The Black Landscape
The Black Landscape
Season 7 Episode 7: Zuhairah Washington
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
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You are listening to the Black Landscape with Andrea Spearman, where Black excellence is always trending. Hello and welcome. I'm your host, andrea Spearman, and this is the Black Landscape, where we engage with emerging and established Black leaders here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to leave a five-star review of the show on Apple Podcasts. Today's episode is sponsored by 9301 Home, and more about them later. I am a light-skinned Black woman with my hair in twists and then up in a bun. Today I'm wearing my black and brown glasses and I'm wearing my burgundy sweatshirt that says, in white letters BU, because that's all we can be. And today we are here with Zahara Washington. Please describe yourself to the people.
Speaker 2:Hello people Happy to be here. Zahara Washington. I'm here today. I'm a brown-skinned girl, black woman wearing a red lip and a black and white sweater. So happy to be here, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1:We are always ready to celebrate Black women in business, but take us back to your roots. Where did you grow up? What was your upbringing like? Oh, if you want to go way back.
Speaker 2: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 old Arabic name that means radiant light and courage, and my mom's nickname at the time used to be a wildflower. And so it should be no surprise when I tell you, by the time I was three, she was ready to move on. She wanted a bigger opportunity, and so she got a one-way flight from Newark to LA where she had a girlfriend, didn't have a place to stay, rented a room at the Howard Johnson and said I'm going to figure it out with my three-year-old self in tow. And so I tell that story because my mom was the first entrepreneur I knew and her investment was herself. And so I grew up in LA from three to roughly 21, my mom and so I'm really considered LA. From three to roughly 21 to my mom, and so I'm really consider Los Angeles home.
Speaker 1:Wow, she said. I'm just going to go and see what's what in LA. Yes, yes. So what happened from there Like growing up in LA, I know, is a different world than here in the Bay Area. What happened to influence you to Harvard? How did we get to Harvard?
Speaker 2:I can't even say that when I was younger I really thought about going to Harvard. My mom tells the story that when I was nine years old we used to take the bus to and from work and school. She dropped me off so she picked me up one day from school. We were taking the bus home and the bus stop just happened to be across the street from UCLA and I asked her what are those big set of buildings? And she said that's UCLA. It's one of the best schools in the country. And I said I'm going to go there one day. And I tell that story because I'm like what nine-year-old says that or believes that right that 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, and was self-determined, if you will, and I think that comes from not just me but the people who came before me, who poured into me, even those I don't know. And so Harvard is just an extension of that.
Speaker 2:I never really thought I could get into UCLA. My college counselors discouraged me from applying. You know they were like apply to some safety schools. People always say bet on yourself. I actually bet it against myself.
Speaker 2:There was one of my friends, farhad. I was working at Nordstrom in their cafe in high school and he came over one day and he was like, 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 sure get in. I said, yeah, right, if I get in, I'll dress up as a school mascot and I'll run around the track. And I ended up getting in. I never. He did not hold me to that, he didn't make me do that. But you know, he believed in me more than I did in that moment as my high school self.
Speaker 2:And so once I went to UCLA, I was determined to be successful there because I felt like I'd just been given such a gift and a privilege, right To like be in the room and go to this. You know, amazing university. And I remember getting my first A and I said to myself if I can do it once, I can do it again. And I pretty much got straight A's because I was just like I can do this right. Something switched on where I believed in myself.
Speaker 2:Just like I can do this right. Something switched on where I believed in myself. And from there. Once I had that confidence, I was able to then go back right and funnel that to what I wanted to do next, which was graduate school, and at the time Harvard was the best for the things that I was interested in, so I set my sights on that. I share this piece because I actually applied to Harvard and I was rejected the first time I applied. I applied there and a few other schools, but they made a mistake of not just outright rejecting me, they waitlisted me and so again I was like oh well, they waitlisted me.
Speaker 2:They didn't full out reject me, so they must've seen something that kind of light So-.
Speaker 1:Right, we're not completely out the door.
