My career has been focussed on building software to efficiently distribute resources and empower individuals. I built OpenCal to help small businesses fill their empty time slots, lead mobile app design at Groupon to help bring customers to empty local shops, and I'm now working on ShareGrid which is the largest sharing economy marketplace for creatives, giving film-makers and photographers access to idle gear. My work is heavily inspired by Jacque Fresco's futuristic vision of a resource based economy and Charles Eisenstein's sacred economics.
I was born in Iran in 1980, grew up in Seattle (where I currently reside with my wife and two sons), and have lived in Vancouver, B.C. and San Francisco. My personality type is INTJ.
Currently
- ShareGrid (Co-founder, Chief Product Officer)
- SmartyPants (Investor)
- GoodPeach (Advisor)
Past
- AirLab (Co-founder, Designer)
- Groupon Labs (Lead Product Designer & Manager)
- Groupon (Product Design Lead, Consumer Mobile)
- Groupon Scheduler (Sr. Product Designer)
- OpenCal (Co-founder - Acquired by Groupon)
- TrainMachine (Co-founder, Designer)
- Sitemasher (Sr. Designer - Acquired by Salesforce)
- Avicy (Acquired by Teravendo)
- Anivo Media (Founder, Designer)
Capabilities
- Startup, Web Application Strategy
- Product Design & Management
- User Interface & Interaction Design, Usability Testing
- Mobile Design
- Prototyping in Framer X, Sketch, Webflow, Figma and AfterEffects
- React.js, Javascript, HTML/CSS, HAML, SASS, MySQL
- Ruby on Rails, Node, PHP Integration
- git Source Control
- Web, Brand, Print Design
- Website Performance Optimization
- Headless CMS, JAM Stack, Serverless Deployment
- Search Engine Optimization, A/B testing, Online Marketing
- Linux System Administration
- Professional Photography
- Maya 3D Modeling and Animation
- Video Editing Premier Pro, AfterEffects
Interests Outside of Tech:
- Family/Kids
- Travel Photography
- Hiking/Camping/Backpacking/Bikepacking
- Electric Bikes/Boats/Cars
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Centrist Geopolitics and Economic Theory
- Non-dualism & Meditation
- Classical Piano
- Long-form Intellectual Podcasts
- Gardening and Hydroponics
- Wood-working
- Cooking/Baking/Smoking
- Hi-Fi Audio
In The News
- ShareTribe
- GeekWire
- Variety
- TechCrunch (1) (2) (3)
- TechVibes
- Vancouver Sun
- Business Vancouver
- IT Business Canada
- Photographs published in Bon Appetite and Yes! Magazine
Formal Education
-
University of Washington 2003
BA Visual Arts, with emphasis in Computer Animation -
911 Media Arts Center - Certificate 2007
Documentary Film-making