December 27, 2024 • 26 mins
Zuhairah Washington is a Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School graduate and the former CEO of Otrium, a global, sustainable fashion marketplace recognized as one of the The Most Innovative Companies of 2023 by Fast Company Magazine. She has scaled four multi-billion dollar companies and is widely recognized as a dynamic and visionary leader in technology. She has over 20 years of business experience under her belt including executive roles as a Senior Vice President at Expedia Group, where she led a 1,000 person global team, steering billions in revenue and General Manager at Uber where she grew revenue for Uber’s fifth largest market from tens of millions to over $1B in under three years.
Website: Zuhairahwashington.com
Instagram: @zuhairahwashington
Follow us everywhere!
Donate at the link below.
https://linktr.ee/TheBlackLandscape
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
You are listening to the Black Landscape with Andrea
Spearman, where Black excellenceis always trending.
Hello and welcome.
I'm your host, andrea Spearman,and this is the Black Landscape
, where we engage with emergingand established Black leaders
here in the San Francisco BayArea.
Thanks for tuning in.
(00:24):
Make sure to leave a five-starreview of the show on Apple
Podcasts.
Today's episode is sponsored by9301 Home, and more about them
later.
I am a light-skinned Blackwoman with my hair in twists and
then up in a bun.
Today I'm wearing my black andbrown glasses and I'm wearing my
(00:44):
burgundy sweatshirt that says,in white letters BU, because
that's all we can be.
And today we are here withZahara Washington.
Please describe yourself to thepeople.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Hello people Happy to be here.
Zahara Washington.
I'm here today.
I'm a brown-skinned girl, blackwoman wearing a red lip and a
black and white sweater.
So happy to be here, welcome,welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
We are always ready to celebrate Black women in
business, but take us back toyour roots.
Where did you grow up?
What was your upbringing like?
Oh, if you want to go way back.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I was born in Newark, new Jersey, so born there, my
mom and dad were never married.
My father gave me my name.
It's an Arabic name, an oldArabic name that means radiant
light and courage, and my mom'snickname at the time used to be
a wildflower.
And so it should be no surprisewhen I tell you, by the time I
(01:55):
was three, she was ready to moveon.
She wanted a bigger opportunity, and so she got a one-way
flight from Newark to LA whereshe had a girlfriend, didn't
have a place to stay, rented aroom at the Howard Johnson and
said I'm going to figure it outwith my three-year-old self in
tow.
And so I tell that storybecause my mom was the first
(02:16):
entrepreneur I knew and herinvestment was herself.
And so I grew up in LA fromthree to roughly 21, my mom and
so I'm really considered LA.
From three to roughly 21 to mymom, and so I'm really consider
Los Angeles home.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Wow, she said.
I'm just going to go and seewhat's what in LA.
Yes, yes.
So what happened from thereLike growing up in LA, I know,
is a different world than herein the Bay Area.
What happened to influence youto Harvard?
How did we get to Harvard?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I can't even say that when I was younger I really
thought about going to Harvard.
My mom tells the story thatwhen I was nine years old we
used to take the bus to and fromwork and school.
She dropped me off so shepicked me up one day from school
.
We were taking the bus home andthe bus stop just happened to
be across the street from UCLAand I asked her what are those
(03:08):
big set of buildings?
And she said that's UCLA.
It's one of the best schools inthe country.
And I said I'm going to gothere one day.
And I tell that story becauseI'm like what nine-year-old says
that or believes that rightthat they can.
But I would, you know.
And so I think I've always had,from a very early age, a desire
to you know, like achieve, andwas self-determined, if you will
(03:31):
, and I think that comes fromnot just me but the people who
came before me, who poured intome, even those I don't know.
And so Harvard is just anextension of that.
I never really thought I couldget into UCLA.
My college counselorsdiscouraged me from applying.
You know they were like applyto some safety schools.
People always say bet onyourself.
I actually bet it againstmyself.
(03:51):
There was one of my friends,farhad.
I was working at Nordstrom intheir cafe in high school and he
came over one day and he waslike, how are you doing?
I was like, yeah, I applied.
I don't know if I'll get in.
He's like you should for sureget in.
I said, yeah, right, if I getin, I'll dress up as a school
mascot and I'll run around thetrack.
And I ended up getting in.
I never.
He did not hold me to that, hedidn't make me do that.
(04:14):
But you know, he believed in memore than I did in that moment
as my high school self.
And so once I went to UCLA, Iwas determined to be successful
there because I felt like I'djust been given such a gift and
a privilege, right To like be inthe room and go to this.
You know, amazing university.
And I remember getting my firstA and I said to myself if I can
(04:36):
do it once, I can do it again.
And I pretty much got straightA's because I was just like I
can do this right.
Something switched on where Ibelieved in myself.
Just like I can do this right.
Something switched on where Ibelieved in myself.
And from there.
Once I had that confidence, Iwas able to then go back right
and funnel that to what I wantedto do next, which was graduate
school, and at the time Harvardwas the best for the things that
(04:57):
I was interested in, so I setmy sights on that.
I share this piece because Iactually applied to Harvard and
I was rejected the first time Iapplied.
I applied there and a few otherschools, but they made a
mistake of not just outrightrejecting me, they waitlisted me
and so again I was like oh well, they waitlisted me.
They didn't full out reject me,so they must've seen something
(05:19):
that kind of light So-.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Right, we're not completely out the door.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Exactly so, instead of just going to another school
that I really truly wasn'tpassionate about, I decided to
reapply and I said I submittedall the supplemental information
.