Speaker 2:Exactly so, instead of just going to another school that I really truly wasn't passionate about, I decided to reapply and I said I submitted all the supplemental information. I was like, okay, I'm waitlisted, here's this, here's this, here's that. Because usually when you apply you only send a certain amount of materials and I was fortunate enough to get in the next year when I applied again, and so I tell those stories. Because I think oftentimes when you see resumes, you see people who have quote unquote made it. You don't get all the like left turns right along the way. And those stories and those are just a few of the things that happened in my experience to getting to, you know, attending Harvard for graduate school.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Delayed, but not denied. Exactly Amen, amen. Yeah, I love it. You said wait list too. That means y'all are waiting for me to. Actually, you need to know more about me so I can be here and upgrade your campus. Okay, no-transcript.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it was interesting. I mean it was not that big of a transition to me for a few reasons. One, I grew up in California as a black person you know what I mean Like I was consistently one of two or one of zero right in classrooms or environments I was in, and so when I was used to being the minority, if you will, in rooms or the only one. But at Harvard what was really special, one of the reasons I wanted to go there is they had the highest number of graduates of lawyers, like black lawyers A lot of people don't know. I think they're like second to Howard in terms of black lawyer graduates, at least at the time when I was applying. And so there was a rich community of African-Americans there who embraced me from day one, and so I found my community and I think from there that allowed me to continue to branch out.
Speaker 2:But I remember my experience being extremely warm and extremely welcoming and not at all pretentious or what you would think. In those ways there were definitely people who grew up with greater means than I did, but I never felt less than in any way, if anything. I think you know it's almost like a great equalizer, because we're all there and we're all going through the shared experience, and so for me, I have very fond memories. I think that would have been different if I was an undergrad, where I wasn't as self-assured. You know, if I would have gone as an undergrad, I actually served as a what they call house tutors, which are essentially counselors to the undergraduate students, and I saw more of that there in the undergraduate experience, because you're still forming who you are, you know, you're still kind of figured out, whereas in graduate school I have very fond and positive memories and had a very warm and tight knit community.
Speaker 1:Ok, yeah, ok, I could. I could definitely see what the experience could be different from undergrad to grad.
Speaker 2:Classes are smaller too, right, so you have you. Just, you know less than a thousand people. You know it's, you're in a specific discipline. Why choose business? Well, I initially chose law. So it's a great question. I went to law school and business school, so I have too many degrees. I was telling my kids this the other day. They were complaining. My sixth graders complained about school. I'm like, let me tell you, you know who went to some school? Your mama and your dad. Um, you don't know about homework, right? Oh my, so don't get me started on middle school homework.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. All I knew I wanted was not to be broke, and then I wanted to help people. That was the only like and at the time that steered me towards the law. Because, you know, I didn't really know a lot of broke lawyers. Law because, you know, I didn't really know a lot of broke lawyers and I knew you could use that skill set to help people. And so I was a political science major and I applied to law school and that's where I got rejected the first time and then reapplied.
Speaker 2:But during my years when I wasn't in school, I worked and there was a I'll never forget it A guy named Josh Seierman, jewish guy who I was working with, and he just planted the seed. He was like, well, why choose between law and business? You can just do both, you can do a joint degree. And so when I got into my first year of law school and I realized, oh wow, a lot of what lawyering is is fighting right, is advocating, it's contentious, and I'm much more of a collaborator, like bringing people together, like solving problems. And so in my first year of law school, in the library, I applied to business school because I thought, wow, there's this whole business world that I don't know as much about and was fortunate enough to get in.
Speaker 2:And for me, business was really about making money through solving problems. Right, like I'm a problem solver. If I see a problem, it's hard for me not to like immediately try to go and solve it. And I didn't realize that that's essentially what a lot of business is. Right, it is solving problems for consumers, for companies, and making money as a result of that. And so for me, that not wanting to be broke and wanting to help people still remains true, but I do it through the skillset of a business person Growing up in LA. What I saw as business was film. What I saw was fashion, but I didn't really know what a business person did or how they integrated in that. Obviously, those are both really big businesses, and so I was happy for the opportunity to go to business school and learn some of the core skill set that I could then apply to numerous industries.
Speaker 1:So right now we're going to take a short break to catch up on previous episodes of the Black Landscape Download on Apple Podcasts, buzzsprout, spotify. Be sure to leave us a review five stars, if you love us. When we come back we will hear more from Miss Washington. 9301 Home is a candle company based in Texas that embodies all the warmth and love that people feel at home. The current holiday collection features fragrances of pumpkin, amber, oak, spiced cranberries, cinnamon, macintosh apples and more that bring to mind shared childhood memories, happiness and love. Purchase your holiday gift candles and wax melt sets today by visiting 9301homecom and receive a $9 flat rate shipping fee and free shipping on all orders over $125. And we're back with Zahara Washington. This is the time for you to name drop, because you are a busy, busy businesswoman. You done been here, there and everywhere. Talk to us about your journey through some of the many, many fabulous companies you've worked for, guiding their business.
