Throughout history women have accomplished numerous feats while standing in the face of adversity. Whether it is in the field of medicine, law, engineering, journalism or fashion women have more opportunities now than ever to accomplish their goals and make their voices heard. Yet for some that privilege does not always come easy either because of cultural taboos, socio-economic levels or family and friends who are unwilling to lend their support.
But as the saying goes ‘where there is a will, there is a way” and for Persian-American entrepreneur Gazal Tabrizipour there is no obstacle too big or small she cannot overcome. Tabrizipour is the owner of Gazal Eyewear which offers luxury sunglasses and eyewear to customers from all backgrounds and ethnicities. But what makes Tabrizipour business so unique is the story behind it. At a young age Tabrizipour was determined to pursue her passion of designing and creating glasses that were fashionable, functional and affordable.
But the road to success was filled with numerous challenges Tabrizipour says because she was a female and a Middle Eastern in the South. I first learned about Tabrizipour while flipping through “Atlanta” magazine at my hair salon and as a Persian-American female who also grew up in the South I thought Tabrizipour’s story would be a great way to share a different perspective and about how people should never give up on your dreams. 
Can you please tell me a bit about yourself?
I was born in Tehran, Iran and lived with my uncle for a year in Germany. I later relocated to Miami at age 9. I don’t’ know much about Iran, as far as being there and experiencing it but my family has served as my cultural connection. Currently I am a licensed dispensing optician in Georgia and am the owner of Gazal Eyecare.
What was it like growing up with Persian parents?
Like other kids who grew up with Middle Eastern parents, my dad’s dream for me was to become an MD, but that was not in the books for me. My father has unfortunately always been against what I do, and I think in our culture, it’s a little more common than not, for our parents to want us to become a doctor a lawyer or an engineer. He did not want me to become a designer, he was very hesitant towards that and even now he thinks I should go back to school to become an MD. So, I think that always led me to doubt myself and ask: should I or shouldn’t have I, but it also pushed me forward. I thought, well, this is his dream, but my dream is to become a designer and move forward with this which allowed me to keep going.
What prompted you to launch Gazal Eye-wear?
I always wanted to become a designer and have had a fascination with the anatomy of the eye and how it works. I started drawing glasses when I was eight or nine years old and as you can imagine they weren’t that great. But I had a couple of uncles who were ophthalmologists and spent time working in their practices which increased my interest. That experience peaked my curiosity in glasses, eye care, contacts and the anatomy of the eye. It got me really intrigued. As I got older I wanted to go to school for it and when I graduated and opened an optical practice my husband asked what I thought. I told him I really want the dream of starting my own line of eye-wear, which we began about ten years ago. It kept festering in me that that’s where I needed to be.
What is different about Gazal Eye-wear?
A lot of our frames are made for every ethnicity to wear. Persians for example have thicker eyebrows so I try to highlight that by creating frames which usually sit under the eyebrow unless they are made very large. For an Asian client we have frames which line up with the nose template, we will flatten it out, so it does not dig into their nose and can also be worn by an African American or a Persian person with a super narrow bridge. I try to incorporate all those influences into a single frame. It takes me two years to create a frame but it’s because I am so particular.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I started wearing glasses when I was six and hated them. They were big, bulky and heavy and when I saw them in music videos they were always so fashionable, but no one could afford them, and if you could they were not well made. So, for me it was years of saying I wish I could have this, but I want it that way, and I want the quality to be this way. So, it comes from years of trying different glasses and wanting to put quality, fashion and comfort altogether, which is basically what my life revolves around anyhow. Whether its food, fashion or clothing, I want the durability and comfort, but I also want the runway look.
What were some stigmas you experienced as a female entrepreneur?
So, I learned very quickly that this is not an industry you can get to easily. And I’ll be honest with you the biggest thing is to be an optometrist and be in this industry. That’s where you want to be. To be an optician, to be a woman and being Middle Eastern there was a lot of drawbacks and people telling me that’s not possible. I had men laugh at me and a fire marshal who came to approve me said, “are you serious,” like he literally laughed at me. So, these were the things I had to take on, but it’s made me a better person.
