At age 17, Shahrzad Rafati escaped the war in her home country of Iran to move...

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At age 17, Shahrzad Rafati escaped the war in her home country of Iran to move to Vancouver. Living on her own in a studio apartment, she learned English, raised tuition money by teaching math to the local Persian community, and enrolled in a computer science program at the University of British Columbia. Rafati has since spent the last decade building BroadbandTV, a successful Canadian-based media company with close to 400 employees that draws more than 200 billion video views across the more than 78,000 creators in its network that has 587 million unique viewers. This makes BroadbandTV the second largest video property after Google. Rafati comes from a family of entrepreneurial leaders. Her mother built her own textile company and her father founded a real estate company. After completing her studies, she was invited to go into real estate but wanted something more exciting. In 2005, when YouTube was founded, she became aware of a huge legal battle between content owners and pirated content providers. Her idea was to get broadcasters to upload their official videos and connect them with advertisers directly so they could profit from their intellectual property. Success came quickly. "From day one, I wanted to work with the biggest clients," she says. And she did-landing the National Basketball Association in her first year of business. It has been an energetic career trajectory ever since. Rafati offers insight for aspiring leaders. "Creating successful businesses isn't just about having a stand-out product, true success ultimately comes down to having a team of stellar people." She suggests that leaders need to get to know their people. "Building personal relationships with your employees is the best way to make sure they feel heard." Developing a strong culture helps to build a strong company, says Rafati, who also recommends that leaders "put an ear to the ground and keep listening." Rafati also recognizes that every leader fails at some point in their career. Key, though, is what is learned from that mistake. "When I founded BroadbandTV we began our operations in the over-the-top Wwe content, however, YouTube was created shortly after we began. So, we changed our business plan and pivoted to where the opportunity was." She calls these "quick failures" and learning from them a key to her success. "There's a reason why trial and error has lasted so long." In 2013, Rafati sold 51 percent of the company to European media company RTL for $36 million. Since that deal, BroadbandTV went on to become the largest multi-platform network. BroadbandTV's valuation climbed considerably since then, with viewership rising at an astonishing rate. Revenue at the company is believed to have increased 20-fold to over $100 million. Her associates attribute much of the company's success to its "hard driving, rapid-fire founder." Mentor and business associate Hamed Shabazi describes Rafati as an energetic leader whose "charisma really bowls you over." Rafati's company is positioned well for success. Shahrzad is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including 2018 Ernst and Young's Pacific Entrepreneur of the Year (Technology), Canada's Top 40 under 40 in 2017, Canada's Top 150 Women in 2017, and Canadian SME Magazine's Business Woman of the Year in 2019. Yet, she is not resting on her accomplishments. Rafati continues to follow her dreams. She is planning ahead for the next tech wave: virtual reality and augmented reality. Like many other business leaders, she is continually seeking the opportunities of tomorrow. Case Analysis Questions 1. Discussion What leadership traits and style does Shahrzad Rafati demonstrate at BroadbandTV? What aspects of her leadership can you criticize, if any? 2. Discussion Is her successful leadership approach transferable to other leaders and other organizations, or is it person- and situation-specific? 3. Problem Solving Shahrzad is a big thinker, and BroadbandTV is clearly her baby. Yet, she has sold 51 percent of the organization to another group and there are possibly other buyers or an IPO in the works. What steps might she take now to ensure that her vision lives on at BroadbandTV long after her departure? 4. Further Research Check out the latest on BroadbandTV and Shahrzad Rafati. How and what are each doing now? Do some research to compare and contrast the leadership style and characteristics of Shahrzad Rafati with those of other tech leaders like Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. How are the two CEOs' leadership styles alike? How do they differ? For whom would you rather work? Is one leader better than the other within their situational context? At age 17, Shahrzad Rafati escaped the war in her home country of Iran to move to Vancouver. Living on her own in a studio apartment, she learned English, raised tuition money by teaching math to the local Persian community, and enrolled in a computer science program at the University of British Columbia. Rafati has since spent the last decade building BroadbandTV, a successful Canadian-based media company with close to 400 employees that draws more than 200 billion video views across the more than 78,000 creators in its network that has 587 million unique viewers. This makes BroadbandTV the second largest video property after Google. Rafati comes from a family of entrepreneurial leaders. Her mother built her own textile company and her father founded a real estate company. After completing her studies, she was invited to go into real estate but wanted something more exciting. In 2005, when YouTube was founded, she became aware of a huge legal battle between content owners and pirated content providers. Her idea was to get broadcasters to upload their official videos and connect them with advertisers directly so they could profit from their intellectual property. Success came quickly. "From day one, I wanted to work with the biggest clients," she says. And she did-landing the National Basketball Association in her first year of business. It has been an energetic career trajectory ever since. Rafati offers insight for aspiring leaders. "Creating successful businesses isn't just about having a stand-out product, true success ultimately comes down to having a team of stellar people." She suggests that leaders need to get to know their people. "Building personal relationships with your employees is the best way to make sure they feel heard." Developing a strong culture helps to build a strong company, says Rafati, who also recommends that leaders "put an ear to the ground and keep listening." Rafati also recognizes that every leader fails at some point in their career. Key, though, is what is learned from that mistake. "When I founded BroadbandTV we began our operations in the over-the-top Wwe content, however, YouTube was created shortly after we began. So, we changed our business plan and pivoted to where the opportunity was." She calls these "quick failures" and learning from them a key to her success. "There's a reason why trial and error has lasted so long." In 2013, Rafati sold 51 percent of the company to European media company RTL for $36 million. Since that deal, BroadbandTV went on to become the largest multi-platform network. BroadbandTV's valuation climbed considerably since then, with viewership rising at an astonishing rate. Revenue at the company is believed to have increased 20-fold to over $100 million. Her associates attribute much of the company's success to its "hard driving, rapid-fire founder." Mentor and business associate Hamed Shabazi describes Rafati as an energetic leader whose "charisma really bowls you over." Rafati's company is positioned well for success. Shahrzad is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including 2018 Ernst and Young's Pacific Entrepreneur of the Year (Technology), Canada's Top 40 under 40 in 2017, Canada's Top 150 Women in 2017, and Canadian SME Magazine's Business Woman of the Year in 2019. Yet, she is not resting on her accomplishments. Rafati continues to follow her dreams. She is planning ahead for the next tech wave: virtual reality and augmented reality. Like many other business leaders, she is continually seeking the opportunities of tomorrow. Case Analysis Questions 1. Discussion What leadership traits and style does Shahrzad Rafati demonstrate at BroadbandTV? What aspects of her leadership can you criticize, if any? 2. Discussion Is her successful leadership approach transferable to other leaders and other organizations, or is it person- and situation-specific? 3. Problem Solving Shahrzad is a big thinker, and BroadbandTV is clearly her baby. Yet, she has sold 51 percent of the organization to another group and there are possibly other buyers or an IPO in the works. What steps might she take now to ensure that her vision lives on at BroadbandTV long after her departure? 4. Further Research Check out the latest on BroadbandTV and Shahrzad Rafati. How and what are each doing now? Do some research to compare and contrast the leadership style and characteristics of Shahrzad Rafati with those of other tech leaders like Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. How are the two CEOs' leadership styles alike? How do they differ? For whom would you rather work? Is one leader better than the other within their situational context?