Media People Podcast

Mo Dezyanian describes himself as the “kid who skipped cartoons to watch the commercials.” But if you look at his early years, you’d be hard pressed to see a future ad agency founder. A somewhat nomadic childhood, Mo was born in Iran, but spent much of his youth living in Germany. His family eventually moved to Canada, and Mo would go on to study computer Science at York University. The original goal was to work for Microsoft, but Mo decided to enroll in McMaster University’s MBA program. While there, he won an inter-university business case competition. The prize? Admission to a CFO conference. And it had a big impact on his future. He met a member of the Tim Horton’s board who also owned a boutique ad agency. He converted that meeting into his first media job before moving over to Trojan One. Mo shifted into freelancing before founding Empathy Inc.—an agency priding itself on providing expertise in media, but also showcasing what media can do for business. Mo Dezyanian stops by to chat about growing u