We were lucky to catch up with Ali Parnian recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ali, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The idea for Impact Delivered took shape long before it became a business. Years ago, I bought the domain name because I knew something in my consulting work wasn’t aligned. Some clients took the guidance, applied it, and transformed their organizations. Those moments made my work feel meaningful. Others ignored the guidance or pursued goals that didn’t benefit anyone beyond the owner. Even if the work was profitable, it didn’t feel purposeful. I realized I was trading time for money and not delivering the kind of impact I wanted my life to stand for.

That realization hit even harder after losing several friends and relatives in their thirties and forties. It forced me to confront how fleeting life is. I was in my late forties, financially comfortable, yet missing the freedom to enjoy the life I worked so hard to build. My kids were 11 and 13. I was present, but not there. I could feel the number of summers left with them slipping through my fingers. That awakening pushed me to make the hardest decision of my career: asking my business partner to buy me out so I could reclaim my time and be with my family while I had the chance.

After that, I spent a year traveling with my family and volunteering my skills for nonprofit leaders, friends, and entrepreneurs. I loved helping people who were doing work that mattered. That led to a personal challenge: spend 100 days helping as many people as possible, especially leaders who couldn’t afford consulting but were making a real impact. The results were unmistakable. I saw how much leverage there is in helping leaders build systems, strengthen teams, and clarify priorities. A small shift at the leadership level creates a massive ripple effect in the world.

That challenge sparked the question that ultimately created Impact Delivered:
What if I built a business that let me spend my time learning, helping the people I admire, and making the greatest impact possible?

I realized I wasn’t just searching for a business model. I was searching for a community I had always wished existed. A place where leaders weren’t transactional. A place where they cared about each other’s success. A place where people genuinely wanted to lift others.

From there, everything evolved naturally. Mastermind groups. Leadership development. A Life Blueprint process inspired by the framework that helped me redesign my own life. Strategy sprints to help founders unclog their businesses and reclaim their time. One on one coaching and accountability. And eventually, the signature gathering that has become a pillar of the community: Lunch with Leaders, an intimate table where leaders open up, drop the corporate armor, and help each other in ways that change their lives.

As it grew, one truth stayed constant: I am most energized when I’m surrounded by people I call “human unicorns.” These are leaders who have achieved success and choose to invest their time helping others succeed. They don’t need applause. They don’t need anything in return. They care because it’s who they are. Curating these unicorns and putting them in the same room is where the real magic happens.

Impact Delivered exists because I wanted to devote my life to work that matters, with people who make the most of their lives and help others do the same. It’s the most fulfilling endeavor I’ve ever taken on. When members tell me how the community changed their business, their relationships, or their sense of purpose, I’m reminded that I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do. Impact isn’t just the name of the company. It’s the result we deliver.

Ali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Today, Impact Delivered provides a set of high value experiences and tools for leaders:

• The Life Blueprint™, a guided process that helps members define what they truly want for their relationships, health, personal growth, career, finances, and contribution to the world. Most people have a business strategy. Very few have a life strategy. We fix that.

• The Strategy Sprint™, a fast and focused process that helps organizations identify their real constraints, choose the right priorities, and implement operating systems that free the founder or CEO from the day to day grind.

• Accelerator Mastermind™ problem solving sessions where members help each other navigate business and personal challenges with honesty and accountability.

• One on one coaching and accountability to ensure members follow through on the commitments they make to their life and business.

• And one of the most beloved parts of our community, Lunch with Leaders™, an intimate gathering where business owners, investors, philanthropists, and community builders share stories, open up about what they’re excited about or struggling with, and build meaningful relationships that extend beyond the table.

Everything we do is centered on helping purpose driven leaders create a life and business that supports who they want to become, not just what they want to achieve.

What sets my work apart is the type of people I curate. I often say that I’m a “human unicorn hunter.” To me, unicorns are leaders who have achieved success and choose to use that success to lift others. They help because they want to. They’re generous with their time, their experience, and their encouragement. When you put enough unicorns in the same room, extraordinary things happen.