I was like, okay, I'mwaitlisted, here's this, here's
this, here's that.
Because usually when you applyyou only send a certain amount
of materials and I was fortunateenough to get in the next year
(05:44):
when I applied again, and so Itell those stories.
Because I think oftentimes whenyou see resumes, you see people
who have quote unquote made it.
You don't get all the like leftturns right along the way.
And those stories and those arejust a few of the things that
happened in my experience togetting to, you know, attending
Harvard for graduate school.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Absolutely Delayed, but not denied.
Exactly Amen, amen.
Yeah, I love it.
You said wait list too.
That means y'all are waitingfor me to.
Actually, you need to know moreabout me so I can be here and
upgrade your campus.
(06:26):
Okay, no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, you know it was interesting.
I mean it was not that big of atransition to me for a few
reasons.
One, I grew up in California asa black person you know what I
mean Like I was consistently oneof two or one of zero right in
classrooms or environments I wasin, and so when I was used to
(06:59):
being the minority, if you will,in rooms or the only one.
But at Harvard what was reallyspecial, one of the reasons I
wanted to go there is they hadthe highest number of graduates
of lawyers, like black lawyers Alot of people don't know.
I think they're like second toHoward in terms of black lawyer
graduates, at least at the timewhen I was applying.
And so there was a richcommunity of African-Americans
(07:19):
there who embraced me from dayone, and so I found my community
and I think from there thatallowed me to continue to branch
out.
But I remember my experiencebeing extremely warm and
extremely welcoming and not atall pretentious or what you
would think.
In those ways there weredefinitely people who grew up
with greater means than I did,but I never felt less than in
(07:42):
any way, if anything.
I think you know it's almostlike a great equalizer, because
we're all there and we're allgoing through the shared
experience, and so for me, Ihave very fond memories.
I think that would have beendifferent if I was an undergrad,
where I wasn't as self-assured.
You know, if I would have goneas an undergrad, I actually
served as a what they call housetutors, which are essentially
(08:05):
counselors to the undergraduatestudents, and I saw more of that
there in the undergraduateexperience, because you're still
forming who you are, you know,you're still kind of figured out
, whereas in graduate school Ihave very fond and positive
memories and had a very warm andtight knit community.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Ok, yeah, ok, I could .
I could definitely see what theexperience could be different
from undergrad to grad.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Classes are smaller too, right, so you have you.
Just, you know less than athousand people.
You know it's, you're in aspecific discipline.
Why choose business?
Well, I initially chose law.
So it's a great question.
I went to law school andbusiness school, so I have too
many degrees.
I was telling my kids this theother day.
They were complaining.
(08:52):
My sixth graders complainedabout school.
I'm like, let me tell you, youknow who went to some school?
Your mama and your dad.
Um, you don't know abouthomework, right?
Oh my, so don't get me startedon middle school homework.
I didn't know what I wanted tobe when I grew up.
All I knew I wanted was not tobe broke, and then I wanted to
help people.
That was the only like and atthe time that steered me towards
(09:17):
the law.
Because, you know, I didn'treally know a lot of broke
lawyers.
Law because, you know, I didn'treally know a lot of broke
lawyers and I knew you could usethat skill set to help people.
And so I was a politicalscience major and I applied to
law school and that's where Igot rejected the first time and
then reapplied.
But during my years when Iwasn't in school, I worked and
there was a I'll never forget itA guy named Josh Seierman,
(09:40):
jewish guy who I was workingwith, and he just planted the
seed.
He was like, well, why choosebetween law and business?
You can just do both, you cando a joint degree.
And so when I got into my firstyear of law school and I
realized, oh wow, a lot of whatlawyering is is fighting right,
is advocating, it's contentious,and I'm much more of a
(10:01):
collaborator, like bringingpeople together, like solving
problems.
And so in my first year of lawschool, in the library, I
applied to business schoolbecause I thought, wow, there's
this whole business world that Idon't know as much about and
was fortunate enough to get in.
And for me, business was reallyabout making money through
solving problems.
Right, like I'm a problemsolver.
(10:23):
If I see a problem, it's hardfor me not to like immediately
try to go and solve it.
And I didn't realize thatthat's essentially what a lot of
business is.
Right, it is solving problemsfor consumers, for companies,
and making money as a result ofthat.
And so for me, that not wantingto be broke and wanting to help
people still remains true, butI do it through the skillset of
(10:45):
a business person Growing up inLA.
What I saw as business was film.
What I saw was fashion, but Ididn't really know what a
business person did or how theyintegrated in that.
Obviously, those are bothreally big businesses, and so I
was happy for the opportunity togo to business school and learn
some of the core skill set thatI could then apply to numerous
(11:06):
industries.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So right now we're going to take a short break to
catch up on previous episodes ofthe Black Landscape Download on
Apple Podcasts, buzzsprout,spotify.
Be sure to leave us a reviewfive stars, if you love us.
When we come back we will hearmore from Miss Washington.
9301 Home is a candle companybased in Texas that embodies all
(11:38):
the warmth and love that peoplefeel at home.
The current holiday collectionfeatures fragrances of pumpkin,
amber, oak, spiced cranberries,cinnamon, macintosh apples and
more that bring to mind sharedchildhood memories, happiness
and love.
Purchase your holiday giftcandles and wax melt sets today
by visiting 9301homecom andreceive a $9 flat rate shipping
(12:02):
fee and free shipping on allorders over $125.
