TheBridge profile: Soraya Bagheri
Name: Soraya Bagheri
Current city: Washington, D.C.
Current job: Co-founder and COO, Electo Analytics
Past job: Associate, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Q. How are you currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? Electo Analytics is a public affairs software company designed for teams of all sizes. Thousands of policy teams currently have no access to necessary public affairs software, leaving them to sift through manual research at a snail’s pace. Our platform works to create a robust pipeline for a diverse range of policy teams to gain influence. We want to modernize the world of policymaking on the local, state and national level.
Q. Job advice in three words? Character always matters.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Long-term success is strategic. Policymakers are always thinking long term. This perspective can help innovators align their monthly targets with a two, five and ten year plan for growth.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Innovation starts with creativity and exploration; it’s led to some of the most consequential technological advancements in 100 years. Without creativity, we wouldn’t have the internet, GPS or high-speed rail. In many policy circles, the same ideas float around year after year. Policymakers can benefit from embracing exploration to solve pressing issues.
Q. Why are you part of TheBridge community? Why do you think it's important this community exists for tech, policy and political professionals? TheBridge creates a needed forum for cross-industry collaboration. Tech, policy and political professionals all have valuable expertise that becomes more valuable in a collaborative environment. All three industries focus on solving problems at scale, and everyone has their own approach to accomplishing that goal. Forging strong relationships between innovators and policymakers only stands to strengthen the outcomes for everyone.
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? I don’t drink coffee! Fun fact: I made it through the entirety of law school without it.
Q. Everyday is probably different, but are there certain skills you think are essential to your job? As a COO, organizational management and cross-department alignment are crucial in my work. I think that staying organized during the fast, unpredictable pace of growing a startup makes a fundamental difference in my company’s success. Additionally, it’s critical to ensure that the overlap between different teams is understood and accounted for. For example, I always want to create alignment between our marketing, design and business development teams, and ensure our research and product development teams are in conversation with each other.
Q. Living person you admire? Sonia Sotomayor, as she had to break many barriers to become the first woman of color, first Hispanic, and first Latina member of the Supreme Court.
Q. Best advice you’ve received? The question to ask a growth-stage startup is not “Is this company taking over the world?” but “How big could this company get if the founders did the right things?”
Q. Morning routine? I wake up early each morning, walk my dog and catch up on the news. It’s a great way for me to stay updated before I have to think about anything else.
Q. How do you unwind after work? I play NYT’s Wordle, and then play a handful of alternative versions of Wordle in different languages daily.
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