What’s it like being a female entrepreneur today?
Moving from Miami to Georgia has been an awakening. Miami was a huge melting pot and it was very easy to fit in with everyone but when I moved to Georgia I experienced a lot of resistance for being Middle Eastern and for being a female entrepreneur. I got that a lot from males to say the least. I started doing commercial real estate for my father when I moved to Georgia. It’s a very male dominated industry and being a 22 years-old real estate agent, selling commercial property was a difficult area to be in.
How did you overcome challenges?
To be honest I like showing people that change can happen, and that change is a good thing. The more I heard that this is not possible the more I thought to myself I can make this possible. I thought if I can show people that you can make it in the worst economy, that you can make it as a Middle Eastern woman and as a woman in a state that is really against you then maybe I can motivate other people to say okay it’s not that bad.
It is worth trying as opposed to saying, it is what it is and let me just step back, that actually makes you a better person.” The more people said no, the more they laughed and said I can’t do this, the more motivation I received to just push forward. I don’t believe there is anything you can’t accomplish if you put your mind to it. You might have to make some sacrifices (I ate ramen noodles for like two years and sold all my furniture) but it was so worth it to get to where I’ve come to.
I also give credit to my husband. He has been my rock, my motivation and backbone. Life with out him would not be what it is. He is the only person that has stuck by me regardless of what decisions I have made. I would say I would dedicate my entire line, business, and life to him. He always puts me in the front lines and does so much for me and … once you get that reassurance it gets you going for days and years at a time. I think if you can find somebody that gives you that, there is no amount of money, or anything in this world that can take that place for you. Nothing else gives me more joy than that love and support that is constantly given.
What’s next for you?
Before I had my little girl, the sky was the limit and all I wanted to do was work and now she has taken over my world. But my husband and I still enjoy traveling so we really just want to keep two optical practices in each state that carry our eye-wear. We don’t want to become a franchise as far as our eye-wear goes but we do work with private boutiques that understand the line and really do well with it. Not just selling it but understanding why it is so different than other lines. We are hoping to get 50 accounts by 2020 which would grow our eCommerce and help some of my apprentices become opticians. But I think the next two things I will be working on is writing a guideline for optical and the second would be teaching at a store in Georgia in order to get more women and people in general to become entrepreneurs an to think outside the box.
Why be an entrepreneur?
I’ve always wanted to be my own boss but other than that I have always wanted to do something to inspire other people. Security is the number one reason people don’t try anything. Most will say, ‘well, what if I fail.’ This is the case for anything, if you ride a bike, your going to fall down, your going to scrape your knee and get a scar, it’s the same thing in life. I want them to understand that it is worth taking that risk. We only have one life to live so let’s take that chance and if we fail there is always a background and you can always go back to the big box thing, but its worth taking a chance on your dreams and I want to be that person that one you can and two not only can you do it, you can do it in the worst economy, the worst situation and when everything is against you. There is just no other feeling of accomplishment that compares to be honest with you.
What do you love most about what you do?
When I first started my eye-wear, I had so much doubt in my head and so much feeling of what if but still went through with it. Especially after I purchased one of my third boutiques. But I had a patient who purchased one of my glasses and three years later she came back to one of my stores. I thought oh my gosh she is still wearing those glasses and she said I go to the pool with them, I shower with them, I scuba dived with them and these glasses have not only lasted me they have been comfortable. She turned to me and said, “I can’t thank you enough for creating something that I have to wear, I don’t have a choice however it makes me feel confident and good and I just wanted to say I really appreciate what you have done.”
That moment was worth everything for me. That is really the reason why I started this. People always ask me: ‘why are you so different from Tom Ford’ and the answer is not that I have a different or crazy line but because I want a patient to put my glasses on and say ‘I want to look beautiful in it and two this makes my life easier’. That is what makes me wake up every morning and create a different design.
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