Introduction

Hadee Haque, is Co-Founder and COO of InsightX, an AI-powered analytics and strategy platform for businesses. He is also the founder of his own marketing agency, XPRT Marketing. He is described as an entrepreneur and a hustler with experience serving clients across various industries. (View the full interview on YouTube).

Personal Journey

• Early influences and education: Hadee grew up in Dallas, attending Islamic schools (BHA and IQA) before moving to public school from 5th grade. His involvement with the EPIC youth group was a major formative influence, where he first started creating marketing flyers. He attended the University of North Texas (UNT), majoring in Communication Design, a mix of graphic design and business.

• Role of Islamic faith in career choices: His faith instilled strong moral values that directly influence his professional conduct. He avoids working with clients in industries that conflict with his values (e.g., alcohol, immigration enforcement). He also uses his faith as a point of connection and dawah in professional settings, such as explaining his prayer breaks and Eid holidays to colleagues.

• Challenges faced as a Muslim professional: Navigating a corporate culture centered around “happy hours” and networking events where alcohol is present was a challenge. He also faced questions and occasional judgment for his religious practices, like taking breaks for Jumu’ah prayers, but he learned to set clear boundaries from the start.

• Key turning points and decisions: A key turning point was realizing in his first corporate job that data is essential to effective marketing, moving him beyond creative, intuition-based campaigns. Another was creating his own t-shirt company to teach himself social media marketing, which helped him skip entry-level roles and secure a more advanced position right after graduation.

Industry Deep Dive

• Current role and responsibilities: At InsightX, Hadee is building a platform that allows business owners to connect all their data (e.g., QuickBooks, CRM, payment systems, marketing tools) to gain a holistic view of their business and receive AI-powered strategic insights. At XPRT Marketing, he provides marketing consulting and strategy for small businesses.

• Corporate ethics discussion: Hadee emphasizes the importance of intention (niyyah) and upholding Islamic values like honesty and integrity in business. He believes in setting clear ethical boundaries with clients and not taking advantage of accommodations given by employers (like flexible hours for prayer).

• Specific cases of corporate misconduct in their field: He did not discuss a specific case of corporate misconduct but highlighted a common ethical challenge in marketing agencies: the lack of data transparency. He shared an anecdote of a client who spent $15,000 on a billboard on an agency’s advice but had no way to track its return on investment, leading to wasted money and misplaced blame.

• How Muslim professionals can navigate ethical dilemmas: He advises to always prioritize Allah in your intentions. When facing a dilemma, make decisions with the consciousness of Allah, and trust that the outcome will be better, as exemplified by the story of the Microsoft employee who spoke out and was subsequently rewarded with a better opportunity.

Resources and Advice Segment

• Essential resources for aspiring professionals: Hadee recommends gaining hands-on experience through personal projects (like his t-shirt company) and freelance work to build a robust portfolio and practical skills.

• Mentorship opportunities: Hadee is open to being contacted for mentorship, advising people to be patient as he is also on a learning journey.

• Organizations supporting Muslim professionals: While not mentioned by name, his journey was heavily supported by community organizations like the EPIC Masjid and youth group.

• Practical advice for industry newcomers: His key advice is to put Allah first in all decisions. Professionally, he advises only taking on clients or projects where you are confident you can deliver a 10/10 job, as your success is tied to the client’s success. Communicate your religious needs (like prayer times) clearly and professionally from the outset during job interviews.

Accountability Focus

• Discussion of specific corporations with problematic records: The conversation did not focus on analyzing specific corporations but used Microsoft as an example of a company whose contracts were protested against by an employee on ethical grounds.

• Analysis of human rights violations or war crimes connections: This was not explicitly detailed, but the context was the employee’s protest against Microsoft’s involvement in projects connected to human rights violations.

• Ways to advocate for corporate accountability: The primary example given was the powerful act of conscientious objection. The story of the Microsoft employee who spoke out in a company-wide meeting and resigned was highlighted as the bravest form of advocacy.

• Alternative ethical options within the industry: The alternative is to seek or create opportunities at more ethical companies. The Microsoft employee’s move to a different organization (Yaqeen Institute was mentioned) was presented as a positive outcome of taking a principled stand.

Closing Reflections

• Final advice from guest: Hadee’s final and most important piece of advice is to keep Allah in mind with every decision, big or small. If your intention is for Allah, the outcome will ultimately be for your benefit, even if it’s not immediately apparent.

• Contact Information to reach guest speaker: The best way to reach Hadee is via LinkedIn. He is responsive to professional inquiries.

• Call to action for listeners:

  • For XPRT Marketing: Businesses needing marketing help or strategy audits are encouraged to reach out to Hadee.

  • For InsightX: The company is currently raising a pre-seed round, and Hadee is seeking investors.