Haz Memon: The Community Builder

Guest: Haz Memon — Community Builder & Co-Living FounderHaz Memon doesn't believe in scaling. He's turned down market opportunities to expand to ten, fifteen, twenty locations because he knows that growth destroys depth. Instead, he's built something most entrepreneurs would call backwards: a sustainable co-living business by drilling down instead of expanding outward. He brings people together. He connects human beings in ways that transform them. And in the spaces he's created, over 2,487 people have passed through—including ten couples who fell in love without him trying to make it happen.His philosophy challenges everything digital nomads believe about location independence. Freedom, he says, is not about being able to move whenever you want. It's a state of mind. It's about being so content where you are that movement becomes a choice, not a necessity. Which means you can be free in one location if your mind is free. And which also means you might need to build a solid baseline—good relationships, financial stability, community—before you can actually enjoy driving into the sunset.This is a conversation about building community without scaling, defining freedom accurately, and what it really takes to achieve the lifestyle everyone's chasing.Timestamps00:00 Introduction, greeting00:03 What's on your mind right now - being at Chateau00:20 Do you want to retire early?00:38 What is it that you do - bringing people together01:00 How many couples have you made - 2,487 people, 10 couples01:41 Theory about digital nomads and entrepreneurship02:07 Ibi's parallel theory about co-livings and drilling down03:13 Tribal thinking, creating depth vs. scaling04:03 What does freedom mean exactly?05:14 Do nomads need to be location independent for freedom?06:09 Co-living isn't just for digital nomads07:02 Destination vs residential vs hybrid co-livings07:52 Focus on destination co-living for digital nomads and remote workers08:52 Real example: London office worker using co-livings for remote work days09:59 What are you trying to create? A sense of belonging10:28 Freedom is a state of mind, being yourself without judgment11:22 Co-living as home, welcoming guests as family11:43 The importance of coming with open mind and open heart12:28 Co-living Hub project and certifications12:59 Co-living mafia question - standardization vs soul13:47 What certification looks at: infrastructure, accessibility, sustainability, community14:48 Two years of research with co-living founders, debunking fake co-livings15:43 [Community-driven solution approach]16:00 [Letting go and trust lessons]17:00 [Growth versus contentment philosophy]18:00 [Opening spaces in Switzerland and Greece]19:00 [Personal philosophy on location and passion]20:00 [Living in spaces - three months, then five minutes away]21:00 Lived near first space for five years, then had to let go22:28 Opening second location taught him to trust othersRemaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/haz-memonGuest website: https://www.ourescape.coWatch: https://youtu.be/jXIhuXyjhls