And we're back with ZaharaWashington.
This is the time for you toname drop, because you are a
busy, busy businesswoman.
You done been here, there andeverywhere.
Talk to us about your journeythrough some of the many, many
(12:25):
fabulous companies you've workedfor, guiding their business.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yes, so one of the first companies that I worked at
after graduating from graduateschool was actually a Bay Area
company called McFarlandPartners.
When I was graduating fromschool, I had multiple offers
from various of the big globalfirms Booz Allen, hamilton,
trammell Crow and was reallytrying to decide where I was
(12:49):
going to start my career.
And there was a private equityfirm in San Francisco, started
by a gentleman named VictorMcFarland, who was running a
fund that was doing exactly whatI wanted to do, which was
investing in real estatecatalytic real estate
development in areas that mostpeople had overlooked At the
time.
That was called urban domesticmarkets.
(13:11):
So think of things likedowntown Oakland, downtown LA,
harlem.
He saw opportunities here wherehe said, hey, no one's
investing in these areas, butthere's tons of density, there
are people who live here whoneed services like retail and
jobs and all these things, andso his investment thesis was
very interesting to me, and so Ijoined there and was there for
(13:34):
four years, starting as anassociate until I became a VP.
So that was one of my firstreally big jobs After graduate
school.
I also met my husband.
There was one of my firstreally big jobs After graduate
school.
I also met my husband therethat's for another podcast.
It really changed my life andVictor is still a friend and a
mentor to this day.
At this time, tech was startingto be more and more of a thing.
(13:57):
My fiance at the time now myhusband, had decided to go to
business school himself, and sohe got into London Business
School and decided he was goingto go abroad, and so we moved to
London.
We actually lived abroad forfour years.
We lived between London,barcelona and Dubai Wonderful
(14:18):
experiences there andprofessionally.
That's where I made thetransition into tech.
So I joined a company calledKite, which was ultimately
acquired by Yelp and is now theYelp of Europe.
So I was director of businessdevelopment at that company.
I then went to go start my owncompany, so I've been a founder.
My company was in therelationship space.
(14:40):
As I mentioned, my mother andfather were never married, so
grew up with a single mother.
My husband's family had beentogether over 50 years his mom
and dad and so I really wantednot to mess up this beautiful
gift which was my husband, andso I started reading everything
I could about what makesrelationships successful and
started a company focused onthat, basically a date night
(15:02):
concierge service and a mobileapp?
Yes.
And so you know, I still needmy app.
Trust me, I still need.
I need someone to make my app.
That was a wild journey, but,needless to say, we weren't well
enough capitalized to reallyhave a strong go of that.
(15:24):
And so, about two years in, Idecided I need to go back and
get a job, because my companywasn't making enough money and I
wasn't, at the time, able toraise enough from investors.
And I stumbled upon thiscompany called Uber.
That was just a baby.
When I was in my circles inSilicon Valley, I'd heard about
(15:47):
this company and they justhappened to be hiring someone to
run their DC market, and Iapplied, I interviewed and I got
the job, and so that was one ofa big chapter in my life.
I was at Uber for five years,left right before they went
public, from the time that theywere a 300-person series B-back
company to going public, so areal pivotal time in my career.
(16:12):
I then took a year doingleadership advisory work and
then went back into a big globalrole at Expedia Group, which is
, you know, the global travelcompany behind Expediacom,
hotelscom, verbocom.
I was in a global sales rolethere and then most recently.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, they definitely get my money.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yeah, good, yeah, thank you for your business and
then, most recently, I ran asustainable fashion startup
marketplace rather, and so thinkof it as a upscale TJ Maxx, and
so we essentially take excessinventory from premium brands
and sell it direct to consumer.
So you don't have to drive, youknow 70 miles to go to the
(16:55):
outlet, you just shop on app andit arrives at your door.
That's been my most recentexperience.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I love that because so interesting is the idea of
malls.
Even outlet has gone to thewayside, although it looks like
they're trying to bring themback and try to revitalize the
malls.
But it has definitely becometiresome when you could just
order online.
Much easier, much simpler,especially with so many brands,
(17:24):
like starting to give you moreaccurate sizing.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Right, the sizing is a differentiator.
You're right, because I go tothe mall because I want to see
it, I want to touch it, I wantto really make sure.
But you're right, the sizing isgetting better and better.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Yeah, quality of online marketplace has
definitely been on the rise andon the improvement, and thank
you for being a part of thisglobal fashion experience.
What was the name of this?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
The company is called O-Train.
We sold the US part of thecompany, but the European part
is still a going concern.
A lot of people don't knowfashion is a huge contributor to
waste.
About one in 10 garments that'screated ends up either burned
or in landfill and clothes thataren't.
Or you know there's tons ofclothes that are shipped
overseas a lot and you know onthe African continent that are
(18:23):
just creating tons and tons ofpollution, and so you've
probably seen some of this andwhy some people are against fast
fashion.
You know the clothes, thegarments.
It takes all of this energy,all of these resources to create
, and so it's really changed mymind shift.
I used to be a big Zara fanuntil I got more educated and
(18:43):
realized the reason why thatthing is $10 is because either
it won't last or it was madewith materials that you know
really aren't that great for you, and so I've shifted to now
focusing more on less garments,but quality, um that I can wear
time and time again, um, and soI think a lot of people are
waking up to, you know, thatpossibility.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah, it's so funny that you know or interesting
rather than people you know thatpossibility.