What I’m most proud of is the transformation I see in members. I see leaders rediscover their purpose, reclaim their time, strengthen their relationships, scale their companies more responsibly, and support each other in ways that are rare in business today. I see people become more honest with themselves and more courageous with their decisions. And I get to know that the work we’re doing is creating a ripple effect that reaches families, teams, and communities.

For readers learning about Impact Delivered for the first time, here’s what I want you to know:
This is not just a business. It is a community built around human potential. It exists to help leaders live fuller lives, make better decisions, and have a bigger impact on the world. And after all the twists and turns of my own journey, I’ve never been more fulfilled, more energized, or more certain that I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation was built the slow way, the honest way, and the way most people overlook. There were no shortcuts. For a year and a half, I woke up every morning asking myself one question: Who can I help today? And then I went out and helped them with no expectation of anything in return.

In the beginning, people were skeptical. It’s not common for someone to offer real skills, real time, and real value without an agenda. But as I kept showing up, listening, solving problems, and making meaningful introductions, something shifted. The leaders I helped began introducing me to others. The impact grew. And slowly, a reputation formed around one simple truth: I do what I say I’m going to do, and I help because I genuinely enjoy it.

I believe deeply in the Buddhist idea that expectations are the root of misery. So I don’t help to get something back. I help because it’s who I am. Ironically, that mindset is exactly what builds trust. After nearly two years of operating this way, the reputation I have and the community of passionate, committed members around Impact Delivered came from consistently showing up with generosity, candor, and integrity.

This approach also acts as a natural filter. Leaders who value authenticity, service, and growth are drawn to this work. Those who prefer purely transactional relationships tend to move on. What’s left is a community of people who want to lift each other, share honestly, and do something meaningful with their time on earth.

If I’ve built a reputation in my market, it’s because I chose the long path: help people, expect nothing, and let your actions speak longer and louder than any marketing strategy ever could.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the clearest stories of resilience from my journey happened in the very first month of launching Impact Delivered. I lost my first two members before the group even officially began. On paper, that should have been discouraging. These were both incredibly charismatic, talented leaders I admired, and I imagined they would set the tone for the entire community. Instead, within weeks, both had to step away for completely different reasons.

The first was a close friend in the mortgage and real estate industry. Major market changes hit him hard, and continuing in the program wasn’t feasible. I refunded his deposit without hesitation because it was the right thing to do. Even though I would have loved to have him in the group, I understood his situation.

The second experience ended up being one of the most inspiring moments in the early days of Impact Delivered. Another friend, a creator with millions of followers and enormous influence, went through the early version of what is now the Life Blueprint. After a deep two hour conversation, he realized that everything he needed to reach his goals was already within him. He didn’t need new masterminds, new business ventures, or more external validation. He needed focus and permission to pursue the creative work he was uniquely built for.

The next day, he respectfully called to tell me that he was stepping out of multiple masterminds, dissolving a partnership, and choosing not to join my group. But he also told me something that changed the way I viewed my work: that conversation gave him the clarity he had been searching for. He was finally aligned with what he truly wanted to create. He offered to pay for my time, but of course I declined. The clarity was the win. The impact was enough.

On the surface, losing two rock star members at the beginning could have felt like a setback. But I didn’t see it that way. It taught me that I was on the right track. That sometimes helping someone means empowering them to take a path that doesn’t include you. And that not everyone needs a community if they already have absolute clarity.

Most importantly, it forced me to dig deeper. It pushed me to go out, meet new leaders, refine the program, and get crystal clear about who Impact Delivered is really for. It reminded me that building something meaningful isn’t supposed to be easy. You don’t find human unicorns by accident. You find them through persistence, intentionality, and a willingness to stay the course when the early momentum doesn’t go the way you expected.

That early moment of loss became one of the greatest gifts. It sharpened my vision and strengthened my resolve to build a community so valuable, so aligned, and so impactful that if it existed and I wasn’t the one who created it, I would have joined it myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://impactdelivered.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/impactdelivered
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ali.parnian.az
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliparnian/
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAE8Q8mv2Z-a4AgZWlcoxPw?sub_confirmation=1