From Persian family pressure to Shark Tank success! Zoya was expected to follow the traditional Middle Eastern path—become a lawyer, get married, and live the “perfect” Persian life. But she had other plans. As a gay Persian entrepreneur, Zoya had to fight against cultural expectations, family struggles, and self-doubt to build her own empire.
In this episode, we dive into: ✔️ How Zoya’s parents reacted when she came out as gay ✔️ The pressures of being Middle Eastern & breaking tradition ✔️ How she built a food empire from scratch (and made $$$ from content!) ✔️ The dark truth about raw fish & why she stopped eating sushi ✔️ Her insane Shark Tank journey and what happened behind the scenes
Watch till the end to hear Zoya’s message to anyone struggling to live their truth!
00:00 Intro 02:07 Cultural Expectations and Career Choices 16:18 Challenges of Being Gay in a Persian Family 34:28 Coming Out to Family 44:57 Reflections on Luck and Life 46:43 Reflecting on Life's Luck and Fate 47:37 The Lottery of Life 49:16 The Culinary Journey Begins 51:05 From Social Enterprise to Culinary Ventures 55:06 The Birth of Fish Foods 57:58 Challenges and Triumphs in the Vegan Sushi World 01:07:41 Shark Tank Experience and Future Goals 01:19:23 Discussing the Deal: Behind the Scenes 01:20:22 Shark Tank Experience: Expectations vs Reality 01:22:52 Challenges in the Food Industry 01:25:44 Restaurant Business: The Real Struggle 01:32:44 Content Creation: The New Frontier 01:34:16 Collaborations with Gordon Ramsay 01:39:13 Future Plans and Advice for Aspiring Creators 01:52:50 The Value of Engagement Over Follower Count 01:53:34 Earnings and Niche Differences for Content Creators 01:54:27 Negotiating Deals and Knowing Your Worth 01:55:20 Challenges of Sponsored Content 01:55:52 The Importance of Authenticity 02:00:02 Advice for Aspiring Content Creators 02:17:41 Personal Reflections and Future Plans
Follow Zoya
Follow Arrad (podcast host)
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:
CONNECT WITH US:
✩ Ourselves (production team):
✩ TikTok
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!