After news broke that Televic had snapped up conferencing specialist Media Vision, Inavate caught up with Fardad Zabetian, founder of Media Vision and its former CEO.
Zabetian [pictured above] launched Media Vision in 2002, a company that would go on to perform thousands of design installations across 50 countries for some of the world’s biggest international organisations. One of the highlights was Room XIX at the United Nations’ Palais des Nations in Geneva that Inavate was honoured to visit and report on in January 2020.
“From turning heads in 2012 during the G-20 summits, to watching the 2013 General Assembly in New York use fully renovated technology in the Assembly Hall and Security Council for the first time, my time leading Media Vision has been exciting, to say the least,” says Zabetian. “We’ve installed systems across the world at the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, Council of Europe, and many other leading organisations and corporations.”
For 15 years of its operation, Media Vision facilitated distribution of Taiden products to its North American and European clients, a partnership that is set to end following the Media Vision’s acquisition by Televic.
Zabetian says he’s grateful to the Taiden for the 15-year partnership. “Taiden’s unwavering support and confidence in Media Vision were instrumental in our growth. Our partnership also allowed me to understand and appreciate China’s innovative and hardworking culture
That next chapter for Zabetian will be firmly focused on KUDO, a multilingual web conferencing platform he launched in 2017. For Zabetian, the launch of KUDO came from the same motivations he had when establishing Media Vision.
“I launched Media Vision with a mission to facilitate better communication by amplifying the voices of overall extraordinary humans—thought leaders, decision-makers, educators, and change-makers—one meeting at a time,” Zabetian says. “This mission still guides and inspires my efforts today.”
To achieve that goal Media Vision would supply “innovative, reliable and intuitive global solutions for in-person conference attendees and interpreters”, Zabetian says.
With KUDO “we’ve managed to change the way the world accesses professional interpreters through our interpreter marketplace, giving clients 24/7 access to over 12,000 interpreters on-demand,” he adds.
“We were there for businesses and organisations when the world shifted to remote work offering solutions that were purpose built for global multilingual collaboration. We’ve also facilitated secure partnerships and native integrations into the platforms of videoconferencing giants like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, ON24 and Hopin. With our integrations, clients can now access live interpretation in any language on their preferred platform
“Moving forward, I’m more committed than ever to facilitating better communication. The language barrier is, in many ways, the final obstacle to truly seamless global communication and collaboration. What Media Vision brought to the physical conference space—innovative and reliable solutions for in-person attendees and interpreters—KUDO will continue to build upon in the virtual space. KUDO empowers everyone by providing access to interpretation services, bringing expertise that was once exclusive to the four walls of a conference room to the four corners of the world.”
Now, as Zabetian steps back from his role at Media Vision he says: “After 20 years in the business of facilitating and improving communication for our diverse clientele, I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter of Media Vision at its new home, Televic.
“Learning and growing with Media Vision over the last two decades has sharpened my leadership and entrepreneurial skills. As I continue to grow KUDO, I'll continue to apply the many lessons I’ve learned through first-hand experience and the sage advice I’ve received from the brilliant minds I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with along the way.
“I’ve learned the importance of being customer obsessed and solutions-oriented and the value and necessity of constantly adapting to customers' needs as they change and evolve.
“I’ve also learned how to build a global, agile team. As our team expanded, we did too, opening offices in New York and San Francisco and eventually expanding to Europe. I’ve seen first-hand the effects of embracing a global mindset and how team diversity fosters more creative strategies, solutions, and a more robust understanding of different market needs and challenges.
“Lastly, I’ve learned the importance of reliable and secure communication.
To the Media Vision team, a heartfelt thank you. I’m extraordinarily proud and grateful for what we’ve accomplished as a ‘small but mighty’ team. I’m even more excited to see you grow at your new home in Televic. I know you will continue to provide the same excellent solutions and support to your customers. “
“As I turn the page to the next chapter in my career, my sights are firmly set on the future. I envision a world where everyone can connect, communicate, and collaborate easily, without language barriers. We are laying the foundations for that world at KUDO.”