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Adam M Ismaeil

Short Bio

I'm currently CEO @ Low Battery – a digital media network connecting brands to GenZ through music & culture. Our properties include RapTV, an INC 5000 company, ReggaetonTV, Drip, Controller and more.

I was born in Paterson, NJ and I'm thankful for my family's immigrant roots which have influenced a lot of who I am. Today I live in Miami, FL and outside of work I enjoy staying fit, reading, traveling, writing, etc.

I write to clarify + share my thinking on life, sobriety, principles from being a part of early stage companies and anything else that comes to mind.

More Bio

Professional

I'm currently CEO @ Low Battery a media company building the world's best digital communities in music & culture – including the INC 5000 brand RapTV.

Previously:

  • VP Operations & Founding Team @ Archive. General Management of the services business. Went from 0 to 1 with the team, grew to ~50 and was heavily involved in culture, recruiting and performance management.
  • Duct Tape @ HVMN. Banged on the door until they offered me a tryout at a 75% pay cut and I said bet. Built the Customer Success function then hired a replacement and led BD / Partnerships.
  • Sales & Ops @ 42 Floors (acquired by Knotel). First taste of startups. Product was poor, data was great. I wasn't going back to the shirt & tie corporate world.
  • Management Consulting @ EY and Capco. I started my career in Dec 2013 when trust in financial services was still low after the '08 crisis. At Capco I did a lot of project management for big banks looking to renovate legacy (absolute fuckin' understatement) tech stacks for "money movement". At EY I did a lot of playing the business & product analyst, looking at competitors and helping banks launch D2C investment advice products in response to disruptors, a la Betterment or Wealthfront.

Personal

I’m 1 of 6 kids...

The product of humble NJ/NY beginnings and immigrant roots. My parents and grandparents came over from Egypt 🇪🇬, France 🇫🇷 and Australia 🇦🇺 setting a standard for work ethic many don’t understand.

In college I studied Finance & Economics but my biggest lessons were on the field as a 3x captain of the Men's Lacrosse team and 2x sport athlete balancing football and lacrosse through sophomore year.

I always say Sports Saved My Life. My approach to life is based on lessons I learned in the trenches. Even at 32 my biggest joy comes from working maniacally hard with a group and seeing everyone evolve as we go after goals.

Today I live in Miami, FL. Food sucks, weather is great, people are gorgeous but New York City is the undisputed GOAT. In my free time I like to stay fit, read, write and try new hobbies like spearfishing.

A lot of people - mainly females - ask what my astrology sign is. I give them my Myers-Briggs personality type instead :) I'm an INTJ and I think that's a better indicator of what I'm like.

Writing

One of my goals is to create more than I consume. I'll primarily do it through writing to clarify my own thoughts, document learnings and hopefully create some value for anyone reading along the way. I'll write about...

Business & Career

  • Culture
  • Leadership, Management, Decision Making
  • Recruiting & Hiring
  • Operations & Process

Life & Personal

  • Mental Health & Sobriety
  • Athletics
  • Music (hip hop)
  • Values & Principles