I had this secret. I robbed banks in my spare time.

Lives Less Ordinary from the BBC World Service.

This is not a good thing to do because police are after you.

Find out more at the end of this podcast.

I'm Felicity Hanna and today on Business Daily, the latest episode in our Million by 30

series. CEO and founder of Empower Ali Salama tells us how he hit that million landmark before

his 30th birthday and what he's learned on the way. This is sweat equity that you're building, i.e. so other people don't have shareholders

equity. You have that. That means that it's your own skin in the game.

Allie's company makes content that aims to improve mental health awareness in the Middle East.

He's experienced clinical depression himself. The podcast Ali

Presents, Empathy Always Wins, has had millions of downloads and Empower is valued at more than a

million dollars. In the moment, you can step your foot off the engine and things are still running,

that's when you know, oh God, you do have a business now. That's Ali Salama on Million by 30.

I started my chat with Ali by asking him to define himself and tell me what really makes him

tick.

I think I am a social artistpreneur. I'm an artist at heart. I'm an entrepreneur by profession.

I really care about people living the best quality of life that they can. I really feel for young people who don't have access to support, mental health support or well-being support. And for me, I am an athlete. My spirit is a spirit of, I would say, an athlete.

I always was raised in a swimming pool up to the age of 13, training around nine times a week.

And I've always been shouted at, yallabot, like, let's go champ, all that stuff.

So I've always had that mentality where waking up at five in the morning,

training with people who are now making world records in their own respective sports.

And that allowed me to today be someone who feels that this is my duty and my responsibility

...