Humans of Kellogg: Amir Alizadeh (2Y '26): The Power of a Single Dream

By: Tejas Niphadkar "I was so obsessed that I would finish playing games and read through all the credits, every single name. Then I'd write them down, search for them on Google and LinkedIn, and send emails to all of them, just hoping one person would respond."

This wasn't casual interest. This was Amir Alizadeh in his second semester of university in Iran, cold-emailing dozens of Ubisoft engineers because he had a single, all-consuming dream: to work as a games developer. He wanted to work at a company that made the games he loved and  become a game developer, no matter what it took.

"In high school, my friends and I would compete to see who could finish games first—who could get 100% completion. We'd spend hours and hours,” he said.

One engineer responded. He told Amir the path: start your bachelor's degree, get a master's, start at smaller companies, then work your way up to places like Ubisoft. Most people would file that advice away as a nice idea. Amir made it his roadmap.

"That was the first time someone told me how to do it, and I just decided—okay, this is exactly what I'm going to do."

Growing up in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, this kind of dream seemed impossibly distant. Video games were expensive and hard to access because of sanctions. The currency was devalued. When Amir moved away for his bachelor's degree at 18, most students in his program weren't thinking about studying abroad. It simply wasn't done.

But Amir had his roadmap. He and a friend started building their own game as a side project.

"It took us six years to finish. We had no experience managing a project—we aimed too high, and I was still learning to be an engineer. But we had this shared goal. We were going to develop a game and release it on Steam, no matter what."

When it came time for graduate school, Amir researched which countries had the strongest gaming industries. Finland stood out as a home to Supercell and Remedy Entertainment, a thriving gaming scene. But there was a problem: his parents couldn't afford the tuition.

"I was the first person in my immediate family, even extended relatives, to study abroad. Everyone told me I couldn't do it—that I'd miss my parents too much, that I'd come back after a few years. But I knew if I want to work at the companies that made the games I love, I need a degree they recognize."

He found his escape: Aalto University in Finland offered a 100% scholarship. He took an expensive language test, and thankfully, passed in his first attempt.

"The first few months were really hard. I remember going to a university party where everyone had these overalls with badges from countries they'd visited, events they'd attended, concerts…. I hadn't been to any of those places. I cried a lot that day. I was coming from a country with such great history, but the people there don't get to have many of these experiences anymore."

But there were small joys too. Getting his first debit card and ordering from Amazon for the first time. Visiting McDonald's and being so happy he saved the first french fries he ate. "I'd only seen McDonald's on TV. We didn’t have it in Iran."

Three months into his master's degree, Amir landed a research assistant position with a games professor. Then, after submitting a game he built as a take-home assignment, he got his dream internship at PAF, a 200-person gaming studio.

"When I walked into that office for my interview, everything was so shiny. I saw all these characters from their games. I was sitting across from two people, explaining my code, and I was so nervous. It was my first real job interview. A few days later, they called and offered me the position. I cried again that day."

Amir spent two years at PAF, quickly rising the ranks  to full-time software engineer before moving to a smaller startup called Quicksave Interactive.

But something unexpected happened.

"When I was working there, the CEO said something condescendingly: 'You guys are going to work in this company for the next 10 years.' I remember being hurt and thinking, why would you tell me what to do with my life? I love this company, but I want to take more responsibility and be more influential. That day, I looked him up on LinkedIn to see his path. That's when I learned: So many successful people in the gaming industry, just like my CEO, had an MBA."

The seed was planted for a new stop on his roadmap. After five years in game development, Amir realized something profound: "Games have always been magical to me. But you know how when you see a magician perform, it's amazing because you don't know the tricks? Once someone pulls back the curtain and shows you the secrets, it's no longer magic. As an engineer, I was learning all the tricks. I could feel the magic fading. I didn't want that to happen."

He started a small game development consultancy called Emerald Interactive, working with engineers in Iran to build educational games for a U.S. company. He realized he loved leading more than coding. He loved being a CEO more than being an engineer.

"I had gotten what I wanted from game development. I learned the craft, I worked in the industry, I achieved the goal I set when I was in high school. But I realized I love entrepreneurship even more. I want to take responsibility. I want to make a genuine connection with employees and help them grow."

Now in his second year at Kellogg, Amir is  pursuing the same single-minded focus that got him out of Iran and into the gaming industry—except this time, the goal is different.

"I'm launching my traditional search fund after graduation. I'm talking to investors, working on my investment thesis, doing an M&A internship to learn about transactions and due diligence. These are the things I've never been exposed to. The ideal scenario is to raise capital, search for two years, and acquire a company."

There's a lesson here that goes beyond Amir's specific journey. It's not about gaming or entrepreneurship or even immigration. It's about the transformative power of knowing exactly what you're aiming for, and being willing to adjust the target when you hit it.

"I think a lot of people struggle because they don't know what they want. They have general ideas: success, happiness, impact. But I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to work as a games developer. Now, I know I want to be a CEO. When you have that clarity, everything else is just execution. You know which scholarship to apply for, which email to send, which job to take, which pivot to make."

It's been almost two years since Amir has seen his parents in person because of travel restrictions. The pain of distance is real. But so is the power of having a dream so clear, so specific, that it pulls you across oceans and through impossible barriers.

"That day when I got a response from that Ubisoft developer was the moment everything changed. I knew exactly what I wanted. And I've learned that when you know what you want that clearly, you'll find a way. You just will."

Amir Alizadeh is a second-year MBA student at Kellogg, specializing in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition. He previously worked as a software engineer in the gaming industry in Finland and is preparing to launch his search fund in 2025. Read More Humans of Kellogg Features: Isabelle Hofgaertner, Former Nike Intern John Gilmore (JV)