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CAN'T FIND SOMETHING? |
Aly JethaPresident, Oznoz Entertainment Ltd. and Big Bad Boo Studios Inc.Age: 39 It’s safe to say Aly Jetha has a knack for business. Oznoz Entertainment, a multicultural cartoon developer, and its partner animation studio Big Bad Boo Studios Inc., are Jetha’s third and fourth businesses. He said he knew he wanted to be a businessman at a young age, but pursued a law degree to ensure he had a well-rounded education. “I had two passions really, political science . . . and business, and a law degree was the only thing that qualified me for both,” said Jetha, who earned his law degree from University of California, Berkeley. After he finished his studies at Berkeley, Jetha joined San Francisco-based Bain & Company, an executive consulting firm, as a management consultant. Jetha said it was at Bain that he learned the ins and outs of business and got the entrepreneurial bug. “It was in the middle of the Silicon Valley gold rush, and I kind of jumped ship and said, ‘You know what? I need to start my own company.’” In 1998, Jetha moved to Seattle to found Intra Technologies, which developed and sold semi-conductors for the trucking industry. In five years, the company earned $8 million in annual revenue and employed 50 people worldwide – and then he sold it. In 2003, he joined the founding team of Via One Technologies Inc. in New York, and helped grow that business from a startup to an enterprise worth $350 million. But it was Jetha’s experiences growing up in an immigrant family and travelling abroad that caused him and wife Shabnam Rezaei (see p. 12) to co-found Oznoz in 2005. “We really felt strongly about multiculturalism … and really teaching kids about different cultures,” he said. Oznoz and Big Bad Boo now employ more than 70 people, and although he’s handled businesses all over the world, Jetha said he’s here to stay. • Birthplace: Nodola, Zambia Where do you live now: Vancouver and New York Highest level of education: Juris doctor from the University of California, Berkeley Car or chosen mode of transport: BMW Currently reading: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts Last CD bought or music downloaded: No Line on the Horizon by U2 Favourite movie: Citizen Kane, Love Actually and, when business is bad, Rocky II Favourite local restaurant: Vij’s or George Person you would most like to meet (living or deceased): Pierre Trudeau and Steve Jobs Profession you would most like to try: I’d love to be a chef Mentor: My mom Most memorable career milestone or event: Deciding to be an entrepreneur and not practise law Toughest business or professional decision: I don’t do it often, but I hate letting people go What’s left to do: So much. I feel like we’re just getting started This article from Business in Vancouver December 29, 2009-January 4, 2010; issue 1053 Business in Vancouver (www.biv.com) has been publishing in-depth local business news, analysis and commentary since 1989. The newspaper also produces a weekly ranked list of the biggest companies and players in a wide range of B.C. industries and commercial sectors, monthly features and industry-focused sections that arm its subscribers with a complete package of local business intelligence each week. |
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