Five questions with Soraya Darabi

Brooklyn-based Soraya Darabi's CV boasts a stint as social media manager for the New York Times, where she positioned the paper as the global news leader on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, partnered with start-ups large and small, and established award-winning campaigns.

The super-achiever was also product lead at Drop.io, the service review site sold to Facebook for a reported $US40 million.

She went on to co-found the application Foodspotting, named by Apple and Wired Magazine as an "App of the Year" (it was acquired by Open Table in 2013 for $US10 million).

Her latest venture is Zady.com, a fashion site with a focus on ethically-sourced and -made products.

She has sat on the digital board of General Electric, and advised C-suite executives from companies ranging from Disney to Time Inc. to GSMA on their digital and mobile strategy. She is also a newly appointed World Economic Forum "Young Global Leader." 

The over-achiever has also invested $US3.2 million across children's media company Hullabalu, Poptip (which analysed social media conversations for brands; it was bought by spooky security outfit Palantir for an undisclosed sum in 2014) and news app Circa.

Ms Darabi is heading to Auckland for the next instalment of AUT University's US Embassy-sponsored The Project series, where she will be speaking next Tuesday.

NBR asked her five questions.

NBR: Should established companies go out of their way to accommodate tech-savvy millennials [the so-called “internet-generation” born between the early 1980s and early 2000s] – or are they self-obsessed narcissists who need a cuff around the ears?

Soraya Darabi: If you’re an established brand and you want to stay in the landscape and you want to be not only perceived as innovative but also relevant, then it’s absolutely essential to not pander to millennials but to understand how they are engaging in two-way conversations online.

Millennials do not believe in one-way broadcasting – it’s simply unheard of – and so to be a savvy brand, you have to be open to that conversation and engagement.

Now there are a million ways to converse and to engage and it doesn’t have to be that brands need to be on everything from Vine to Snapchat to the next hottest thing since sliced bread. But I believe it is essential for executives in particular – many of whom I have advised over the years – to really understand how to communicate with young people who are going  to become not only the purchasers for the household, but are also going to be able to talk about that brand to their peers.

And so I think it would be naïve of a brand to think that millennials are narcissistic and therefore it’s worth ignoring them and kind of doing things via the status quo – rather, I like to see brands that take risks and think about engaging with their customers and reaching their customers in ways that are outside the box.

Examples?

I’m always happy to talk about brands that I think are doing a really great job because they’re so few and far between. An emerging brand that I think is doing a phenomenal job is Casper, a mattress company in the US.

You might think of them as being in a stodgy industry – you know, they’re selling mattresses – but they hired a product developer from IDEO, the world’s leading human interactive design firm, to make a mattress that’s aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable. And the way they communicate – not only through social but through their newsletters, their branding, the language and the copy, the playful tone and even their intuitive way of reaching millennials through subtle measures – is really outstanding.

For instance, many millennials believe in sustainability and get frustrated with brands that don’t have low carbon footprints. So Casper delivers mattresses on bicycles in small cardboard boxes that are recyclable. It’s small details like this that show how the emerging brand really understands the millennial consumer and it’s no surprise that millennials are their number one consumers.

In terms of larger brands, there are companies that have surprised me over the years. McDonald’s, for example, with their deep-rooted interest in Chipotle, whose advertising focuses on a farm-to-table mentality, organic ingredients in their food, using humane practices to produce the food. You know, they’re most certainly not the world’s most ethical company but it’s a far cry from the McDonald’s that our parents grew up with. I think that the way that they’re engaging in their marketing and their branding is speaking to millennials and I think they understand that morality and social media.

Are any New Zealand start-ups on your radar?

I’ve just learned today that Peter Thiel has a house in NZ and I’ve heard nothing but extraordinary things about the start-ups he’s seen there. Another woman I admire very much, an American entrepreneur and media executive, has a home in New Zealand.

Clearly people far smarter than I am know something that I have yet to discover, which is why I am so excited to come take a trip there this weekend, so I can meet entrepreneurs, hear what they are building and hopefully become more involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Another US election is coming up – do any of the contenders get social media?

I think it’s funny to think that it was just two elections ago that social media was an innovative tool for presidential candidates.

In 2008 we focused on telling people through the New York Times on Facebook that Obama had won the election – an award-winning campaign called “How will you remember this day?”, and it was considered relatively innovative to learn about a presidential win through Facebook.

In the following election, Twitter became ubiquitous and every candidate in 2012 began using Twitter to the extent where it almost took over the news – how they were using social media, how savvy they were.

In the prior election we had a nominee in John McCain who didn’t even have email – he used a Blackberry but his assistant managed his email for him and he himself did not email! So the world has changed so rapidly and so dramatically,

I think all of the candidates now are doing a pretty effective job with social. But the question is whether they are managing it themselves or is a member of their staff? It’s almost a requisite; it's expected that they tweet out in 140 characters.