Yeah, it's so funny that youknow or interesting rather than
people you know, talk about fastfashion and in this way because
that definitely didn't apply tome personally I wear things
into the ground.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
You're like my husband, but he has the same.
He has the same way.
It's like okay, until it hasholes in it.
I still wearing it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
That's exactly how it is.
I if I had like a club dressit's now a nightgown, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Or I wear it around the house with some I don't want
your club dress to be anightgown.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Though I don't want your club dress to be a
nightgown listen, I'm gonna usethat thing to clean or I'm gonna
take, I'm gonna take it apartand use the strips for something
else.
It's gonna get reused in somefashion.
Okay, that's my, because I'vedefinitely come from a waste.
Not want, not, yes, family, orif I, you know, or if I just
(20:04):
grew out of something that I'veworn maybe twice and was just
like, oh you know, just growingup as a teenager to young adult,
I just let the next person haveit, clean it real good, take it
to the cleaners and then donateit Because you know, that was
just part of my community andethos of like, okay, who can
(20:24):
wear this next?
How can this T-shirt be turnedinto a tote bag?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
yeah, exactly, I love it we need more of that.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So, boss lady, what is the advice you would have for
those who want to follow inyour same or similar path of
being double degreed, or justwant to enter this business
industry?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yes.
Well, first I would say don'tfollow my path, get clarity on
your own path.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
That would be the first thing I would say.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I think when I was growing up, I was always looking
for someone to model after.
I think we all need inspiration.
It always helps to see peopledoing the thing, so your mind's
eye can visualize it, even ifit's just one person.
But I think don't contortyourself to follow a script.
It's more about the directionthan the exact path.
(21:22):
So I think, find those peoplethat make whatever your dream is
you know, real for you, right,so that you can visualize that.
And if they don't exist, don'tbe afraid to imagine yourself as
that person.
But I think we're in a greattime now where there are so many
models of you know, leadership,business, success.
Find those that speak and aretrue and as close to yourself as
(21:47):
possible and use those asguides, but not as a
play-by-play playbook.
And then the second thing Iwould say is it's funny a lot of
people talk about be you, beauthentic.
And for me, with a name likeZahara, I really didn't have
much of a choice, right, BecauseI'm so unique in just the way
that a first conversationhappens.
(22:08):
I've never really been able toblend in or really sought to
blend in, because it's like it'sa fail from the start, right.
So I don't know if you rememberlike there used to be all these
research reports around howpeople discriminate on resumes
because of people's names, and Iwas like well, what am?
(22:28):
I going to do.
They can see me coming 10,000miles away.
If they don't know what's ahair up, then they know what
they're getting.
And my perspective has alwaysbeen I don't want to be in a
place where they don't want me.
I want to be in places wherepeople say, wow, that's really
interesting, tell me about whoyou are, pull out more of me.
(22:50):
Well, that would be the adviceI say too.
Oftentimes even I did it earlierin my career you try to contort
yourself to fit into spaces,but really your success lies in
finding those places where yourunique contribution can shine,
and then that actually helps youbecome the X factor for the
next level of success or growthfor that organization, et cetera
(23:11):
.
And so, similar to the story Iwas saying about the jobs right,
I had all these big globalcompanies I could have gone to.
And I went to this real estateprivate equity firm started and
launched by an African-Americanin San Francisco, because it
directly spoke to what I saw asa way I could purposely impact
business and that's allowed meto be successful.
(23:32):
I never could have mapped itback this way, but in that
organization, that company, Iwas able to be my full self yes,
being your full self and stillleaving an impact.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
What's the next thing you want to leave your impact
on?
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Well, I'm a mom of three, and so I'm spending a lot
of time in this season of mylife thinking not just about my
success, my family's success,but the broader impact and
community success I want to have.
And so a lot of what I'mthinking about is like how do I
scale either storytelling orleadership examples or opening
(24:11):
of doors for others?
You know I do that in thepeople that I individually touch
, but a lot of time I'm thinkingabout now are like what are
some of the programmatic,systematic ways that I can do
that at even more scale to havea positive impact?
I don't believe you know thatall these blessings have been
given to me to hoard right.
I deeply believe I'm blessed tobe a blessing, and so I'm
(24:34):
looking consistently for waysthat I can continue to be a
blessing to others, even thosethat I may not know.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It's a blessing to be a blessing.
Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessingto be a blessing.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessing to be a blessing, yes
.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Thank you so much for chatting with us today.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
This is fun.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yes, I'm so inspired by just the work that you said
you've done and that mindset oflike well, if I can get this
first A, I can get the next oneand I can get the next thing,
and yeah, mindset is so much.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I mean, there's so much to mindset.
You know there's so so much and, um, you can't control why,
like what's happening in theworld, but you can't control how
you respond to it, and there'sso much power in that right and
controlling just what's in yourhead and your thoughts.
(25:31):
You know, one of the sayings Ihave is your thoughts are your
prayers, and so if you'repraying negatively on yourself,
then don't you know?
Then be mindful of that.
So we all have our momentswhere we get into ruts, but
building that self-awareness torewire right and rewrite that
script has been a key part of mylearnings as well.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, yes, oh my goodness.
Please tell the audience wherethey can find you or learn more
about you.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yes, well, two ways um zaharahwashingtoncom,
z-u-h-a-i-r-a-h.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Washingtoncom, or just at Zaharah at
Z-U-H-A-I-R-A-H on IG Wonderful,and these links are going to be
in our show notes.
Tap in and support Black women,black industry and Black
excellence.
