Soraya Darabi is an expert entrepreneur and the founder of Trail Mix Ventures (TMV), a successful early-stage investment firm. She has been named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”, featuring on the front cover of their magazine. She is also one of Inc. Magazine’s “30 under 30” and Fortune Magazine’s “40 under 40: Women to Watch”.
Her illustrious career and experience sees her acting as “Young Global Leader” for the World Economic Forum. TechStars New York has honored her with their “Mentor of the Year” award three times. She has visited 15 countries in keynote talks on innovation, and also spreads her knowledge through her popular “Business Schooled” podcast.
A published journalist, Darabi often consults on business networks such as CNN, CNBC and Fox. She’s also served as a pundit on ABC news. Alongside her work at TMV, whose focus is on the future of living well, she serves on the board for the non-profit Yamba Malawi.
Soraya Darabi on the cover of Fast Company
Soraya Darabi leads a multifaceted career
Darabi graduated with a BA magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2005. She has also completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century program at Harvard Kennedy School.
After working at Conde Nast, her career kickstarted in media as Manager of Digital Partnerships & Social Media at The New York Times. There she conducted award-winning campaigns, working with Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.
Realizing she’d built up a massive network through her media work, Darabi decided to found her own start-up. She co-founded the application Foodspotting, named by Apple and Wired Magazine as an “app of the year”. After selling it to Open Table, she launched Zady in 2013, an omni-channel fashion brand for men and women.
Darabi has now crossed the threshold from entrepreneur to investor. She founded TMV in 2016, an early-stage venture firm investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future. TMV invests in companies at the cutting edge of innovation, revolutionizing industries or starting new ones.
Soraya Darabi had her sights on academia before entrepreneurial success
Darabi is the daughter of an immigrant cab driver in New York City and a college professor. As a young woman, she thought she would end up in academia, which is what her parents wanted for her. It was landing her job at the New York Times that opened up many other doors.
After founding two successful start-ups and having liquidity at the age of 28, Darabi became a prolific investor. She then realized how people from minority backgrounds had difficulty raising capital. She wanted to invest in brilliant ideas and founders. “I learned over time that my most powerful exits would be in women or minority founders” she says.
Now 65% of her first fund’s 25 companies are founded by women and/or minority-led businesses. “It is what we refer to as our conscious bias at Trail Mix Ventures,” she says.
Soraya Darabi: lifting others
Darabi also uses her expertise to boost others in her field. She has mentored for Techstars New York six times, three of which she was voted Mentor of the Year. The serial entrepreneur also gives keynote speeches around the world.
For her “Business Schooled” podcast, Darabi travels around the United States interviewing founders who have turned their startups into successful businesses. One episode follows a Navy vet turned backyard grilling guru in Kentucky. Another interviews 3D printing jewelers in New York. Darabi’s podcast draws success stories from all walks of life.
Since 2018, Darabi has sat on the US board for non-profit Yamba Malawi. Yamba Malawi specifically aims to break the cycle of poverty that the children of Malawi face, addressing food security, health and education.
To keep up to date with her latest ventures, follow Darabi on Twitter @sorayadarabi.
