IAM2607 – CEO Helps Businesses Find Their Inner Voice

In this episode, we have Benjamin Behrooz, founder and CEO of Branding Los Angeles, a global creative agency.

Benjamin shares his unconventional path to entrepreneurship—initially pursuing pharmacy at UCLA before discovering his passion for marketing through an internship at Sony Music.

A pivotal layoff landed him at Truthdig, a politically‑focused site akin to the Huffington Post, where he realized his gift for giving a voice to those who can’t speak for themselves. A single political cartoon he helped produce ended up in the hands of Egyptian protestors, cementing his belief in the power of authentic storytelling.

The firm’s culture revolves around empowering its team to make data‑driven decisions, leveraging constant communication and pushing innovative projects such as the world’s first in‑store robot shopkeeper.

Benjamin's mantra for growth is to “add three more zeros” to any idea, encouraging bold, expansive thinking. He defines being a CEO as a blend of empathy, vision, and the ability to act as the captain who supports and elevates the crew.

LinkedIn: benjamin-behrooz

Website: www.brandinglosangeles.com

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Transcription:

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Benjamin Behrooz Teaser 00:00
I was able to understand that one of my gifts is giving a voice to those that can't speak for themselves. And in everything I've done, I've really seen that as being one of my passions of being able to speak up for others.

And it's translated in so many ways, as simple as when we made a cartoon graphic.

Intro 00:20
Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview?
If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:46
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have an awesome guest on the show today, Benjamin Behrooz. Benjamin, excited to have you on the show.

Benjamin Behrooz 00:54
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 00:56
Yes, I'm super excited to have Benjamin on and talk about all the awesome things that he's doing. And of course, before we do that, I want to read a little bit more about Benjamin so you can hear about some of those awesome things.

And Benjamin is the founder and CEO of Branding Los Angeles, a full-service creative agency known for building impact brand identities and digital campaigns.

With over a decade of experience in marketing, branding, and strategic communications, he has helped hundreds of businesses grow their online presence and connect meaningfully with their audiences.

Benjamin's approach blends creativity with data-driven strategies, making him a trusted partner for both startups and established companies.

Outside of work, he is passionate about innovation, community building, and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.

And some of the things we were talking about actually before we jumped in, he has over five different HQs all across the world, including Los Angeles.

And one of the things I found when I was looking online and preparing for this is that his philosophy centers around helping businesses find their inner voice through authentic and impactful messaging.

He has a slew of honors that he has, including the 2024 one of Beverly Hills Living Magazine's 40 Under 40 awardees. And he also really burges a lot of not just the branding, but the aspect of how you can make an impact in the community, which is why I'm so excited to have this conversation with him.

Ben, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Benjamin Behrooz 02:15
Of course. Love being here and excited to contribute to the community, man.

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Gresham Harkless 02:20
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm excited to have you as well too. I know we're going to have a phenomenal conversation, but I guess to kind of kick everything off, let's rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

Benjamin Behrooz 02:31
My story started with a one interest in marketing. I initially was heading down the road of going to pharmacy school. I was in UCLA and then I got into pharmacy school, but I found out I don't like it. It wasn't something that made me tick.

It didn't inspire me the way that I would want to be inspired. So I was lucky enough to get an internship with Sony Music. From Sony Music, I was able to make my bones pretty much, learn my way, and to be able to work on really big projects underneath some amazing people.

So working under the vice president of Sony A&R and kind of making my bones through that and then kind of being in a place where sharing media and creating media before it's profitable.

When people were telling, wow, YouTube, they're spending so much on hosting for their videos and so on and so forth. So I was able to make my bones a little while back on the front page of Reddit, got a bunch of different things that we're able to do with distribution, which was amazing.

And lo and behold, I was put in this position to where I wanted to start my company. And it all happened because I got laid off.

And during a really hard time, amazing things happened. I was able to get a call from someone I was able to work with, one of my mentors, one of the creators of LA Weekly.
He said, hey Ben, I have someone that's interested in working with you, and everything triggered. I was brought on to a company similar to Huffington Post, which was Truthdig.

They were more of a politically based website, and I ran social and marketing for them. And that really helped me touch a lot more, a lot more, a lot more people.

And I think I found my true calling by working within that space because I was able to understand that one of my gifts is giving a voice to those that can't speak for themselves.

And in everything I've done, I've really seen that as being one of my passions of being able to speak up for others.

And it's translated in so many ways, as simple as when we made a cartoon graphic the day before, and then I saw that cartoon graphic.

