Meet Oz who build a digital marketing company with his dad.

It all started with a goal to chat to entrepreneurs over 60. Then out of curiosity we decided to talk to entrepreneurs under 30. We believe these two very vast generations can learn and grow from each other. 

This week we chat to Oz Chowdhury who founded Powerphrase a digital marketing company with his father.

Can you tell us a little about your business and what you do?

Powerphrase is a full service digital marketing company. We also do web design and app development. We initially started in 2003, providing Google AdWords and Pay-per-click services. As we grew, me moved into web design, Search Engine Optimisation, social media and now app development.

What motivated you to start your own business?

I wanted to become an entrepreneur and have the lifestyle of freedom. To do what I want, whenever I want and how I want. I never liked the idea of working in an organisation every day from nine to five then moving up the corporate ladder.

In other words, I hate the corporate lifestyle. I can’t work for anybody and I want to be my own boss.

What were some of the struggles you faced when you first started?

Hiring the right people and finding good clients. Everything is pretty much trial and error. Also, finding the right location of our office. We’re located in Orange County, California and rent is pretty expensive here. It took us sometime but we finally found a location. It took a while to find good hires and clients but once we did, things started to move smoothly.

What do you like most about having your own business? Having the freedom to work whenever I want. I get to make all the decisions and I’m not being bossed by someone who is higher up than me.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I wish I could tell myself to be more confident and to learn more. I wish my entrepreneurial energy came earlier when I was younger.

I would tell myself to read certain books and to learn certain things. I wish I could go back in time and change my college major.

Who is an older person that you admire and why?

I would say my grandma. I admire her and look up to her because she was an immigrant that came to Canada. She was a single mother with four children in Bangladesh. She hustled her way through Canada and learned French. She’s also very funny and tells jokes.

If you could jump into a time machine what era would you visit and why?

Man, there’s so many era’s I’d like to go and visit. In terms of history, before the founding of the America’s when you can only travel the world by a ship. I always thought it would be cool to live in an era like this where theres no technology and everything is done the old school way. Traveling seems a lot more fun because it feels like a journey. It just seems cool to me to be travelling around the world and you don’t know where you are going like Columbus.

In terms of making money, before the Dot Com and housing boom. Also, the cryptocurrency boom. I wish I could go back and have the knowledge I do right now and invest in certain things back then and now I would have been a millionaire.

 Anything else you would like to add?

The life of entrepreneurship isn’t easy. The fear of losing everything is always there. You have the possibility of being sued if anything goes wrong. You are pretty much working 24/7 but you do have the freedom to do what you want.