Hidden Gems: Meet Nakisa Pirooz of BIABIA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakisa Pirooz.

Nakisa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was supposed to wear a white coat. Or argue in court. Or write code.

That’s the first-generation script: doctor, lawyer, engineer. Choose something noble. Choose something stable. I’m Iranian-American and like many kids from immigrant families, I learned early how to shape my dreams around someone else’s survival.

So I chose the science track: a business degree routed toward pharma and corporate stability. It felt like the safest way to stay respected, to stay wanted, to stay “good.”

Then the pandemic hit. And for the first time in years, everything went still. No deadlines. No noise. Somewhere in that stillness, I picked up The Alchemist (yes, I know, very on-brand for a pandemic awakening) but there’s a line in it that stayed with me:
“Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That’s where I am, and that’s where your treasure is.”

Two words rose up and caught in my throat: music and community. I remember thinking, “That can’t be right.” So when that voice appeared, it didn’t even sound like mine. I didn’t know a single thing about the music industry. I was just a girl with a business degree and a half-whispered prayer: “OK, God. If this is really you, show me.” And life did.

That same year, a friend asked if I’d help with marketing for a new jazz and comedy venue in D.C. housed in a former flower shop. It made no sense to leave my comfortable job for something so scrappy. But something in me said yes and so I did.

My business partner and I poured our hearts into that space. In a city longing for community, it felt like the right thing at the right time. The comedian Matt Rife even came on to support later and this little idea began to bloom. And it was the first time I saw what could happen when belief and vision hold hands.

A year later, I packed my bags for Los Angeles. I only knew two people, barely enough to anchor myself in a city full of strangers, across the country from everything familiar. But that feeling came back. The one that told me to leave comfort for the unknown. And thank God I listened. Because it led me out of science and into something sacred. It never felt like building a career. It felt like following a trail of breadcrumbs back to myself.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I used to think burnout only happened to people who hated their jobs. But I loved mine.
When I got to LA, I hit the ground running. I joined a branding agency that moved fast; working across music, tech, and AI. Every day felt like a breakthrough: we built, we scaled, we made the Inc. 5000 list.

From the outside, it looked like I had everything I wanted: titles, momentum, security. But on the inside, I was running on fumes. Emotionally drained. Spiritually disconnected.

What saved me was community. Friends who reminded me I exist outside of what I do. If you’re in the music industry, Femme It Forward is one of those rare spaces that gives you that mirror and helps you breathe.

Because if you don’t tend to your mental health, it will come collecting. Ambition racks up a debt and the cost is presence. The last thing you want is to wake up inside the dream you fought for and feel absolutely nothing.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about BIABIA?
For years, I lived a double life.

By day, I was inside high-pressure rooms, Salesforce, Live Nation, Warner, learning how to think, build, and communicate at scale. Those spaces stretched me. They gave me structure, language, strategy. And I’m still grateful to work alongside mentors from that world.

But by night, I was in a different rhythm entirely: going to shows, sitting in studios, listening to artists shape something out of nothing. And after a while, I realized I didn’t want to keep toggling between two selves. I didn’t want to keep those worlds separate.

Because the more time I spent around artists, the more I saw them like I saw the founders I used to build with: visionaries. They create entire ecosystems from scratch. They take a whisper of a feeling and build a world from it with no guarantees, just belief.

So I asked myself:
What if I took the tools I learned in tech and strategy, and used them to help artists build the worlds they imagine? What if they had the same clarity, infrastructure, and support that startups receive?

That question became BIABIA. Not an agency. A creative home.
Where story, sound, visuals, brand, and experience live under one roof, with intention.

The first to believe in that vision were brilliant artists I could also call friends:
Marco McKinnis, Cozy, Sholadé.

My role with them is simple:
I listen.
I translate.
And I help build the world around what they feel with the same clarity I once used in boardrooms.

Because when you protect the heart of the vision, you help it take form.
And that’s how you find your treasure.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Faith over fear. Even if only ten percent of your day belongs to belief in yourself, protect that ten percent.

And choose your circle with care. When your friends and mentors can both inspire you and allow you to simply exist without expectation, that’s when you exceed beyond expectation.

Pricing:

• Creative direction: Inquire for rates

Contact Info:

• Website: https://biabia.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nakisapirooz
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nakisa-pirooz