A child holding it in Egypt during the Egypt revolts. And he was holding the cartoon up in the masses. And that just made me understand that we have a much better control and be able to help others and speak up and share.

Benjamin Behrooz 05:02 
So that really showed the power was possible. And then I was able to start the company. I was able to start branding out of a small little single unit.

And everything else is history where I was able to really bring amazing people around me creators, and learning.

And to this day, I'm happy to say we still have our clients from 15 to 17 years ago that still want to work with us.
We've been doing this since about 2007 as a company. And every year, it's more and more inspiring because we really are able to work with the biggest players in the games. If they weren't, they are now.

So I'm very happy to be able to let others live their dreams and allow us to be a part of that journey with them.

Gresham Harkless 05:47
Yeah, I absolutely love that. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more. So I know you talked a little bit more about the graphic that you made and how it was seen all across the world.

Can you take us through a little bit more on that story and of course, how you're working with and serving the clients that you work with?

Benjamin Behrooz 06:02
Amazing. So that specific item I shared with you, that will happen at truthdig.com. They are a politically based website, their sister company to Huffington Post.

I was lucky enough to work within some of Some amazing people, Mr. Fish was the cartoonist that I was able to kind of work underneath, and he was one of the people that made those political cartoons.

And Robert Scheer as well, he was the editor-in-chief of the LA Times, and I was able to work with him within truththink.com.

So I had a very amazing opportunity to work under people that really were able to think outside the box, and that inspired me so much.

Having someone in this world believe in you is a very hard thing and the people that you do you keep them close You keep them close. You keep them around you because in this world There aren't many people that do so.

And I'm making a point that the people I support in my new era of staff that's coming in, I support them full-heartedly and I push them to success because the people that were around me at that time really helped me believe in myself.

But there is not a one size fits all, really looking at who the individual is, who the brand is, who their community is and building from there. And I think that's where we're really good at. Nice.

Gresham Harkless 07:17
I absolutely love that. I almost wonder if that is the secret sauce for you and the company as a whole, because I think so many times when we hear branding, we can automatically associate it with a logo, colors, things like that.

But to actually go and drill deep, to go deeply to that foundation, not just for today, but for tomorrow and years and years after that, do you feel like that is what kind of sets you apart and makes you unique, is that ability to understand that, but frankly, to be able to execute on that too?

Benjamin Behrooz 07:43
I think it definitely is the thing that makes us unique because the way that a brand is built is built by figuring out what is the voice and what is the conversation that's being had in the community that we want to be in.

So if everyone is talking about apples, apples, apples, and then we're trying to step in and we say oranges, it's not gonna work.

So really understanding the audience that we're catering to and how to speak to them. And because it's as important to reach a mom that drives a minivan if you have a baby product versus wanting to reach the gentleman that is about to go get a job and he wants to go buy a nice suit.

All these different things are different conversations. So it really is understanding the end to end of what is my goal? right here, and then figuring out a road of how to get there.

So even when our clients come in, we really ask them, what is your dream? Where do you want to be?

And for us, we reverse engineer because we know the pieces that we put together and something is really important. I really want to advocate, you shouldn't work with a company that's trying to sell you. Work with a company that's educated, that's telling you what's happening.

There is this reality of trust that has to be made with our clients. And with us, that is the first thing that happens in place because we become the back office for the business.

That trust is something that needs to be built. I can say yin yang up the wazoo, but at the end of the day, it's really what we do and how we implement things and that trust that we're building with them.

We really work on having our clients be smart to make their own decision based on what we're seeing. So whatever's happening on our side, we have those meetings with our clients.

We have chat groups with our clients. Like right now I have about 30 to 40 WhatsApp groups right now with our different clients where in the middle of the night someone will get inspired and they'll send something.

I have one of our clients on tour right now and he's sharing with us amazing things that we're going to be implementing for them. We have another client we're about to put a a robot inside of their store that's going to be the first shopkeeper that's able to sell products and shirts to people, a robot that's able to do it.

So innovation, new things we're able to do.
And we're really lucky. We work with amazing creatives. Our clients are amazing. They're able to think within a certain different realm.

And then them coming to us, we have that full circle because they have the idea. We have the ability to kind of put it together to have it actually be built out. So architecture at the end of the day.

Gresham Harkless 10:09
Yeah, I love that. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or even a habit that you have, but what's something you lean on that makes you more effective and efficient?

Benjamin Behrooz 10:23
I think from the granular level, I think just me being able to really write down a lot of my notes. I think that's probably a lot because I'm constantly thinking.

