Dornubari Vizor is the co-founder of Yazamo, a “sales as a service” (SaaS) marketing company that focuses on helping businesses engage and attract new customers through interactive content. Yazamo helps small to mid-size businesses solve a common problem: struggling to generate adequate leads. With their innovative virtual platforms, startups and established companies can develop, optimize, and scale their online marketing efforts.
Though co-founding a startup comes with many hats, Dornubari focuses mainly on operations and product development. As he says, you can often find him mapping feature releases for Yazamo’s software and exploring opportunities within the space so they can continue to expand in the future.
What part of Arizona do you call home?
Tempe. Home of the Sun Devils and my alma mater.
What do you do?
I’m the co-founder of Yazamo, a SaaS marketing company that focuses on helping marketers to engage and attract new customer through interactive content. As a co-founder of a startup you hold many different positions, but I mainly focus my attention on operations and product development. You can often find me mapping feature releases for our software and exploring opportunities within our space so we can continue to expand in the future.
What was your very first entrepreneurial venture?
Selling items on eBay for local businesses back in high school. I essentially ran my own business at the age of 17 and would find or purchase items that needed a small amount of repair work, make the repairs or sell them as-is for profit.
What is your favorite part about running a business?
Knowing that I don’t have to have a standard work schedule if I don’t want to. I love having the ability [to take] my laptop and [work] remotely from a coffee shop. So many people that I graduated with are in a standard 9 to 5 and sit behind a cubicle all day, and I know that isn’t for me.
How did you get started in the tech industry?
Since an early age I have been interested in tech; I used to take apart my parents’ computer and rebuild it or upgrade the hardware for fun. The interest never went away, and one day by chance at ASU I met John Martin, who taught me how to program and grow the interest even further.
How long have you lived or worked in Arizona? What have you noticed about the growth of the tech industry here?
I have lived in Arizona for about 17 years now. Just in the past few years the tech scene has grown immensely! I remember graduating from ASU and peers saying they were going to California because that was where the tech companies were, and it made me realize that amazing tech companies could start here as well because of everything Arizona has to offer. Shortly after major tech companies were popping up all around the valley.
If you could only describe your city with one word, which word would it be?
Emerging.
What’s your favorite thing about living in Arizona?
There is always something to do, whether it is attending festivals, driving up to Sedona to hike for the day, going to one of our amazing restaurants. You name it, we’ve got it! And not to mention we have the best weather.
What’s your least favorite thing about living in Arizona?
Everything is so spread out, and you have to drive everywhere.
The foodie scene is growing bigger and bigger by the day here in Arizona. What is your favorite place to get breakfast in your city?
O.H.S.O; the biscuits and gravy are amazing and for $10 you get your breakfast and a beer. What more can you ask for?
What’s your favorite place to grab lunch?
Our office is located downtown and there are so many options, but my favorite has got to be Crescent Ballroom. They have some of the best tacos in the city!
What’s your favorite dinner spot?
Culinary Dropout at The Yard in Tempe. The food is great and the perfect spot to go with friends to have dinner and play some games afterwards. I’m always down for a game of shuffleboard or corn hole!
What’s your favorite place to work in your city aside from your office?
Sip Coffee and Beer House in Scottsdale. Not only do they have a great drink selection, but it is a great place to network with other people in the tech world.
Best place for a meeting over drinks?
Four Peaks. I love supporting the local brewery and showing off all that Arizona has to offer to clients and potential new hires. And you can’t beat their chicken strips!
What is something about living in Arizona that only a local would know of?
Valley Bar. It’s this really cool underground bar in downtown Phoenix that is hidden in the alley way right behind our office and the only thing that shows you there is a bar there is a small neon sign above the door. Before we moved our office downtown I had no idea there were places like this and it has quickly become one of my favorite weekend spots.
Any tips for new Arizona residents?
Ride the Light Rail at least once at night. It can be a fun experience and going over Tempe Town Lake at night gives you a whole new perspective of how our city looks. It’s pretty great!
