Food for thought with Sorosh Tavakoli, CEO of VideoPlaza
As part of Osper’s ‘TLT’ (Thursday Lunchtime Talks) series we welcomed Sorosh Tavakoli, CEO of video advertising pioneer VideoPlaza.
After writing a thesus during a year in industry at university that caused waves, Sorosh recognised an opportunity in placing advertising in online content.
Videoplaza was then born in late 2007. After 7 years and with more than 100 clients in 35 markets Videoplaza was acquired by Telstra subsidiary Ooyala.
Osper team members grilled Sorosh about the highs and lows of running a company straight out of university, and the usefulness of naivety in taking on a challenge as big as his. As a company originally founded in Stockholm but with HQ now in the UK and offices across Europe, we also talked at length about maintaining a company culture across national lines.
Having successfully sold VideoPlaza, Sorosh is now looking to start a new adventure in New York. Thanks to Sorosh for coming in and spending time with us, it was truly inspiring.
Take away thoughts
When starting up your own business naivety can be a godsend, not knowing what you’re about to get yourself into is a good thing. There is no prep time, you just have to roll with it, get stuck in and eventually you’ll find the right exit, but not before you’ve made some monumental mistakes.
When setting up offices in different markets remember to try and keep your core teams connected. It’s amazing just how effective getting your company together can be. People feel more connected when they know the person, when they’ve shared a meal or a drink together.
Find out more about Osper at osper.com or read more stories at https://blog.osper.com/. By the way we’re hiring!