Speaker 2:Yes, so one of the first companies that I worked at after graduating from graduate school was actually a Bay Area company called McFarland Partners. When I was graduating from school, I had multiple offers from various of the big global firms Booz Allen, hamilton, trammell Crow and was really trying to decide where I was going to start my career. And there was a private equity firm in San Francisco, started by a gentleman named Victor McFarland, who was running a fund that was doing exactly what I wanted to do, which was investing in real estate catalytic real estate development in areas that most people had overlooked At the time. That was called urban domestic markets. So think of things like downtown Oakland, downtown LA, harlem. He saw opportunities here where he said, hey, no one's investing in these areas, but there's tons of density, there are people who live here who need services like retail and jobs and all these things, and so his investment thesis was very interesting to me, and so I joined there and was there for four years, starting as an associate until I became a VP. So that was one of my first really big jobs After graduate school. I also met my husband. There was one of my first really big jobs After graduate school. I also met my husband there that's for another podcast. It really changed my life and Victor is still a friend and a mentor to this day.
Speaker 2:At this time, tech was starting to be more and more of a thing. My fiance at the time now my husband, had decided to go to business school himself, and so he got into London Business School and decided he was going to go abroad, and so we moved to London. We actually lived abroad for four years. We lived between London, barcelona and Dubai Wonderful experiences there and professionally. That's where I made the transition into tech. So I joined a company called Kite, which was ultimately acquired by Yelp and is now the Yelp of Europe. So I was director of business development at that company.
Speaker 2:I then went to go start my own company, so I've been a founder. My company was in the relationship space. As I mentioned, my mother and father were never married, so grew up with a single mother. My husband's family had been together over 50 years his mom and dad and so I really wanted not to mess up this beautiful gift which was my husband, and so I started reading everything I could about what makes relationships successful and started a company focused on that, basically a date night concierge service and a mobile app? Yes. And so you know, I still need my app. Trust me, I still need. I need someone to make my app.
Speaker 2:That was a wild journey, but, needless to say, we weren't well enough capitalized to really have a strong go of that. And so, about two years in, I decided I need to go back and get a job, because my company wasn't making enough money and I wasn't, at the time, able to raise enough from investors. And I stumbled upon this company called Uber. That was just a baby.
Speaker 2:When I was in my circles in Silicon Valley, I'd heard about this company and they just happened to be hiring someone to run their DC market, and I applied, I interviewed and I got the job, and so that was one of a big chapter in my life. I was at Uber for five years, left right before they went public, from the time that they were a 300-person series B-back company to going public, so a real pivotal time in my career. I then took a year doing leadership advisory work and then went back into a big global role at Expedia Group, which is, you know, the global travel company behind Expediacom, hotelscom, verbocom. I was in a global sales role there and then most recently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they definitely get my money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good, yeah, thank you for your business and then, most recently, I ran a sustainable fashion startup marketplace rather, and so think of it as a upscale TJ Maxx, and so we essentially take excess inventory from premium brands and sell it direct to consumer. So you don't have to drive, you know 70 miles to go to the outlet, you just shop on app and it arrives at your door. That's been my most recent experience.
Speaker 1:I love that because so interesting is the idea of malls. Even outlet has gone to the wayside, although it looks like they're trying to bring them back and try to revitalize the malls. But it has definitely become tiresome when you could just order online. Much easier, much simpler, especially with so many brands, like starting to give you more accurate sizing.
Speaker 2:Right, the sizing is a differentiator. You're right, because I go to the mall because I want to see it, I want to touch it, I want to really make sure. But you're right, the sizing is getting better and better. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, quality of online marketplace has definitely been on the rise and on the improvement, and thank you for being a part of this global fashion experience. What was the name of this?
Speaker 2:The company is called O-Train. We sold the US part of the company, but the European part is still a going concern. A lot of people don't know fashion is a huge contributor to waste. About one in 10 garments that's created ends up either burned or in landfill and clothes that aren't. Or you know there's tons of clothes that are shipped overseas a lot and you know on the African continent that are just creating tons and tons of pollution, and so you've probably seen some of this and why some people are against fast fashion.
Speaker 2:You know the clothes, the garments. It takes all of this energy, all of these resources to create, and so it's really changed my mind shift. I used to be a big Zara fan until I got more educated and realized the reason why that thing is $10 is because either it won't last or it was made with 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 so I think a lot of people are waking up to, you know, that possibility.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so funny that you know or interesting rather than people you know that possibility. Yeah, it's so funny that you know or interesting rather than people you know, talk about fast fashion and in this way because that definitely didn't apply to me personally I wear things into the ground.
Speaker 2:You're like my husband, but he has the same. He has the same way. It's like okay, until it has holes in it. I still wearing it.
Speaker 1:That's exactly how it is. I if I had like a club dress it's now a nightgown, okay.