Thank you so much again forbeing here.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Thank you, Andrea.
This is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Thank you for having me and thank all of you out
there for listening andsupporting another season again.
Leave a review of the show onApple Podcast or in the comments
of our social media.
I'm always checking and thishas been another episode of the
Black Landscape with AndreaSpearman, where Black Excellence
is always trending.
Andrea Spearman, where BlackExcellence is always trending.
You are listening to the Black Landscape with Andrea
Spearman, where Black excellenceis always trending.
Hello and welcome.
I'm your host, andrea Spearman,and this is the Black Landscape
, where we engage with emergingand established Black leaders
here in the San Francisco BayArea.
Thanks for tuning in.
(00:24):
Make sure to leave a five-starreview of the show on Apple
Podcasts.
Today's episode is sponsored by9301 Home, and more about them
later.
I am a light-skinned Blackwoman with my hair in twists and
then up in a bun.
Today I'm wearing my black andbrown glasses and I'm wearing my
(00:44):
burgundy sweatshirt that says,in white letters BU, because
that's all we can be.
And today we are here withZahara Washington.
Please describe yourself to thepeople.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Hello people Happy to be here.
Zahara Washington.
I'm here today.
I'm a brown-skinned girl, blackwoman wearing a red lip and a
black and white sweater.
So happy to be here, welcome,welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
We are always ready to celebrate Black women in
business, but take us back toyour roots.
Where did you grow up?
What was your upbringing like?
Oh, if you want to go way back.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I was born in Newark, new Jersey, so born there, my
mom and dad were never married.
My father gave me my name.
It's an Arabic name, an oldArabic name that means radiant
light and courage, and my mom'snickname at the time used to be
a wildflower.
And so it should be no surprisewhen I tell you, by the time I
(01:55):
was three, she was ready to moveon.
She wanted a bigger opportunity, and so she got a one-way
flight from Newark to LA whereshe had a girlfriend, didn't
have a place to stay, rented aroom at the Howard Johnson and
said I'm going to figure it outwith my three-year-old self in
tow.
And so I tell that storybecause my mom was the first
(02:16):
entrepreneur I knew and herinvestment was herself.
And so I grew up in LA fromthree to roughly 21, my mom and
so I'm really considered LA.
From three to roughly 21 to mymom, and so I'm really consider
Los Angeles home.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Wow, she said.
I'm just going to go and seewhat's what in LA.
Yes, yes.
So what happened from thereLike growing up in LA, I know,
is a different world than herein the Bay Area.
What happened to influence youto Harvard?
How did we get to Harvard?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
I can't even say that when I was younger I really
thought about going to Harvard.
My mom tells the story thatwhen I was nine years old we
used to take the bus to and fromwork and school.
She dropped me off so shepicked me up one day from school
.
We were taking the bus home andthe bus stop just happened to
be across the street from UCLAand I asked her what are those
(03:08):
big set of buildings?
And she said that's UCLA.
It's one of the best schools inthe country.
And I said I'm going to gothere one day.
And I tell that story becauseI'm like what nine-year-old says
that or believes that rightthat they can.
But I would, you know.
And so I think I've always had,from a very early age, a desire
to you know, like achieve, andwas self-determined, if you will
(03:31):
, and I think that comes fromnot just me but the people who
came before me, who poured intome, even those I don't know.
And so Harvard is just anextension of that.
I never really thought I couldget into UCLA.
My college counselorsdiscouraged me from applying.
You know they were like applyto some safety schools.
People always say bet onyourself.
I actually bet it againstmyself.
(03:51):
There was one of my friends,farhad.
I was working at Nordstrom intheir cafe in high school and he
came over one day and he waslike, how are you doing?
I was like, yeah, I applied.
I don't know if I'll get in.
He's like you should for sureget in.
I said, yeah, right, if I getin, I'll dress up as a school
mascot and I'll run around thetrack.
And I ended up getting in.
I never.
He did not hold me to that, hedidn't make me do that.
(04:14):
But you know, he believed in memore than I did in that moment
as my high school self.
And so once I went to UCLA, Iwas determined to be successful
there because I felt like I'djust been given such a gift and
a privilege, right To like be inthe room and go to this.
You know, amazing university.
And I remember getting my firstA and I said to myself if I can
(04:36):
do it once, I can do it again.
And I pretty much got straightA's because I was just like I
can do this right.
Something switched on where Ibelieved in myself.
Just like I can do this right.
Something switched on where Ibelieved in myself.
And from there.
Once I had that confidence, Iwas able to then go back right
and funnel that to what I wantedto do next, which was graduate
school, and at the time Harvardwas the best for the things that
(04:57):
I was interested in, so I setmy sights on that.
I share this piece because Iactually applied to Harvard and
I was rejected the first time Iapplied.
I applied there and a few otherschools, but they made a
mistake of not just outrightrejecting me, they waitlisted me
and so again I was like oh well, they waitlisted me.
They didn't full out reject me,so they must've seen something
(05:19):
that kind of light So-.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Right, we're not completely out the door.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Exactly so, instead of just going to another school
that I really truly wasn'tpassionate about, I decided to
reapply and I said I submittedall the supplemental information
.
I was like, okay, I'mwaitlisted, here's this, here's
this, here's that.
Because usually when you applyyou only send a certain amount
of materials and I was fortunateenough to get in the next year
(05:44):
when I applied again, and so Itell those stories.
Because I think oftentimes whenyou see resumes, you see people
who have quote unquote made it.
You don't get all the like leftturns right along the way.
