The Magic of Doing the Right Thing

I wanted to cancel his membership.

Who could have guessed it would lead me to my future investor, my Godfather... and that the story would later be published in Inc. Magazine?

I didn’t plan any of this. I just did what felt right.
Here’s the story

***

After coming back from Thailand and starting ChessMood, I didn’t want investors. Especially not VCs.
The only exception in my mind was this: if our students became our investors.

If you’ve read our crazy story, you know, I was covering my own expenses and paying salaries by waking up at 4 AM, playing poker until 8 AM. Then from 8 AM to 8 PM, the team and I would build ChessMood.

Right after launching, we had about 100 students. I knew almost all of their names and surnames

One day, while checking profiles, I noticed this person: Badreddine Ouali.
He was paying a monthly subscription but had only watched a few videos.

So I messaged him:
“Hey, it seems you’re busy, my friend. Would you like me to cancel your membership? You can rejoin when you have more time.”
By his reply, I knew I had confused him.

“Avetik, it seems you’re a nice guy, but you don’t know how to do business, hahaha.”

Then he added:
“Keep my membership. Let it be support for ChessMood.”

A year later, I received a message from him.
“Avetik, I want to invest in ChessMood.”

WTH?!

I asked my teammate to google his name. She came back saying:
“Avo! He’s the founder and CEO of a very big company called Vermeg...”

Badreddine Ouali, the founder of Vermeg

The next day we had a call. Then another. And a few more.

Soon after, he invested in ChessMood — without negotiating a single term. He just said:
“I want to be part of this journey. I wish I had ChessMood when I was younger. Now I’ll help you deliver this joy to others.”

Since then, for many years now, every Saturday we’ve had our weekly call.
We talk about life, business, philosophy... and of course, chess.

I was there for his 60th birthday in Tunisia.
We rode horses in the Armenian mountains.
We searched for the best Japanese restaurants in Dubai

And along the way, he became the Godfather of my wife and me.

All of it started with one sentence:
“Would you like me to cancel your membership?”

***

My spiritual teacher, Rao Srikumar, was writing an article for Inc. Magazine called “Good Profits, Bad Profits.”
I told him I completely agree: you must deliver more value than you charge for. Sometimes declining profits, but doing the right thing, can lead to magic.
I shared this story with him. He loved it so much, he added it to his already beautiful article.

***

If I could advise my 13-year-old self, I’d say:
“The world will tell you about money. Make it. Make business. Make profits. Win. At any cost...
Bullshit, brother. Be nice. Do things right. And enjoy the magic that will happen.”

I’m not 13 anymore, but I’ve been living like this for a while. And I could tell you many more magical stories.
But I would love it more if you try it yourself... and then tell me yours.

I’m waiting

***
The magic of doing the RIGHT things, applies not only to business, but to any area of life. Even to chess.

You might feel stuck in your progress...
You might not have enough funds to invest in your journey...
You might live far away from a chess center...

But still, you can do something beautiful.
Teach a stranger to play chess.
Help someone in your club.
Analyze your young friend’s last games and send to their email inbox as a gift.

And then forget about it.

In Armenia, we have a saying. If I translate word by word:
“Do a kind thing and throw it into the water.”

You never know which wave will bring it back to you, what it’ll bring, and when it’ll bring. But it will. Something beautiful. Something magical.

With best wishes and love,
For your growth and fun journey,
GM Avetik (or Avo, as my friends call me)