C A R E E R F I L E S :
SILICON VALLEY
Though Silicon Valley can at times be synonymous with the male key players in the technology industry, there are plenty of women creating change, too. Tatiana Hambro meets four of them.
Ruzwana Bashir, Co-Founder & CEO, Peek.com
THE ENTREPRENEUR WHO’S TAKING THE “PLANNING” OUT OF YOUR VACATION
Fact: the worst part about a fantastic vacation is the laborious research required to plan it. After spending over 20 hours organizing a girls trip to Istanbul, “travel junkie” Ruzwana Bashir decided to change that. In 2012 she created Peek.com, a one-stop destination for travelers to discover the best activities and book them within seconds (it’s so good that locals are using it, too). Peek also helps companies on the back-end, by giving them the tools to transition online. To date, Bashir has raised about $40 million, some of which comes from high-profile backers including Eric Schmidt and Jack Dorsey. When you consider that female-led startups only received 2% of VC dollars in 2017, it sounds even more impressive.
Bashir has always been a force to be reckoned with and not someone limited by circumstance. Born to Pakistani immigrant parents in Yorkshire, England, she earned a scholarship to Oxford (and while there became the 2nd Asian woman to be President of the Oxford Union debating society). After university, Bashir worked in finance before realizing she wanted to be an entrepreneur—so she secured another scholarship (this time a Fulbright) to Harvard Business School for her MBA. She makes it all look easy—that’s part of the job—but behind her every success is pure old-fashioned hard work and sheer determination. “Nothing that is worth doing is ever easy,” she says. “The roles that push you out of your comfort zone are the ones where you learn the most and really empower yourself.”
As a child, what did you want to be "when you grew up"?
A lawyer-cum-detective like Perry Mason.
What do you love most about your job?
That I get to work with some of the smartest, most passionate people I've ever met, in a space that I’m really excited about (I’m a travel junkie!).
What do you dislike about your job?
As a startup there’s constant change and it can be a real rollercoaster–with big highs and lows, which makes it very stressful.
What was the best advice you ever received?
To be persistent. Nothing that is worth doing is ever easy.
What advice would you give someone today?
Dream bigger and take risks early in your career rather than playing it safe. There is definitely a balance between risk and reward, and the roles or opportunities that push you out of your comfort zones are the ones where you learn the most and really empower yourself.
“The best things happen when you’re
willing to create your own path.”
The CEO mainly steps in to do the things others don’t want to take on, or that are very challenging. People probably think being a CEO is more exciting than it is—it’s often just hours of emails and meetings!
Name 3 characteristics required to do your job well.
Passion for your company mission with the skills to communicate that well; the ability to synthesize lots of information and make decisions swiftly; awareness and empathy.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Building Peek.com to over 100 employees and hundreds of millions of dollars of activities bookings. It’s really fulfilling to know we’ve helped millions of people to find fun adventures to do with their friends and family, to create special memories that last a lifetime.
How do you define success?
The positive impact we can have on the world, and on those around us.