And those stories and those arejust a few of the things that
happened in my experience togetting to, you know, attending
Harvard for graduate school.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Absolutely Delayed, but not denied.
Exactly Amen, amen.
Yeah, I love it.
You said wait list too.
That means y'all are waitingfor me to.
Actually, you need to know moreabout me so I can be here and
upgrade your campus.
(06:26):
Okay, no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, you know it was interesting.
I mean it was not that big of atransition to me for a few
reasons.
One, I grew up in California asa black person you know what I
mean Like I was consistently oneof two or one of zero right in
classrooms or environments I wasin, and so when I was used to
(06:59):
being the minority, if you will,in rooms or the only one.
But at Harvard what was reallyspecial, one of the reasons I
wanted to go there is they hadthe highest number of graduates
of lawyers, like black lawyers Alot of people don't know.
I think they're like second toHoward in terms of black lawyer
graduates, at least at the timewhen I was applying.
And so there was a richcommunity of African-Americans
(07:19):
there who embraced me from dayone, and so I found my community
and I think from there thatallowed me to continue to branch
out.
But I remember my experiencebeing extremely warm and
extremely welcoming and not atall pretentious or what you
would think.
In those ways there weredefinitely people who grew up
with greater means than I did,but I never felt less than in
(07:42):
any way, if anything.
I think you know it's almostlike a great equalizer, because
we're all there and we're allgoing through the shared
experience, and so for me, Ihave very fond memories.
I think that would have beendifferent if I was an undergrad,
where I wasn't as self-assured.
You know, if I would have goneas an undergrad, I actually
served as a what they call housetutors, which are essentially
(08:05):
counselors to the undergraduatestudents, and I saw more of that
there in the undergraduateexperience, because you're still
forming who you are, you know,you're still kind of figured out
, whereas in graduate school Ihave very fond and positive
memories and had a very warm andtight knit community.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Ok, yeah, ok, I could .
I could definitely see what theexperience could be different
from undergrad to grad.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Classes are smaller too, right, so you have you.
Just, you know less than athousand people.
You know it's, you're in aspecific discipline.
Why choose business?
Well, I initially chose law.
So it's a great question.
I went to law school andbusiness school, so I have too
many degrees.
I was telling my kids this theother day.
They were complaining.
(08:52):
My sixth graders complainedabout school.
I'm like, let me tell you, youknow who went to some school?
Your mama and your dad.
Um, you don't know abouthomework, right?
Oh my, so don't get me startedon middle school homework.
I didn't know what I wanted tobe when I grew up.
All I knew I wanted was not tobe broke, and then I wanted to
help people.
That was the only like and atthe time that steered me towards
(09:17):
the law.
Because, you know, I didn'treally know a lot of broke
lawyers.
Law because, you know, I didn'treally know a lot of broke
lawyers and I knew you could usethat skill set to help people.
And so I was a politicalscience major and I applied to
law school and that's where Igot rejected the first time and
then reapplied.
But during my years when Iwasn't in school, I worked and
there was a I'll never forget itA guy named Josh Seierman,
(09:40):
jewish guy who I was workingwith, and he just planted the
seed.
He was like, well, why choosebetween law and business?
You can just do both, you cando a joint degree.
And so when I got into my firstyear of law school and I
realized, oh wow, a lot of whatlawyering is is fighting right,
is advocating, it's contentious,and I'm much more of a
(10:01):
collaborator, like bringingpeople together, like solving
problems.
And so in my first year of lawschool, in the library, I
applied to business schoolbecause I thought, wow, there's
this whole business world that Idon't know as much about and
was fortunate enough to get in.
And for me, business was reallyabout making money through
solving problems.
Right, like I'm a problemsolver.
(10:23):
If I see a problem, it's hardfor me not to like immediately
try to go and solve it.
And I didn't realize thatthat's essentially what a lot of
business is.
Right, it is solving problemsfor consumers, for companies,
and making money as a result ofthat.
And so for me, that not wantingto be broke and wanting to help
people still remains true, butI do it through the skillset of
(10:45):
a business person Growing up inLA.
What I saw as business was film.
What I saw was fashion, but Ididn't really know what a
business person did or how theyintegrated in that.
Obviously, those are bothreally big businesses, and so I
was happy for the opportunity togo to business school and learn
some of the core skill set thatI could then apply to numerous
(11:06):
industries.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So right now we're going to take a short break to
catch up on previous episodes ofthe Black Landscape Download on
Apple Podcasts, buzzsprout,spotify.
Be sure to leave us a reviewfive stars, if you love us.
When we come back we will hearmore from Miss Washington.
9301 Home is a candle companybased in Texas that embodies all
(11:38):
the warmth and love that peoplefeel at home.
The current holiday collectionfeatures fragrances of pumpkin,
amber, oak, spiced cranberries,cinnamon, macintosh apples and
more that bring to mind sharedchildhood memories, happiness
and love.
Purchase your holiday giftcandles and wax melt sets today
by visiting 9301homecom andreceive a $9 flat rate shipping
(12:02):
fee and free shipping on allorders over $125.
And we're back with ZaharaWashington.
This is the time for you toname drop, because you are a
busy, busy businesswoman.
You done been here, there andeverywhere.
Talk to us about your journeythrough some of the many, many
(12:25):
fabulous companies you've workedfor, guiding their business.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yes, so one of the first companies that I worked at
after graduating from graduateschool was actually a Bay Area
company called McFarlandPartners.
