Shazi Visram

Shazi Visram is an American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, best known as the founder, CEO, and Chief Mom of Happy Family Brands. In 2013, she was acknowledged by President Barack Obama as "not only an outstanding businesswoman, but also a leader that all of us can emulate." Early life and education Visram was born in Toronto to immigrants from Pakistan and Tanzania. At the age of three, she moved with her parents and brother to Birmingham, Alabama, where they lived in a room at the motel the family operated. Visram says that owning their own business was her parents’ biggest source of both stress and pride. She credits her entrepreneurial parents for their example. Visram graduated from Indian Springs School in Indian Springs, AL before attending Columbia University, where she received her BA in History and Visual Arts in 1999, and later her MBA from Columbia Business School (‘04) in Management and Entrepreneurship. In 1999, Visram was the first employee in Horizon Media's interactive division. Following her time at Horizon, Visram founded Maven Marketing, her own digital marketing and media consultancy.