And I'm constantly having, I have horrible ADD, so I'm bouncing, but at the same time, um, as. As a youth growing up, you had to work harder to learn. So your brain is a little bit different because you had to have it work within your manage.

So now I'm using it to my advantage. So I'll be thinking about multiple things at once, multiple conversations. So making sure I'm writing everything down and making sure there is an execution to those thoughts. That's something I really recommend to people.

I'm putting that into place. I think, surrounding yourself with people that can make good decisions is probably the most important thing. And it's not one or two decisions. It's the manner in which someone will get to that answer.

And I think with all my staff, one of the main things that we really do is help them make good decisions based on the facts, on how they're able to make that decision.

What are the value points that need to come in? having amazing people around you. I am successful because of the people I have around me.

I am successful because of the creative and the care that my team implements. I'm just one, but I know you can call me the dog walker for the company.

I'll be okay with it because I see the team pushing hard. And that's one of my big things of I'm so thankful for the team I have around me, the creative they're able to bring in the care that they bring into the projects.

It's at the same level as I would want to be able to do.

Gresham Harkless 12:08
Yeah, that's such a huge thing to be able to kind of empower your team to be able to do that. And would you consider that to be what I like to call a CEO?

This could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

Benjamin Behrooz 12:25
Whatever you're wanting to do, add three more zeros to it. Because sky's the limit. I started in a 500 square foot single on unemployment, on nothing. But my dreams, my ambitions and knowing what is possible helped me to get where I am.

In the past week, we've probably had 15 shoots across America and big cities, multiple conventions. We've had everything going on and it just came from a want and a drive. Anything is possible. And whatever you think of, add three more zeros to it.

And then after 10 more years, add six zeros to it. You can do it. Do not think within this world, think among this world. And that's probably, for me, growing up, seeing what's there, that's what everybody should do.

Add three more zeros to whatever idea you have.

Gresham Harkless 13:24
Yeah. So now I wanted to ask you one of my absolute favorite questions, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And our goal is to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Ben, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Benjamin Behrooz 13:34
I think being a CEO, you have to have empathy. You have to have strength. You have to have the ability to have a vision that others don't have. To be able to see it from a seed to a full-grown tree that's up in the clouds.

It takes a lot because to run a company, it takes many, it's not one. So making sure you have empathy of those around you, make sure you have empathy for your clients.
And that term I'm using, I had to understand that as I got older and wiser, understanding what's happening around you. So really being that, I don't wanna use the word glue, but I think it's being able to be captain of the ship to where you understand your team and what they're doing.

And helping them be successful. They say like, you know, you're they work for you, but you're really working for them. And they sometimes people talk about it in a negative way.

But if you're working for them, you're working for them to give them opportunities to succeed.
So making sure those people underneath you are in a good place because the train will keep running.

If the conductor is not on there, it will stop. If they don't put coal in there, it'll stop. If the guys, they don't put the people on the train, it'll stop.

So making sure understanding your your company as a whole and figuring out where your stepping stones are to be able to push everyone forward.

You know, we have a lot of apps and CEOs that feel, Oh, everyone's going to do their job. That's good, but it really won't move. You can't scale.

You'll be able to keep things going, but not grow in a manner that you want. So be the CEO that you want, be the boss that you would want.

Understanding that you've been on this side in terms of an employee as well as a boss, understand both.

Gresham Harkless 15:18
Ben, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know.

And of course, how best people can get a view, find out about all the other things you and your team are working on.

Benjamin Behrooz 15:33
So best things I can say is we're in every major metropolitan city. So we have offices in Los Angeles, which is our baby where we started. We have offices in New York, we have offices in Hawaii, we have offices in Florida, and we have offices in Texas.

So we span the US and we are also international.
So we have clients that are in UAE, we have in different places. And you can check out our domains.

Our main domain, you guys can check out Branding Los Angeles and you'll be able to get a link to our other locations as well. And we're very accessible.

Reach out, say hello. If you have a question, something's hitting you, I don't know what to do. You have a friend with us. I'm Benjamin. I'm easy to find.

Gresham Harkless 16:14
Yeah. We're going to have the links and information in the show notes as well, too. But Ben, truly appreciate you taking some time out with us and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Benjamin Behrooz 16:21
Appreciate you. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for the community.

Hope this content inspires you guys and you guys are able to hit it out of the park.

Outro 16:29
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co.

I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Don't forget to schedule your complimentary digital marketing consultation at blue16media.com.

This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.

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