When I was graduating fromschool, I had multiple offers
from various of the big globalfirms Booz Allen, hamilton,
trammell Crow and was reallytrying to decide where I was
(12:49):
going to start my career.
And there was a private equityfirm in San Francisco, started
by a gentleman named VictorMcFarland, who was running a
fund that was doing exactly whatI wanted to do, which was
investing in real estatecatalytic real estate
development in areas that mostpeople had overlooked At the
time.
That was called urban domesticmarkets.
(13:11):
So think of things likedowntown Oakland, downtown LA,
harlem.
He saw opportunities here wherehe said, hey, no one's
investing in these areas, butthere's tons of density, there
are people who live here whoneed services like retail and
jobs and all these things, andso his investment thesis was
very interesting to me, and so Ijoined there and was there for
(13:34):
four years, starting as anassociate until I became a VP.
So that was one of my firstreally big jobs After graduate
school.
I also met my husband.
There was one of my firstreally big jobs After graduate
school.
I also met my husband therethat's for another podcast.
It really changed my life andVictor is still a friend and a
mentor to this day.
At this time, tech was startingto be more and more of a thing.
(13:57):
My fiance at the time now myhusband, had decided to go to
business school himself, and sohe got into London Business
School and decided he was goingto go abroad, and so we moved to
London.
We actually lived abroad forfour years.
We lived between London,barcelona and Dubai Wonderful
(14:18):
experiences there andprofessionally.
That's where I made thetransition into tech.
So I joined a company calledKite, which was ultimately
acquired by Yelp and is now theYelp of Europe.
So I was director of businessdevelopment at that company.
I then went to go start my owncompany, so I've been a founder.
My company was in therelationship space.
(14:40):
As I mentioned, my mother andfather were never married, so
grew up with a single mother.
My husband's family had beentogether over 50 years his mom
and dad and so I really wantednot to mess up this beautiful
gift which was my husband, andso I started reading everything
I could about what makesrelationships successful and
started a company focused onthat, basically a date night
(15:02):
concierge service and a mobileapp?
Yes.
And so you know, I still needmy app.
Trust me, I still need.
I need someone to make my app.
That was a wild journey, but,needless to say, we weren't well
enough capitalized to reallyhave a strong go of that.
(15:24):
And so, about two years in, Idecided I need to go back and
get a job, because my companywasn't making enough money and I
wasn't, at the time, able toraise enough from investors.
And I stumbled upon thiscompany called Uber.
That was just a baby.
When I was in my circles inSilicon Valley, I'd heard about
(15:47):
this company and they justhappened to be hiring someone to
run their DC market, and Iapplied, I interviewed and I got
the job, and so that was one ofa big chapter in my life.
I was at Uber for five years,left right before they went
public, from the time that theywere a 300-person series B-back
company to going public, so areal pivotal time in my career.
(16:12):
I then took a year doingleadership advisory work and
then went back into a big globalrole at Expedia Group, which is
, you know, the global travelcompany behind Expediacom,
hotelscom, verbocom.
I was in a global sales rolethere and then most recently.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, they definitely get my money.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yeah, good, yeah, thank you for your business and
then, most recently, I ran asustainable fashion startup
marketplace rather, and so thinkof it as a upscale TJ Maxx, and
so we essentially take excessinventory from premium brands
and sell it direct to consumer.
So you don't have to drive, youknow 70 miles to go to the
(16:55):
outlet, you just shop on app andit arrives at your door.
That's been my most recentexperience.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I love that because so interesting is the idea of
malls.
Even outlet has gone to thewayside, although it looks like
they're trying to bring themback and try to revitalize the
malls.
But it has definitely becometiresome when you could just
order online.
Much easier, much simpler,especially with so many brands,
(17:24):
like starting to give you moreaccurate sizing.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Right, the sizing is a differentiator.
You're right, because I go tothe mall because I want to see
it, I want to touch it, I wantto really make sure.
But you're right, the sizing isgetting better and better.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Yeah, quality of online marketplace has
definitely been on the rise andon the improvement, and thank
you for being a part of thisglobal fashion experience.
What was the name of this?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
The company is called O-Train.
We sold the US part of thecompany, but the European part
is still a going concern.
A lot of people don't knowfashion is a huge contributor to
waste.
About one in 10 garments that'screated ends up either burned
or in landfill and clothes thataren't.
Or you know there's tons ofclothes that are shipped
overseas a lot and you know onthe African continent that are
(18:23):
just creating tons and tons ofpollution, and so you've
probably seen some of this andwhy some people are against fast
fashion.
You know the clothes, thegarments.
It takes all of this energy,all of these resources to create
, and so it's really changed mymind shift.
I used to be a big Zara fanuntil I got more educated and
(18:43):
realized the reason why thatthing is $10 is because either
it won't last or it was madewith materials that you know
really aren't that great for you, and so I've shifted to now
focusing more on less garments,but quality, um that I can wear
time and time again, um, and soI think a lot of people are
waking up to, you know, thatpossibility.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah, it's so funny that you know or interesting
rather than people you know thatpossibility.
Yeah, it's so funny that youknow or interesting rather than
people you know, talk about fastfashion and in this way because
that definitely didn't apply tome personally I wear things
into the ground.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
You're like my husband, but he has the same.
He has the same way.
It's like okay, until it hasholes in it.
I still wearing it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
That's exactly how it is.
