theculturalconnect.com | Devaraj Southworth

Company

30Seven Design

Founded

May 2005

Website

www.30SevenDesign.com

Name, Title

Devaraj Southworth
Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Age

Hometown

Manhattan, New York

Current residence

Manhattan, New York

Education

Kansai International University, Fellowship, International Business and Japanese, 1996
Ohio Wesleyan University, BA, Communications and Organizational Psychology, 1994

Work Experience

Current: Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 30Seven Design
Managing Partner, 30Seven Partners
Partner, August 5 Entertainment

Worked in Management Consulting, Investment Banking, Strategic Planning, and Marketing for companies including Accenture, IDC Ventures, Deloitte Consulting, and Your Green Team. As a consultant. served as an advisor to companies such as Avaya, AXA Financial, Bombardier, Bristol Meyer Squibb, GE Capital, Gulfstream, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, NetJets, PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Sony Electronics, and Toyota Motors.

Ethnicity

Indian American

About the company

30Seven Design is an interactive media agency specializing in creation, design, development, branding, and marketing. 30Seven Design's concentration is new media focusing on interactive, including custom web design, development applications, eCommerce, audio, video, and web animation.

With its world headquarters in Manhattan, and corporate offices in India, Dubai, and sales offices in Florida and Amsterdam, 30Seven Design prides itself on quality design, superior customer service, and competitive pricing. 30Seven Design currently has 20 full-time employees, and close to 200 clients worldwide including American Express, Prudential Douglas Elliman, Yahoo, Pepsi, Mercedes, Shell, Kraft, The Hampshire Hotel Group (including boutique hotels Dream NY, Dream Bangkok, The Night Hotel, and The Time), M Grand Resorts, Aspen Resorts, Lacina Heitler Architects, Frosch Private Client Services, The Dowd Agency, the YMCA, and Manhattan Media among others.

30Seven Design is a professionally and culturally diverse agency led by former management consultants, a film producer, and a former executive of a Grammy winning interactive marketing and design firm. This combination and diversity enables 30Seven Design to be a leading provider of online marketing and creative services in any market.

In addition to sound execution, 30Seven Design prides itself on collaborating with its clients to develop comprehensive integrated branding and marketing solutions that deliver bottom line results.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

As Chief Executive Officer, I am responsible for defining the strategic roadmap for 30Seven Design. I am also responsible for driving revenue and delivering profitability for the company, overseeing our joint venture partnerships and customer relations, marketing, as well as generating new business, strategic alliances, and other revenue and growth activities for the company.

Most notable milestones

Five locations and approaching 200 clients in less than two years.

What's the niche?

The niche is the interactive space, an area that we have and will forever remain loyal to. It would be extremely easy to move out of this arena and play in a larger sandbox, but we have made a strategic decision to stay true to the interactive vertical and maintain a strong player in the space. In addition, we are fortunate to have the right combination of influential and key advisors; an incredibly experienced, talented and dedicated workforce; and a versatile management team all with a singular vision for future growth. We are able to offer a competitive advantage to leading companies for the simple reason that we can give them the type of detailed attention their businesses need and most times cannot get from some of the larger and less efficient agencies.

What's the biggest challenge?

Internally we maintain very high standards regardless of the size of the client or project – this can consume an enormous amount of energy, not only from staff but leadership as well – however it's an absolute must and a hallmark of our company.

What's in store for the future?

We are in the early stages of global expansion and are working on several joint venture partnerships.

Who would you like to be contacted by?

Visionaries, innovators and true entrepreneurs.

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Best way to keep a competitive edge

Know your competitors' successes and failures inside and out and have faith and confidence in your vision.

Guiding principle in life

Love and respect those around you and good things will happen.

Yardstick of success

The respect of my employees, business partners, and competitors.

Goal yet to be achieved

Waking up and not feeling like I don't have to set another goal.

Best practical advice

Don't over analyze. Be decisive. Make well-informed decisions. Respect your staff.

Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture

"It really doesn't matter whether it's in a small Ohio town or a major Japanese city; I don't think many people have ever come across someone who is as entrepreneurial and willing to take the necessary risks to make things happen as Devaraj is. His dynamism and compassion have always made it easy for people to want to connect with him. He always seemed to have a sense of what would be the next big thing and the signs were pretty clear to all of us at school that we were living with a rising star. There was never any doubt – we all expected Devaraj to be a successful entrepreneur. And he is, all along making it seem like a walk in the park."
- Adam Tosh, Managing Director, Tosh Family Advisors, College Roommate at Ohio Wesleyan University

Mentors

My parents, Frank Southworth and Joan Mencher, and my long time friend, Randy Jones.

What motivated you to get started?

A deep rooted drive to create "something" out of "nothing," to build an organization that utilized the sum total of my experiences in consulting, banking and marketing as well as my international experiences; both personal and professional.

Like best about what you do?

Visualizing a solution to a client's problem and then executing it.

Like least about what you do?

Haven't taken a real vacation in over 2 years.

At age 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An orthopedic surgeon. A career I still may pursue one day.

What was your first job?

Youth camp counselor for the YMCA of Greater NY.

Biggest pastime outside of work

Philanthropy.

Person most interested in meeting

Melinda Gates co-founder (along with her husband Bill, that Microsoft guy) of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable organization to which they have given more than $24 billion. Enough said about the compassion, selflessness, and caring of these true heroes.

Leader in business most interested in meeting

Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a visionary entrepreneur who has changed the way business is conducted. A person who values hard work, Warren Buffet embraces undervalued assets, low overhead, high growth potential, and strong market share.

Three interesting facts about yourself

1. I was adopted when I was three months old and am the proud son of PhD parents.
2. I am a shark-fearing surfer.
3. I can speak Japanese.

Three characteristics that describe you

1. Dedicated
2. Loyal
3. Passionate

Three greatest passions

1. Family
2. Business
3. Philanthropy

Favorite book

"The Celestine Prophecy" by James Redfield and "The New New Thing" by Michael Lewis.

Favorite cause

The Second Chance Foundation, a foundation my mother, Joan Mencher founded and that I am the Vice Chair of. The Second Chance Foundation provides grants to NGOs in southern India to promote small scale sustainable agriculture to benefit poor male and female farmers and their communities.

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Young Media Guru & Entrepreneur Devaraj Southworth of 30Seven Design

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