Daniel Seddiqui
Founder & CEO
Daniel Seddiqui is the real-life version of Where's Waldo. You may have spotted him harvesting corn in Nebraska, catching lobster in Maine, forecasting weather in Ohio, coaching football in Alabama, or even marrying couples in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. He's widely known for his journey of working 50 Jobs in 50 States -- an expedition he created through struggles to land a job after college. Inspired by curiosity and the will to discover, Daniel's ambitious endeavors garnered worldwide media attention, earning titles like World’s Most Ambitious Job Seeker and named by USA Today as the Most Rejected Person in the World.
Fearlessly embracing the likelihood of failure, Daniel is now an international bestselling author, highly demanded speaker, and director of an innovative career exploration program. He is the founder of Living the Map, which raises awareness of the varying cultures, careers, and environments across the country through outreach, educational endeavors, and community building. Daniel encourages those to explore the world around them, to understand and respect one another and to make continuous discoveries to better themselves.
Recently, inspired by the division in America’s climate, Daniel embarked on an epic cultural tour to better understand people and their passions. He threaded through cultures in 50 states to participate in authentic experiences, like sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Utah, shoot archery with Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, perform on Broadway, and celebrity judge a BBQ contest in Missouri.
In addition, Daniel has focused his research on the ways in which unemployment affects various communities and the social issues that stem from enduring job loss. Daniel has sought to implement new approaches to activism and public policy to address and remedy those societal problems firsthand, which he details in his upcoming book, Going the Extra Mile.
Featured on many national and international media outlets, such as CNN, Fox News, NPR, Today Show, AP, MSN, Yahoo!, C-SPAN, World News Tonight, WSJ, and MSNBC, Daniel has earned his spot as a job seeking expert and cultural analyst contributor. He has been invited to keynote national career conferences, like National Career Development Association and Cooperative Education and Internships Association. He’s keynoted on many college campuses; Stanford, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Virginia, USC, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Missouri. Other organizations include TEDx, Department of Ed, Rotary Int., and MENSA.
A homegrown Californian, Daniel learned how restrictive an environment of familiarity could be. He realized how small we make our world until stepping out of our comfort zone, whether it’s our field of study, environment, or fear of failure. Daniel’s a strong proponent of exploring the many great opportunities that exist and still to be created.