32 SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 | ADWEEK
®TALENT POOL
Ta r a R a z av i
HOW THIS ENTREPRENEUR
BUILT A CREATIVE HAVEN
FROM THE GROUND UP.
BY KELSEY SUTTONTa r a R a z a v i , the founder of the
full-service creative production
company Happy Place Inc. in
Encino, Calif., didn’t always
know she wanted to break into
the music and entertainment
industry. Instead, she was
planning on becoming a lawyer
before an ad about a record
label program at UCLA caught
her eye and rerouted her career.
“I love music—music is
my absolute first passion—
so I did it with literally noplan,” said Razavi, who used
to watch and tape music
videos as a kid. “Why not?
By day two, I had that actual
lightbulb moment. My whole
world just opened up.”
The entrepreneur and
first-generation American broke
into the industry at a major
entertainment company and
later at a smaller outfit, working
demanding days and learning
the ins and outs of the music
and entertainment industry.Razavi, who says she’s not
so great with authority, created
Happy Place in 2008 to handle
a part-time project and decided
to commit to the company full
time two years later.
“I think it was just destined
that I was going to have my own
company, because I couldn’t do
it any other way,” Razavi said.
The company has grown
considerably in the last
decade and now counts
artists Tyler the Creator,A$AP Rocky and John Legend
as collaborators. Happy
Place’s music video work
helped her break into the
advertising world, Razavi said,
and the company creates
commercials and social
content for brands like Apple,
Converse, Lacoste and Nike.
Razavi credits her work
ethic and her commitment to
every project the company
takes on to her success. “It
sounds not that romantic, butI just outwork everyone,” she
said. “[And] I treat every project
like my company is going to
live or die by the validity and
outcome of this project.”
Razavi said she is laser-
focused on building a company
that serves as a creative haven
for artists, brands and all the
people who work there. “We’re
thankful every day that we get
to literally get paid to make
cool shit,” Razavi said. “It just
doesn’t get better than that.”Big Mistake
“The biggest mistakes I’ve
made is anything that’s
centered around my ego
first—having my feelings hurt
because someone didn’t like
[my idea], or I didn’t like the way
a client talked to me on set,”
Razavi said. “We are trying to
collectively get to the absolute
best thing we can make for
this moment in time, to make
something that’s so fucking
cool that it brings people some
joy [and] conversation. There’s
no space for ego there.”Lesson Learned
“The universe will completely
humble you if you need it,”
Razavi said. “[Those mistakes]
got me to a place where I can
totally strip everything back
and just have fun, and let this
be about the work.”How She
Got the Gig
Razavi created Happy Place to
handle a side project without a
plan as to where the company
might lead. “I didn’t have the
full plan when I papered it,” she
said. “And it just kept growing. I
still have grandiose plans about
where I’m going to take this
place. It’s always on my mind.”Pro Tip
Have faith in the general
direction in which you want
to head and be ready to pivot,
Razavi said. “Do the one thing,”
she advised. “Make that one
phone call. And then do that
one thing the absolute best.
When you do that, you will
know where to place your other
foot. Eventually, when you look
up, you will be 100 yards from
where you started.”