FINANCE

Questions with Rafat Ali

Rafat Ali was the founder, publisher and editor of ContentNext, the parent company of his blog, paidContent. In 2008, he sold the business to Guardian News & Media.
Rafat was the Knight Foundation Fellow at Indiana University, his alma mater, where he completed his Masters in Journalism (1999-2000). Founder of paidContent and parent company ContentNext, a media company covering digital media, entertainment and the information industries, Rafat was previously the Managing Editor of the Silicon Alley Reporter. He started paidContent as a blog in 2002, and later added three other sites: paidContent. uk, mocoNews and contentSutra, before the business was purchased in 2008 in a deal, reportedly worth millions, by Guardian News & Media (GNM), the news media division of UK-headquartered Guardian Media Group. He expanded the company to 23 members of staff, with offices in Santa Monica and New York City, and took investment from the venture capital firm Greycroft Partners before the sale to GNM. He continued to run the company as a standalone business under GNM until June 2010, when he left to go on a sabbatical. 1. To what extent is your success a product of your upbringing and background? No one in my family has ever been in business; they were all in the field of academia. But growing up in a middle class family in India, you learn how to do more with less; that is half the battle won when you start a business. I was also fortunate to spend my youth in three different countries, India, the United Kingdom and America, which meant that I brought a global outlook to my business; both in the editorial content from a coverage perspective, as well as in expanding the business. 2. What has been your greatest influence? As strange as it may sound, books have always been a great influence on me. Whilst my parents have influenced me in various ways throughout my life my father through his sheer perseverance and my mother though her eternal sense of optimism I feel that the one consistent and biggest influence has always been what I read, why I read what I did, and what I dreamt up as a result of what I read. At different stages in my life, the kind of books I read defined my actions in business. Other than that, travelling and learning about the world around us has had a great influence on me too. I have just spent the last year travelling around the world, seeing 13 countries in 13 months, and I feel that my experiences from my journey will help steer the way ahead for the next phase of my career, and indeed life.
ABOVE Rafat Ali studied at the Aligarh Muslim University in India, before going on to do a Masters at Indiana University.

As a practising Muslim, I have attempted to make humbleness my priority, above all else. Never lose perspective of where you stand.
3. Were you good at school? I still spend time reminiscing about my school days in Aligarh a small university town in north India. After school, I completed a BSc in Computer Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University. However, I changed my focus soon after and moved into the advertising field and then later on to journalism, which is how I arrived in the media industry. I came to the US for my Masters in Journalism from Indiana University. Those days were probably my most intellectually fulfilling, because the course was so interdisciplinary. It also helped me adjust to the American way of life and culture much faster. 4. What was your biggest break and was there any luck involved? Somewhat ironically, my biggest break came when I didnt have any success with the jobs that I was applying for. This was back in 2001 and 2002, in New York City, after which I moved to London. The blog that I had started, paidContent.org, had been growing in its following during this time, which essentially made me realise that I needed to go into this full time. At one stage, I almost got a job with Mining Magazine in the UK. Sometimes, I imagine where I would have been today if I had taken that job. 5. What has been your biggest failure and how did you recover? Where do I start? Im sure I have made many mistakes along the way. But in a start-up business, especially one in the digital news industry where everything is a slave to the constant news cycle, there is no time to recover; no time to ruminate over any mistakes that you make. You make decisions then live with them; experiment; fail or succeed, and move on. By constantly being in action, you are forcing yourself to recover. 6. What can others learn from your success? Above all else, I think its about having perseverance; thats certainly what I learned. I built my business for six years before I sold it, which is a relatively long time in the world of internet business. This world deals a lot in buzz and trends, which can be hugely distracting and your whole existence can get swept up in it. Just keep your head down, build your business and good things will happen. I also learnt another big lesson as a journalist by watching some of my senior colleagues: never be afraid to ask the hard questions youd be surprised to learn how many journalists are. I have taken this particular lesson and applied it broadly to my business and life. You cant be afraid to ask hard questions of those around you, as well as yourself. 7. Who are your heroes in life? Definitely the authors and writers Ive had the privilege of discovering. Over the last few years, I have devoured everything Paul Theroux has written; all his books and essays on his travels around the world. In fact, my own journeys over the last year have taken inspiration from him. In my business, I have been extremely fortunate to be mentored by various serial entre-

preneurs. A few of them were also on my board of directors, and offered a lot of assistance in building the business. 8. Whats the greatest pleasure you have had from your success? My start-up business gave me an existence, a purpose, and then sustenancein that order. It offered me more chances in life than I probably deserved. What has been a luxury is the opportunity to step back and take a break, recharge, and figure out how I want to structure the next phase of my life. Once youve had a successful exit, especially as a venture-backed exit, you have a lot of options open. 9. What are the greatest enemies of success? Without a doubt hubris. Having an excessive amount of pride in your achievements is a dangerous thing. As a practising Muslim, I have attempted to make humbleness my priority, above all else. Never lose perspective of where you stand. As someone wise once said, It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others. Its all about keeping your head down and staying away from people who lead you towards the hot scene. You should stay focused on building the company around the right metrics that matter, and avoid being swept up in your PR. Most importantly, avoid trend-followers and definitely avoid becoming one yourself. 10. What would you say to people when it is time for you to leave this world? It is hard for ambitious people to let go and to be satisfied with whatever results they end up with. You could spend your life worrying about results all the time. This is the hardest lesson and is one I am trying to internalise myself. The universe will always find a way to guide you in the right direction. The trick is to let it. l

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