{"id":43952,"date":"2023-10-20T15:32:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/broadband-tv-founder-shahrzad-rafati-and-bank-of-america-ceo-brian-moynihan-on-building-startups-that-make-a-difference-build-great-companies-that-have-a-much-greater-impact-startups\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:32:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:32:20","slug":"broadband-tv-founder-shahrzad-rafati-and-bank-of-america-ceo-brian-moynihan-on-building-startups-that-make-a-difference-build-great-companies-that-have-a-much-greater-impact-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/broadband-tv-founder-shahrzad-rafati-and-bank-of-america-ceo-brian-moynihan-on-building-startups-that-make-a-difference-build-great-companies-that-have-a-much-greater-impact-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadband TV founder Shahrzad Rafati and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan on building startups that make a difference: \u201cBuild great companies that have a much greater impact” – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fortune<\/div>\n

“How can we make companies more responsible?” Shahrzad Rafati asked a packed audience at San Francisco’s Dreamforce conference.<\/p>\n

The founder of Broadband TV said that today’s tech world has a critical role to play in building a more responsible, sustainable and inclusive business sector.<\/p>\n

Speaking on a Fortune<\/em> CEO Series panel on 21st-century growth with artist-turned-entrepreneur Will.i.am, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Rafati compelled entrepreneurs watching to set bottom lines and KPIs that aren\u2019t just financial.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be a lot more transparent. We need to get stake holders to rate our systems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGender equality needs to be one of those KPIs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafati, who was born in the middle of the Iran war and was imprisoned during the conflict, said she is using her tech company to give people a voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot having access to freedom of speech makes a big difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Being accountable to the treatment of employees, the environment and societies is just as important as generating revenue, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness leaders need to speak about it, they need to have a position,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rafati said that entrepreneurs living in developed countries shouldn’t take for granted their ability to impact people everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cA decision that you make in San Francisco does impact other parts of the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuild great companies that have a much greater impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Push through the naysayers<\/h3>\n

Rafati, who moved to Canada at the age of 16 to study computer science, said many told her not to challenge herself when things got tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to use a computer, I didn\u2019t have an email account,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in my class knew a lot more than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she knew what she wanted in life and just caught up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do know your passion, if you know what you\u2019re doing, if you know your strengths then go for it,\u201d Rafati said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing in life is impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n

Learn from disagreement<\/h3>\n

In a divided political country headed towards an explosive election, Moynihan said people really need to come together and speak to and hear each other.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Without unification] we\u2019ll have consistent back and forth about who\u2019s the smartest person in the room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSit down with the people who disagree with you and figure out why they disagree with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lift others up with you<\/h3>\n

Will.i.am said that back in 2008, when president Obama was running for president, there was a mix of issues that needed attention like war and the recession but now things have changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear as day that education is the most important thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But in line with this, Will.i.am said people can\u2019t be what they can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

\u201cA guy\u2019s trying to be like Michael Jordan not Michael Dell – teachers don’t tell him it’s possible. Kids aren’t learning that’s possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneurs need to mentor kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“How can we make companies more responsible?” Shahrzad Rafati asked a packed audience at San Francisco’s Dreamforce conference. The founder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43952"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}