2009, Sunrise Group has witnessed more than 30% annualized growth rate and is now exploring organic and inorganic strategies for development. In a recent talk with Mr. Naeem, he revealed the unexplored part of life from a young age to a successful entrepreneur and how he built this empire from scratch.   

Here’s the excerpt:

1. We have always seen Mohammed Naeem as a founder. Would you like to share with us your younger days and family?

Of course! I grew up in Pakistan and completed my elementary schooling from there. Like most other children, my parents have been my biggest inspirations who constantly motivated me and piqued my interest in obtaining better education. I also have encouraging older brothers who trained me to become ambitious, competitive and an achiever. Later, I was sent to New York to study pharmacy at college.

2. How were the early days in your career?

Well, quite encouraging were those days. Upon receiving my MBA degree from NYU, I joined Lehman Brothers where I made an upward trajectory to earn Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). The experiences have been enlightening and groomed me to become a better financial professional. Eventually, my dedication and tireless efforts made me one of the most accomplished Oil & Gas traders for the bank, working and managing a sales force with a large book of clients across the globe.

3. Is there any phase in your career when you tasted failure?

Although the initial phases of my life have been quite smooth, failure awaited me just when I believed to have reached the zenith of my career. When the market crashed at some point, Lehman Brothers suffered major financial losses following which, they had to close their business. The incident wiped out most of my wealth, thereby making me homeless temporarily.

This hardship was, however, a turning point in my life when I realized my potential and bounced back. Constant support from family and a close friend pushed me into business buying me a mental health adult daycare facility. In due course, I acquired a building in Irvington and transformed it into the most premiere drug treatment facility of New Jersey, the Sunrise Group.

4. Would you like to throw light on your accomplishments as an entrepreneur?

The Sunrise Group, which I developed over time, provides all the modalities of treatment to patients. By the Almighty’s grace, my expanding business has also been able to offer job opportunities to many qualified individuals. Besides, I own two other laboratories (toxicology/blood) which give me incredible advantages over other treatment centers. These have successfully provided HIV medication and treated patients with Hepatitis C.     

5. How motivates you towards social work?             

I strongly believe that progress can happen only when we move ahead together and not individually. Hence, if our society is healthy, I will be in good health too. One of my god-gifted assets is my ability to lead by example and motivate my employees to achieve perfection. Together, we provide top quality food to the clients at my mental health facility every day, all at my personal cost. The facility also remains open for everyone to visit and enjoy food during occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. We make sure to offer them gifts to take back to their shelters.

That’s not all! I have invested in some shelters too to change their way of treating the dwellers regarding food and other essentials. My sole aim has always been to improve lives in every way possible.

6. Had you not been an entrepreneur, what would you have chosen to do?

From my childhood days through college education, I have always been a well-trained tennis player. Had the opportunities after graduating from college didn’t come, the world would have been watching me on the tennis circuit today.

7. What are your beliefs and ideologies in your career?    

I travelled this long journey with the unchanged philosophy of providing the best possible treatment to clients. The humble beginnings and personal losses have all shaped me to who I am today. As an individual, I strongly believe in family values and leaving a legacy of success. And for me, success is to witness people earn degrees, live productively and contribute their professional knowledge to organizations like Sunrise Group.

Frankly, being in a business with the responsibility of many livelihoods on your shoulder, traps set everywhere to pull you down, unanticipated challenges thrown at you, it requires courage and resilience to stand erect. My faith and belief in God has helped me give back to the community consistently. I stood up against all odds only to walk up the ladder with motivation boosted more than ever. With the same confidence, I envision Sunrise Group to expand throughout the state of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and eventually across the nation.