I was born in Tehran, Iran in 1972.  I moved to America as a teenager, in part to avoid being drafted into the Iran-Iraq war.  I worked very hard as a student, learned computer programming, and went to Harvard.

At 23, I joined some friends who were starting an internet startup called LinkExchange.  Two years later, our company was bought by Microsoft.  Later I ran a website named GarageBand.  My last startup, iLike, was acquired by Myspace in 2009.

Along the way I've also been lucky enough to invest in many cool companies started by good friends, and I've been a strategic advisor to others.  The best-known examples include: Dropbox, Zappos, and Facebook.

I believe in creating value, and giving back. My whole career has been based on empowering the little guy, and I'm ever optimistic about the internet's ability to open opportunities and to level the playing field.

Outside technology, I care passionately about reforming the US food & agriculture landscape. I'm a huge fan of Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and the movie "Food, Inc." These two works greatly influenced my own philosophy towards US food and agriculture.  

I believe we can change America's food system to make responsible, healthy, nutritious food choices more affordable and accessible to everybody; to re-empower farmers and reward them not only for feeding us, but also for nourishing the planet; and to realign corporations so they profit the most when they are serving us.

My favorite artists are Adele, Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Garbage, Coldplay, U2, The Beatles, and Beethoven.