A graduate of The London School of Economics, Sháá’s entrepreneurial career had an unusual start. Having won a competition to write for Cosmopolitan magazine, she interviewed World Champion Boxer, Chris Eubank; by the end of the interview he offered her a job promoting his next fight. At just 22 Sháá became responsible for promoting and organising the biggest fight to ever take place in this country.
In 1994, she set up her first business, a PR and Marketing company. James Dyson was one of her first clients and her role in establishing Dyson as one of the best known brands in the UK won her numerous awards including Cosmopolitan Business Woman of the Year. 5 years later with Dyson now a household name, Sháá was ready for a new challenge.
In late 1999, a chance meeting with Sir Bob Geldof ignited her contagious passion for the internet and all the possibilities that it holds. As one of the founding directors of his travel company, www.deckchair.com Sháá found herself at the heart of the internet revolution.
A year later, Sháá decided to pursue her own venture and in 2000, raised substantial funds to launch www.mykindaplace.com. The company was recently sold to BSkyB.
In 2007 Sháá launched Bright Station Ventures with fellow entrepreneur Dan Wagner, a unique investment vehicle with $100 million of capital dedicated to investing in internally generated ideas and seeding young companies that use information technology in innovative ways.
Sháá was selected as one of Management Today’s 35 Under 35 – their list of the brightest females of 2007 and in the same year, was named a “Young Gun” by Growing Business.
Sháá’s latest venture, Smarta.com, launched in January 2009 and is an innovative business platform providing help and advice for entrepreneurs and business owners. Smarta.com has the support of leading entrepreneurs such as Theo Paphitis, Deborah Meaden, Michael Birch and James Dyson and is backed by Vodafone and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
