The Black Landscape
The Black Landscape
Season 7 Episode 7: Zuhairah Washington
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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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From Waitlisted to Harvard
Speaker 1You 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 2Hello 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 1We 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 2I 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 1Wow , 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 2I 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 2I 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 2There 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 2And 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 2Just 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 2They didn't full out reject me , so they must've seen something that kind of light So- .
Speaker 1Right , we're not completely out the door .
Speaker 2Exactly 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 1Absolutely 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 2Yeah , 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 2But 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 1Ok , yeah , ok , I could . I could definitely see what the experience could be different from undergrad to grad .
Speaker 2Classes 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 .
Career Evolution
Speaker 2I 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 2But 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 2And 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 1So 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 2Yes , 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 2At 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 2I 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 2That 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 2When 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 1Yeah , they definitely get my money .
Speaker 2Yeah , 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 1I 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 2Right , 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 1Yeah , 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 2The 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 2You 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 1Yeah , 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 2You'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 1That's exactly how it is . I if I had like a club dress it's now a nightgown , okay .
Speaker 2Or I wear it around the house with some I don't want your club dress to be a nightgown .
Speaker 1Though 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 2yeah , exactly , I love it we need more of that .
Speaker 1So , 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 2Yes . Well , first I would say don't follow my path , get clarity on your own path .
Speaker 1That would be the first thing I would say .
Speaker 2I 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 2But 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 .
Embracing Authenticity and Impact
Speaker 2And 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 2I 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 2Oftentimes 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 1What's the next thing you want to leave your impact on ?
Speaker 2Well , 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 1It's a blessing to be a blessing . Yes , yes , yes , it is a blessing to be a blessing .
Speaker 2Yes , yes , yes , it is a blessing to be a blessing , yes .
Speaker 1Thank you so much for chatting with us today . Thank you for having me .
Speaker 2This is fun .
Speaker 1Yes , 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 2I 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 1Yeah , yes , oh my goodness . Please tell the audience where they can find you or learn more about you .
Speaker 2Yes , well , two ways um zaharahwashingtoncom , z-u-h-a-i-r-a-h .
Speaker 1Washingtoncom , 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 2Thank you , Andrea . This is wonderful .
Speaker 1Thank 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 .
