Ahmad Khayami (1924-2000) is the founder of Iran National and Kourosh department stores. He pioneered the industrialization of Iran, forever changing transportation in the country.
“We were two brothers, poor in money but rich with dreams, walking down the road to success. It was the 1940s in Mashhad. Mahmoud and I washed cars for a living. With holes in our shoes, worn-out clothes and no coats, we walked more than five kilometers to and from work, washing cars well past sunset in the frigid cold of Mashhad.
My friends and acquaintances laughed at me. "Car washing is not a real job," they'd say. Even as they tried to humiliate me, I held my head high. "Car washing is the first step to manufacturing cars," I would reply back. Manufacturing cars was my dream. I would do anything to get us there and knew one day, I would.
With a wife and two young kids to support, I kept my head held high and kept washing cars.
In 1953, after I turned thirty years old, I sold the very first Mercedes Benz automobile in Mashhad. It was then I realized, life was showing me its good side.” - Ahmad Khayami
Excerpt from the memoir
Ahmad Khayami and his wife Marzieh Khayami
“My father, Ahmad Khayami was a humble and hardworking man who always instilled in me the importance of family. It wasn’t until I came into possession of his memoirs that I learned of his journey and how he started as a young car washer with big dreams and a hard work ethic.
Many people know of my father but they don’t know his story. It is my hope that by publishing his memoirs, future generations will remember his achievements and contributions to Iran and learn the lessons that I have learned from his journey.”
- Mehdi Khayami