Mandana Dayani grew up in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war, in a Persian Jewish family that had been trying to flee since the 1979 revolution. She couldn't play in the park across the street, sirens were routine, and she had a gun pointed at her more than once before she was five. In 1987, her family escaped on a one-day visa, signing away their home and everything they owned to start over in New York with no English and little money. On this episode of She Pivots, Mandana takes us from that five-year-old holding her mother's hand through a career that took her from Rachel Zoe to running Prince Harry and Meghan's media company, scaling major brands across fashion, media, and tech, and co-founding one of the country's biggest nonpartisan voting organizations. She also opens up about the video she made after October 7th about her own childhood, which has now been watched more than fifty million times.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to She Pivots
00:28 Guest Intro: Mandana Dayani
02:02 Who is Mandana?
02:51 A Childhood in War-Torn Iran
04:31 Growing Up As A Religious Refugee
14:18 From Lawyer to Fashion Brand Builder
19:27 Leaving Rachel Zoe
21:57 The Birth of I'm A Voter
30:26 Archewell
33:06 The October 7th Viral Video
38:55 Low Point to Launch
40:33 Reflecting on Mandana's Journey
42:00 Podcast Credits
Learn more about what Mandana is up to on Instagram @mandanadayani or on her website www.mandanadayani.com
Subscribe to her Substack All Of It at mandanadayani.substack.com
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She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.
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