Shayan Italia

Shayan
Birth name Shayan Italia
Also known as Shayan
Born Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Occupation(s) Entrepreneur, Musician, Singer-Songwriter
Instruments Piano

Shayan Italia, also known by his stage name Shayan (pronounced 'shy-yan'), is an Indian-born International multi-award winning British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.[1] He gained publicity by selling portions of his future earnings on eBay[2] and with his song "Reflection". He is only one of a handful of individuals from India to be interviewed by Sir David Frost. Feel, his album is a collection of 12 songs honouring his Mother who died from Multiple Myeloma. The ambitious production features a production crew of 135 musicians, vocalists, engineers, arrangers and multi-Grammy, Emmy and Brit award winning producers. Feel, as a body of work, is personal and not for commercial release. As a free give away, the album has garnered over 30 million downloads worldwide[3] and is under consideration to be made into a Broadway musical.

Italia started Biryani360 in Mumbai on 1 March 2015, a critically acclaimed food delivery service rated as Forbes Best Food Delivery Startup India,[4] CNBC Best Online StartupFood Delivery,[5] TimesCity's 5 Food Startups You Need To Try,[6] Best Takeaway Food Joints in Mumbai,[7] Economic Times’ 5 Internet Startups That Have Become Household Names[8] and was recently honoured as one of the Hot 100 Tech Startups at the Exhibit Awards 2016 that took place on 9 March 2016 in Bengaluru.[9] In March 2016, Biryani360 was acquired for an all stock deal by an International Michelin Star restaurant group to infuse its flagship recipes into their own menu allowing them to branch out into Indian Cuisine.

Early life and education

Born and raised a Zoroastrian[10] in Secunderabad, India, Shayan studied at The Doon School, Dehradun and moved to London after the deaths of both his parents.[11] He has earned two degrees, a bachelor's degree in audio engineering from the Alchemea College of Audio Engineering and a master's degree in Music Business Management from the University of Westminster.[11]

Music career

Shayan unexpectedly began writing songs after his mother died.[11] He was the first unsigned act to have a song played on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and performed at the Royal Albert Hall.[12] To support the production of his album "Feel", he auctioned off a portion of his future earnings on eBay, raising US$18,000 in seven days, but later raised a sum total of US$1 million by conventional means. He has also been interviewed by Sir David Frost on his show Frost Over The World[12] His song "Reflection" reached number one on YouTube's music video chart.[13] The song had previously won the All India Song Contest.[14]

Biryani360

Italia started Biryani360 in Mumbai.[15] The idea came to him when he was sitting in his bedroom and fooling around with animation software and created a video of two fictitious characters that declared their unity for one another over their love for Biryani. This sparked interested amongst both family and peers and eventually led him to consider setting it up as a business.[16] The brand's flagship kitchen was setup in Bandra, a popular district of Mumbai, and operations started on 1 March 2015. Within a year, Italia, through guerilla marketing and social media, steered the brand to become a critically acclaimed food delivery service rated as Forbes Best Food Delivery Startup India,[17] CNBC Best Online StartupFood Delivery,[5] TimesCity's 5 Food Startups You Need To Try,[6] Best Takeaway Food Joints in Mumbai,[7] Economic Times’ 5 Internet Startups That Have Become Household Names[8] and was recently honoured as one of the Hot 100 Tech Startups at the Exhibit Awards 2016 that took place on 9 March 2016 in Bengaluru.[18] Biryani360’s food is created using BlueFlame™ technology[19] and features very little cholesterol and oil.[20] It is nutritionally healthy and complies with the FDA guidelines for a balanced meal. In March 2016, Biryani360 was acquired for an all stock deal by an International Michelin Star restaurant group to infuse its flagship recipes into their own menu allowing them to branch out into Indian Cuisine.

Philanthropy

Post his parent's death, Italia has been actively associated with multiple causes globally relating to Cancer Research and Multiple Sclerosis and has helped raise funds privately for the same.

References

  1. ↑ "Wannabe star uses eBay to launch pop career". Agence France-Presse. The Sunday Times. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  2. ↑ Ayushi Uberoi (4 May 2008). "Meet Shayan Italia". The Viewspaper.
  3. ↑ DGrantSmith (6 June 2014). "Sound Bites: Shayan Italia". Appetize Radio.
  4. ↑ Adityan Wilruka (24 Aug 2016). "Biryani360 leads food startups explosion in India, a market said to be valued at $70bn by 2020". Forbes.
  5. 1 2 "Online Food". CNBC India. 1 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 Anisha Bangera (16 March 2015). "5 Food Startups You Need To Try". Whats Hot.
  7. 1 2 Anisha Bangera (17 February 2015). "Best Takeaway Food Joints in Mumbai". Munni Of All Trades.
  8. 1 2 "Five internet-first restaurants that have become household names". Economic Times. 15 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Exhibit 100 Hottest Tech Startups 2016" (Press release). Thetechy.com. 8 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Indian-born singer/songwriter to take UK charts by storm" (Press release). Great Reporter. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  11. 1 2 3 Abhijit Dev Kumar (12 October 2007). "This Hyderabadi rocks in U.K.". The Hindu. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  12. 1 2 Smith, David (26 August 2007). "Debut album for singer who sold himself online". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  13. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (13 March 2008). "YouTube No 1 is a long way from success on the music charts". The Times. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  14. ↑ Momin, Sajeda (9 February 2008). "In the mood for a melody". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  15. ↑ Purva Mehra (15 March 2015). "FOOD REVIEW: BIRYANI 360". ‘’The Daily Pao’’.
  16. ↑ "Basmati Baritone: Biryani360 Delivery Service". ‘’Brown Paper Bag’’. 5 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Adityan Wilruka (24 Aug 2016). "Biryani360 leads food startups explosion in India, a market said to be valued at $70bn by 2020". Forbes.
  18. ↑ "Exhibit 100 Hottest Tech Startups 2016" (Press release). Thetechy.com. 8 March 2016.
  19. ↑ Papri Das (17 April 2015). "Biryani in Mumbai gets a 360 degree makeover". ‘’Indian Television’’.
  20. ↑ Joanna Lobo (14 October 2014). "The Slim Biryani". ‘’Mumbai Mirror’’.
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