Speaker 2:Or I wear it around the house with some I don't want your club dress to be a nightgown.
Speaker 1:Though I don't want your club dress to be a nightgown listen, I'm gonna use that thing to clean or I'm gonna take, I'm gonna take it apart and use the strips for something else. It's gonna get reused in some fashion. Okay, that's my, because I've definitely come from a waste. Not want, not, yes, family, or if I, you know, or if I just grew out of something that I've worn maybe twice and was just like, oh you know, just growing up as a teenager to young adult, I just let the next person have it, clean it real good, take it to the cleaners and then donate it Because you know, that was just part of my community and ethos of like, okay, who can wear this next? How can this T-shirt be turned into a tote bag?
Speaker 2:yeah, exactly, I love it we need more of that.
Speaker 1:So, boss lady, what is the advice you would have for those who want to follow in your same or similar path of being double degreed, or just want to enter this business industry?
Speaker 2:Yes. Well, first I would say don't follow my path, get clarity on your own path.
Speaker 1:That would be the first thing I would say.
Speaker 2: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 people doing the thing, so your mind's eye can visualize it, even if it's just one person. But I think don't contort yourself to follow a script. It's more about the direction than the exact path. So I think, find those people that make whatever your dream is you know, real for you, right, so that you can visualize that. And if they don't exist, don't be afraid to imagine yourself as that person.
Speaker 2:But I think we're in a great time now where there are so many models of you know, leadership, business, success. Find those that speak and are true and as close to yourself as possible and use those as guides, but not as a play-by-play playbook. And then the second thing I would say is it's funny a lot of people talk about be you, be authentic. And for me, with a name like Zahara, I really didn't have much of a choice, right, Because I'm so unique in just the way that a first conversation happens. I've never really been able to blend in or really sought to blend in, because it's like it's a fail from the start, right. So I don't know if you remember like there used to be all these research reports around how people discriminate on resumes because of people's names, and I was like well, what am?
Speaker 2:I going to do. They can see me coming 10,000 miles away. If they don't know what's a hair up, then they know what they're getting. And my perspective has always been I don't want to be in a place where they don't want me. I want to be in places where people say, wow, that's really interesting, tell me about who you are, pull out more of me. Well, that would be the advice I say too.
Speaker 2:Oftentimes even I did it earlier in my career you try to contort yourself to fit into spaces, but really your success lies in finding those places where your unique contribution can shine, and then that actually helps you become the X factor for the next level of success or growth for that organization, et cetera. And so, similar to the story I was saying about the jobs right, I had all these big global companies I could have gone to. And I went to this real estate private equity firm started and launched by an African-American in San Francisco, because it directly spoke to what I saw as a way I could purposely impact business and that's allowed me to be successful. I never could have mapped it back this way, but in that organization, that company, I was able to be my full self yes, being your full self and still leaving an impact.
Speaker 1:What's the next thing you want to leave your impact on?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a mom of three, and so I'm spending a lot of time in this season of my life 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'm thinking about is like how do I scale either storytelling or leadership examples or opening of doors for others? You know I do that in the people that I individually touch, but a lot of time I'm thinking about now are like what are some of the programmatic, systematic ways that I can do that at even more scale to have a positive impact? I don't believe you know that all these blessings have been given to me to hoard right. I deeply believe I'm blessed to be a blessing, and so I'm looking consistently for ways that I can continue to be a blessing to others, even those that I may not know.
Speaker 1:It's a blessing to be a blessing. Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessing to be a blessing.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, it is a blessing to be a blessing, yes.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for chatting with us today. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:This is fun.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm so inspired by just the work that you said you've done and that mindset of like well, if I can get this first A, I can get the next one and I can get the next thing, and yeah, mindset is so much.
Speaker 2: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 the world, but you can't control how you respond to it, and there's so much power in that right and controlling just what's in your head and your thoughts. You know, one of the sayings I have is your thoughts are your prayers, and so if you're praying negatively on yourself, then don't you know? Then be mindful of that. So we all have our moments where we get into ruts, but building that self-awareness to rewire right and rewrite that script has been a key part of my learnings as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, oh my goodness. Please tell the audience where they can find you or learn more about you.
Speaker 2:Yes, well, two ways um zaharahwashingtoncom, z-u-h-a-i-r-a-h.
Speaker 1: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 for being here.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Andrea. This is wonderful.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me and thank all of you out there for listening and supporting another season again. Leave a review of the show on Apple Podcast or in the comments of our social media. I'm always checking and this has been another episode of the Black Landscape with Andrea Spearman, where Black Excellence is always trending. Andrea Spearman, where Black Excellence is always trending.
