Smoke on fire
An Iranian-born entrepreneur cashes in on America's growing hookah craze -- and dreams of exporting to his troubled homeland.
Building connections
Ali Nadimi founded Social Smoke in 2003 while a student at the University of Texas at Arlington. As an observant Muslim, Ali doesn't drink alcohol, so he started taking a hookah to campus parties as a kind of social prop. "People asked a lot of questions," says Ali. "Everyone wanted to try it. Then everyone wanted one."
NEXT: Launching a family biz
NEXT: Launching a family biz
LAST UPDATE: Aug 26 2009 | 12:37 PM ET
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