Being a Female CEO & Entrepreneur: Deena Ghazarian

We are proud to be a women run company. We sat down with Deena Ghazarian, CEO of Austere to ask her a few questions.

Q:

You started the company about two years ago. How have you grown as a female entrepreneur since then?

A:

I have always had entrepreneurship blood in my veins. My father was an entrepreneur. As a kid, when you grow up with an entrepreneur, you see what that life is like, and that becomes your reality. I always knew I would start a business, just like he did. The reason I veered towards the Home Theater Accessories category was due to the room for innovation in this space, which ultimately motivated me to start Austere. This is truly a marathon, not a sprint.

Especially when you have a sales background, the sprint is really what keeps you going. Shifting from that mentality to a much longer-term strategic, and patient focus over the last two years, has made me a better person. I have more patience now than I ever have. Which is good for your family, it's good for your coworkers, as well as staying patient when you're running a business.

Q:

You are also a part of many groups and networks of women entrepreneurs. How did having that support help you develop your company?

A:

I will often leverage my network for support. When you have questions, reaching out and bouncing ideas off them to develop the outcome and move it forward is always helpful. I will specifically reach out to another fellow woman, entrepreneur and/or friend that is working for a very large organization. Not always the CEO, but one who runs that entrepreneurial business within those organizations. It's different when you will ask the question of a woman. I’ll give you a great example. One time I asked my female friend about hiring this type of individual in a role that had never existed within Austere before. I'd seen the role in other organizations. I asked them, what were the pros and the cons and how did it work.

The female entrepreneur gave a different layer of advice and how to balance and leverage the team, because this role would challenge other members of the team for the betterment of the business. When you talk to a female, their thoughts usually have an inclusivity type of approach. 

I've seen such a rally around all my female friends promoting each other's businesses and the encouragement has been wonderful.

Q:

What are the main challenges as a female entrepreneur in the tech/tech accessory industry?

A:

I tend to answer this question probably a little differently than most would. I say it all the time. I don't see myself as a female entrepreneur in the tech industry. I see myself as an entrepreneur in a great industry. Technology is required for every business nowadays. Yes, there is a tech product (software based) and yes, there are electronics products, and the worlds have merged into what we now call tech. The difference is that every industry has some sort of tech integrated into their business. But really the challenges are the same challenges that anybody would have in that spot. 

The way you run a business. The way you think about cashflow all the time. I think those are the same no matter if you were a male or female in the role. I would say where I've seen a slight difference, and it's because I'm also very involved in other parts of different organizations, the female entrepreneur really does have a harder time raising money and funds for their businesses. I'll give you a great example. When we went looking for money for Austere. I talked to a bunch of different people who were like, nope, your product is a commodity. You will not get the consumer to spend more money for a better value product. There's no way the customer's going to be interested in that. And so again, I always say, you must figure out who's your right fit. We did find a partner that believed in us and here we are three years later and we're crushing it. What’s fun is to go back to those same people who said, there's no way you'll be successful and they're like: What are you doing over there? How are you everywhere? I think some of the lack of support was because Austere was a female driven business. Though no one ever came out and said that, if you look at the statistics however it's kind of hard to refute.

Q:

You mentioned being a part of some different organizations and groups, you were elected as the vice chair of the CTA 2021 Executive Board. How did that make you feel to be acknowledged?

A:

Very humbling. I'm very active in the Consumer Technology Association because I really believe in what they do and it's my way to give back to our industry. It's strictly a volunteer role and job. Your efforts of giving back are for the betterment of everybody. The CTA group has been very kind to me in allowing me to have a voice. The fact that they've put me in a leadership role as well, has just been a complete humbling experience and I will do my best to not let them down.

Q:

Being a CEO or a female CEO, do you think that it's easier now than before and how has that support system changed over the last few years for you?

A:

There is always more than can be done, but with our efforts it will continue to get easier for women in the Consumer Tech industry. The female entrepreneur today does have a harder time raising funds and gathering support for their businesses.  We dealt with it when starting Austere and I am a 20+ year veteran in the space who has a track record of performance. I believe the more women we have at the table driving the allocation of funds for other women is critical. We need to keep supporting women, lifting them up, and continue to show representation of women in the tech industry for younger generations to see. I am honored to be involved with the CTA diversity fund allocating those funds to deserving groups supporting these women and other diverse owned businesses.

Q:

What advice would you give other female entrepreneurs?

A:

Take guilt, bury it, and don't let it distract you. I feel that men don't allow guilt to bother them as much as women do. Not letting the pressure of neglecting your family or personal wellbeing get to you, well that's easier said than done. I know I'm talking out both sides of my mouth because I still feel guilty all the time. But if I could provide advice to anyone starting out, it would be to put your foot on that pedal and go as fast as you can and let nothing, including guilt, get in your way. 

Q:

So, what would you say is your biggest achievement so far over the last however many years you've been in the industry?

A:

I’ve been in the industry a long time. I have made every mistake you could make. When you start a business you feel that you’ve been doing this for others and you know what to do to move the ball forward; hence the reason why you start something in the first place.  You leverage those experiences to get you to the next level. I would say that 90% of what we did with Austere was exactly that. Then you go through something in a lifetime that you pray we will never ever experience again, the pandemic. I can't explain the feeling of despair of getting a company up and running, we weren't even up and running for six months, and you feel like you are going to kill a company in less than a year from starting it. The fact that we survived and thrived in what was probably the most insane period of anyone's lifetime was a miracle.  Never say never to learning and being agile to circumstance.  To say that we did survive and became stronger as a company is by far Austere's biggest achievement to date.

Q:

What is the next goal on your list?

A:

With Austere, we wanted to stand for something more than just providing an innovative product with better design. What problem naturally rose to the surface was how much waste the Consumer Tech industry contributes. Consumer Technology packaging contributes to over 60% of the plastic sitting in our landfills each year instead of being recycled due to processing expenses. That must change. Our industry is generally not focused on sustainability from product inception. We tend to be reactive versus proactive. Since day one, Austere’s focus has been proactive.  We redesigned the typical packaging for home theater accessories (from plastic to paper), we have thought about what materials to use as we develop products that are environmentally safe, and we redesigned the instore displays (from plastic to wood and metal) to ensure longer use at retail. At every opportunity, we will do our best to lead the way with sustainability initiatives and hold ourselves accountable to make a difference.

The first thing I pushed our guys to do was make a cable sustainable. They went, did their homework and came back and said, for safety certification, there are certain standards for materials that are just not recyclable. We need to create something different for a change to happen. There really does need to be a lot of innovation in this space and we’re going to do our best at Austere to drive this from the top. The next goal is to not only create the best accessories that drive the best tech but we're also going to leverage design to really take sustainability to the next level. 

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