But I’m not really looking for candidates to see how socially-savvy they are, what I am interested in is looking into their platforms more deeply. What are they going to do to continue to embrace entrepreneurship in the [zeitgeist] in America? How are they going to support innovation in the US?

Obama did tremendous things for technology: be it hiring Todd Park, a very famous entrepreneur, as his Chief Technology Officer, who’s since stepped down; or making it a lot easier for entrepreneurs to have roundtables with key people at the White House – a couple of which I’ve gone to; to really fostering and perpetuating programmes that help minorities and women get into entrepreneurship, technology and business. So all I’m looking for is a candidate that’s going to embrace the industry the way Obama has.

If you were still at the New York Times, would you have taken up Facebook's offer to host newspaper content?

Yes, I think so. I think it’s really important to partner with companies that understand how to disseminate and syndicate news … and the New York Times is in the business of creating the world’s best content – highly curated, exceptional journalistic storytelling. The Times is now in the business of being the world’s best syndicator so they must partner with new emerging platforms that have reach so they can focus on breadth and skill, which is always the core capability of such a wonderful organisation. The New York Times has been – and always will be – my favourite brand in the world.

Any hesitations?

No, not at all. My last drink was with someone who was on the founding team of Facebook. I have always admired the company so much for their tenacity and innovation – I actually think they’re helping the world discover news and information, in a way that’s hard to do.

When I worked at the New York Times I was shocked at how many young people were discovering the brand for the first time because of Facebook. You have to remember that this is the platform where people are receiving news so a partnership with them to continue to write stories native to their platform isn’t scary at all, it’s not going to diminish the New York Times brand – if anything, I think it will help them reach millennials in a more efficient way.

What's the most important thing you look for in a start-up – people, technology, ideas?

A team first and foremost, a passion and a know-how for what they’re building, and an intrinsic interest in making the world a better place. That sounds cheesy and clichéd but it’s true – I am a social impact investor, so I have to believe that ... I also like to think there’s an understanding of good storytelling or a desire to learn because it’s one thing to have a great idea – it’s another thing to know how to disseminate that idea and to stand out in a very noisy and crowded playing field.

I look for savvy, smart people who are energetic and committed to their ideas.

Is Silicon Valley and the tech industry in general a bit of a boys' club? If so, what's the best route to change?

Silicon Valley is absolutely a boys’ club. There’s no way around it, [although] certainly women are emerging more than ever and it’s exciting to see women and minorities begin to rise into greater prominence ...

I read the most inspiring Facebook post this morning from my friend Sabriya Stukes Sabriya Stukes [PhD, microbiologist and co-founder, Connect with STEM]. She was giving a talk to young girls interested in coding through a non-profit called Black Girls Code and Sabriya herself is African American. So there was a young African American girl sitting in the front row wearing yellow shorts, looking up at Sabriya up on the stage talking about her PhD and how excited she was about technology in the future and at the end she raised her hand but instead of having a question she just stood up and said "I'm excited to see you're a scientist" and sat down.

Reading the story on Facebook it brought tears to my eyes because I finally know people who don't look like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs who are working in technology. I have friends my age who are breaking the mould, so while it remains a boys' club now I think in 10 years we're going to see real diversity, real change, and I for one am hugely excited about that.

It's multi-pronged. I think we need more non-profits – like Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code, General Assembly – to break the mould and the intimidation factor, and I think we need more role models who will rise to prominence.

Years ago I was plucked from obscurity and my face was on the cover of a business and technology magazine. It came as a complete surprise to me but the outpouring of letters I received from young women saying they were moved to see a woman their age on the cover of the magazine, which they had never thought of being a possibility – that just showed me that whether it’s me or venture capitalist Aileen Lee venture capitalist or people like my friend Sabriya, we need more role models who are women and minorities talking about technology, and talking about venture capital. Because when we have platforms and when the media exposes people who look different and think differently to the masses, that inspires change that we can't begin to recognise – it inspires changes in Montana, Minnesota and New Zealand.

When I was in high school, I read an issue of the Hollywood Reporter that covered the most powerful women in entertainment. At that point I thought I would be a journalist, a political reporter. I read it voraciously, cover to cover, and I still remember the names of the women who were considered to be the most powerful. Diane Sawyer was one of them.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have lunch with her many years later and I was so impressed that the entire lunch she only asked me questions. I believe it’s that insatiable curiosity that will serve any young person well in any industry they want to get into. I always say that if people want to break the mould you just need to start with curiosity.  

You've just handed over the day-to-day running of Zady.com. What's your next challenge?

It’s actually a challenge I’ve been taking on for the past five years now, which is advising and investing in start-ups in the US and Europe.

Specifically I have a thesis for the companies that I like to get involved with – they’re at the intersection of design, brand, innovation and social impact – and of course Zady is a company that has all four of those pillars.

I become really excited [when I see] a wonderful team of entrepreneurs who can execute an idea that hinges on design, brand, innovation and social impact, and I want to get behind them with full force.