Meet Rajeev Kapur

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rajeev Kapur.

Hi Rajeev, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Sierra Madre, CA (next to Pasadena). Lived in Temple City till I was ten then moved to Granada Hills. I attended Granada Hills High School, went to Cal State Fullerton and did my MBA at USC. I eventually got my first real job at the computer company Gateway based in South Dakota. Yes, this So Cal-born and bred guy moved to Sioux City, IA and worked in N. Sioux City, SD. I did that for two years before being recruited to Dell. Where I began my career as a High Tech Executive.

After six months at Dell, I was asked to work for Michael Dell which I did for the next year. With his support, I worked in the laptop product team, helped to launch the first Dell.com site, and helped to launch Dell’s SMB business. As the Director of Sales for the West Coast I managed a billion-dollar business and was asked by Michael to go to Dell China in 2000 to help build Dell’s business overseas. After two years in China and Hong Kong, I was asked to go to Singapore to help build Dell’s South Asian business and launch Dell India. In late 2004 I was recruited to be President of Smarthome a leader in the early days of IoT. After a successful stint at Smarthome, I was recruited to be CEO of a fast-growing Audio Tech company in Switzerland. After exiting that business, I was recruited to be CEO of B2B Tech and Media company 1105 Media where I currently serve as CEO. 1105 is a leading provider of Business to Business Marketing, Events, and Media services where I oversee a diverse portfolio of five companies that range from Big Data/Analytics training to lead generation in the private and public sector IT, Enterprise, and Emerging Tech sectors. In 2021 and 2022 I was a finalist for both Entrepreneur and Innovator of The Year from the Orange County Business Journal. I was also named one of the Top 500 Leaders In Orange County.

I have been a member of YPO (Young President’s Organization) for over 15 years. I also sit on the board of Sparktech a leading AI, ML, and analytics software development company, as well as the non-profit Rainbow Services. I am also Chairman of Gen AI Advisors a leader in advising companies on the implementation of AI. In November 2021 I became a bestselling author when I launched my new leadership book – Chase Greatness: Enlightened Leadership For The Next Generation Of Disruption. The book was in the top five of the most downloaded leadership books on Amazon at launch. I am an accomplished keynote speaker and executive coach for companies like ATT, Google, Amazon, and Hugo Boss. I am certified in AI for business from MIT and certified in the Blue Ocean Strategy. I am also an accomplished screenplay writer having optioned one screenplay, completed a second, and working on a third. I have an agent and am represented by The Rêve Agency. I am married, have two sons, and a labradoodle named Chewie.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I first finished college, the economy wasn’t that great and the tech industry was in its infancy. When I got the Gateway job, I had accepted site unseen, had no idea where I was going to live and oh yeah it was for a 100% commission sales job. I decided to bet on myself much to the chagrin of family and friends. That’s when I learned the first lesson in my career and one I tell kids today is that you have to go to the job, it’s not going to come to you. The Gateway time was good for my career but it was difficult on my personal life and needless to say, I had never experienced anything close to the winters that Iowa/SD produced. I do know that had I not gone to Gateway, I would probably not have gone to Dell and worked with Michael Dell and the amazing people at Dell.

The next big challenge was going to China. Again, you go to the job and raise your hand for the hardest job because if you can make that work, you can do anything. The first six months in China were difficult with language and cultural barriers. I was failing and it wasn’t fun. Eventually, I was able to get the team to believe in me but that 6-month window was extremely difficult.

The next big challenge was Covid. Half of 1105 revenue was events. Obviously, we couldn’t do that and had to make drastic changes that affected the whole company. It was a tough time, but we were resilient and fought our way to success.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Content is King and that’s what we specialize in at. We believe in the 4 C’s that great Content drives Community, Community results in Commerce, and Commerce creates Cash. att 1105 Media we have over 50 Media Brands that focus on the tech, infrastructure, and data analytics markets. Essentially our goal is to connect Sellers with Buyers and provide new channels for B2B marketing.

What sets us apart is our team of experts who specialize in various different tech areas, from the Cloud to the latest in Analytics. We do this through digital platforms and events.

Perhaps our proudest moment was how we navigated and shifted the business through Covid. Because of our awesome culture (our company attrition rate is less than 2%), we were able to restructure the business after we lost all our event business. It was painful but my team rallied and we had three amazing years.

On a personal basis, I wrote my book during Covid and it was an instant hit. I also decided to focus on myself first. I started to focus more on my physical health and mental wellness. Writing the movie scripts has allowed me to keep a creative focus.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
From a work standpoint, the two lessons that have been the most impactful are:

1.) Hire people smarter than you, give them the tools to do their job, and get out of the way.
2.) Remember that most companies/teams fail not because they did the wrong thing; they fail because they did the right thing for too long. So always be innovative.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.1105media.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therajeevkapur/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeevkapur1/