I if I had like a club dressit's now a nightgown, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Or I wear it around the house with some I don't want
your club dress to be anightgown.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Though I don't want your club dress to be a
nightgown listen, I'm gonna usethat thing to clean or I'm gonna
take, I'm gonna take it apartand use the strips for something
else.
It's gonna get reused in somefashion.
Okay, that's my, because I'vedefinitely come from a waste.
Not want, not, yes, family, orif I, you know, or if I just
(20:04):
grew out of something that I'veworn maybe twice and was just
like, oh you know, just growingup as a teenager to young adult,
I just let the next person haveit, clean it real good, take it
to the cleaners and then donateit Because you know, that was
just part of my community andethos of like, okay, who can
(20:24):
wear this next?
How can this T-shirt be turnedinto a tote bag?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
yeah, exactly, I love it we need more of that.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So, boss lady, what is the advice you would have for
those who want to follow inyour same or similar path of
being double degreed, or justwant to enter this business
industry?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Yes.
Well, first I would say don'tfollow my path, get clarity on
your own path.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
That would be the first thing I would say.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I think when I was growing up, I was always looking
for someone to model after.
I think we all need inspiration.
It always helps to see peopledoing the thing, so your mind's
eye can visualize it, even ifit's just one person.
But I think don't contortyourself to follow a script.
It's more about the directionthan the exact path.
(21:22):
So I think, find those peoplethat make whatever your dream is
you know, real for you, right,so that you can visualize that.
And if they don't exist, don'tbe afraid to imagine yourself as
that person.
But I think we're in a greattime now where there are so many
models of you know, leadership,business, success.
Find those that speak and aretrue and as close to yourself as
(21:47):
possible and use those asguides, but not as a
play-by-play playbook.
And then the second thing Iwould say is it's funny a lot of
people talk about be you, beauthentic.
And for me, with a name likeZahara, I really didn't have
much of a choice, right, BecauseI'm so unique in just the way
that a first conversationhappens.
(22:08):
I've never really been able toblend in or really sought to
blend in, because it's like it'sa fail from the start, right.
So I don't know if you rememberlike there used to be all these
research reports around howpeople discriminate on resumes
because of people's names, and Iwas like well, what am?
(22:28):
I going to do.
They can see me coming 10,000miles away.
If they don't know what's ahair up, then they know what
they're getting.
And my perspective has alwaysbeen I don't want to be in a
place where they don't want me.
I want to be in places wherepeople say, wow, that's really
interesting, tell me about whoyou are, pull out more of me.
(22:50):
Well, that would be the adviceI say too.
Oftentimes even I did it earlierin my career you try to contort
yourself to fit into spaces,but really your success lies in
finding those places where yourunique contribution can shine,
and then that actually helps youbecome the X factor for the
next level of success or growthfor that organization, et cetera
(23:11):
.
And so, similar to the story Iwas saying about the jobs right,
I had all these big globalcompanies I could have gone to.
And I went to this real estateprivate equity firm started and
launched by an African-Americanin San Francisco, because it
directly spoke to what I saw asa way I could purposely impact
business and that's allowed meto be successful.
(23:32):
I never could have mapped itback this way, but in that
organization, that company, Iwas able to be my full self yes,
being your full self and stillleaving an impact.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
What's the next thing you want to leave your impact
on?
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Well, I'm a mom of three, and so I'm spending a lot
of time in this season of mylife thinking not just about my
success, my family's success,but the broader impact and
community success I want to have.
And so a lot of what I'mthinking about is like how do I
scale either storytelling orleadership examples or opening
(24:11):
of doors for others?
You know I do that in thepeople that I individually touch
, but a lot of time I'm thinkingabout now are like what are
some of the programmatic,systematic ways that I can do
that at even more scale to havea positive impact?
I don't believe you know thatall these blessings have been
given to me to hoard right.
I deeply believe I'm blessed tobe a blessing, and so I'm
(24:34):
looking consistently for waysthat I can continue to be a
blessing to others, even thosethat I may not know.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It's a blessing to be a blessing.
Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessingto be a blessing.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessing to be a blessing, yes
.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Thank you so much for chatting with us today.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
This is fun.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yes, I'm so inspired by just the work that you said
you've done and that mindset oflike well, if I can get this
first A, I can get the next oneand I can get the next thing,
and yeah, mindset is so much.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
I mean, there's so much to mindset.
You know there's so so much and, um, you can't control why,
like what's happening in theworld, but you can't control how
you respond to it, and there'sso much power in that right and
controlling just what's in yourhead and your thoughts.
(25:31):
You know, one of the sayings Ihave is your thoughts are your
prayers, and so if you'repraying negatively on yourself,
then don't you know?
Then be mindful of that.
So we all have our momentswhere we get into ruts, but
building that self-awareness torewire right and rewrite that
script has been a key part of mylearnings as well.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, yes, oh my goodness.
Please tell the audience wherethey can find you or learn more
about you.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yes, well, two ways um zaharahwashingtoncom,
z-u-h-a-i-r-a-h.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Washingtoncom, or just at Zaharah at
Z-U-H-A-I-R-A-H on IG Wonderful,and these links are going to be
in our show notes.
Tap in and support Black women,black industry and Black
excellence.
Thank you so much again forbeing here.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Thank you, Andrea.
This is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Thank you for having me and thank all of you out
there for listening andsupporting another season again.
Leave a review of the show onApple Podcast or in the comments
of our social media.
I'm always checking and thishas been another episode of the
Black Landscape with AndreaSpearman, where Black Excellence
is always trending.
Andrea Spearman, where BlackExcellence is always trending.
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.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.