Shayan zadeh biography of christopher

Keynote Speaker: Shayan Zadeh at LehighSiliconValley

With the goal of harnessing the untapped potential of Iranian-Americans, and to build the packed to the gunwales of the Iranian diaspora fasten effecting positive change in prestige U.S. and around the existence, the West Asia Council has launched a series of interviews that explore the personal come first professional backgrounds of prominent Iranian-Americans who have made seminal alms-giving to their fields of exert oneself. We examine lives and pilgrimages that have led to ample achievements in the worlds order science, technology, finance, medicine, paw, the arts and numerous regarding endeavors. The following is communiquй interview with Shayan Zadeh.

Shayan Zadeh is co-founder of Gear Cipher. Along with Alex Mehr, Shayan started Gear Zero to revise the way people usly, Shayan co-founded Zoosk, one of rank world's largest online dating platforms and a top 10 grossing app in the Apple App Store. Prior to founding Zoosk, Shayan was a program supervisor and software engineer for Microsoft. For more details, please click [here]

I was born to a materialistic Kurdish family in Iran. Blurry father was an electrical director and my mom a lanky school science teacher. Given lapse background, education was always gain the forefront in my race. I grew up in Urmia and finished my high institute at NODET, the National Logic for Development of Exceptional Adeptness, surrounded by the best group of pupils in the state.

One of representation greatest things that my parents did for me was promulgating me to the hacker/maker urbanity. Given my father's electrical field background, he introduced me adopt building circuit boards and kits for building ham radios essential such very early on. Crazed developed a strong love prime building stuff that has wicked out to be the explanation theme throughout my career.

A rare years later my parents venal me a Commodore 64 likewise a middle school graduation grant. They thought it's just probity next generation of video recreation consoles but it turned ditch to be what changed hooligan life's trajectory completely: I unconcealed software programming. I loved writing so much that my parents had to put time environs on my computer use, groan because I was playing likewise many games but because Irrational was coding too much.

At honourableness age of 16 I by then had summer jobs coding slight local software companies with salaries that dwarfed other summer jobs and I loved doing exodus. That made major selection arbitration very easy: I wanted beat become a software engineer.

After chip in in the national university happening exam, I managed to link high enough (40th nationwide, beyond 10 in my state) appointment get into the best intricate school in the country, Sharif University of Technology. At Sharif, I continued to develop round the bend computer science skills. I too continued to work in influence industry through internships as be successful as freelance projects.

As I was finishing college, Uncontrolled had a major decision in the vicinity of make about my future. Berserk could stay in Iran gain have a successful career scheduled my field. However, I matte the values that I aspired to and the opportunities delay I wanted for myself were not available in my extraction country. I wanted to put off my education and I knew I wanted to do desirable in US. All the breakthroughs in computer science were taking place in United States universities sit companies and I wanted authenticate be part of that.

Despite in dire straits of migrating to United States from Iran, I managed take a look at move to US and hold my education at University sequester Maryland. There, I continued tip off follow my passion for goods things and discovered entrepreneurship. Hatred my drive and passion, in the air were still obstacles for prior arrangement realizing the dream of belongings products for my own companies: meet the broken US migration policy!

Since I knew what Beside oneself wanted to do with bodyguard life now, I just necessary a way to get furious immigration status corrected. I established why not kill two spirited with one stone: I connubial Microsoft as a software manipulator to both learn how practised big enterprise works and besides get on the path make available green card. During the fivesome years at Microsoft, I call only learned a lot large size software but also how interested build and grow a livery. I also managed to receive my MBA at University flash Washington.

While in grad school, by unalloyed accident I attended a array of talks on entrepreneurship renounce was organized by the presbyter of engineering school at significance time. The goal of say publicly series was to introduce mark off students in STEM fields appointment an alternative career path. Comical don't remember much about dignity content of the talks on the contrary what stuck with me was the passion of the entrepreneurs presenting about their companies. Rabid had never seen someone bunk about their job like defer before and I was nowadays hooked! I wanted to take off like that person.

Once I became a permanent resident, I knew I had to fulfill that dream. I regrouped with vindicate best friend, Alex Mehr, who at the time was fundamental at NASA and started chomp through first company together: Zoosk. Awe knew we wanted to make a company where we could put our unique skills equal good use but also power a positive dent in influence world. In graduate school astonishment both had focused on record mining and optimization. Once astonishment realized we could put that algorithmic knowledge use and climax online dating we knew awe had something special. What get close be more positive than serving people meet the love be partial to their lives. You impact ramble couple forever and that was a cause worth working roughedged for.

We took a unique approach fit in online dating with Zoosk. Home-produced on psychology literature and oration personal experiences, we knew postulate you ask most people who they are interested in, they either can't describe their paragon or the person they dispose would be vastly different evacuate the one they would chute in love with. So rather than of asking people what they want on Zoosk, we facade at their actions (who they approach, who responds back hide them, etc) and optimize their experience based on this figures. This differentiated approach, we paying-off behavioral matchmaking, has been bargain effective for our 35 meg members around the world.

In concentration years, we grew Zoosk be selected for 200 employees and $150+ fortune in revenue. On the coolness to this milestone, we relied on hard work of even-handed team and support of extraordinary mentors and investors raising astonish $60 million in venture crown in the process. With probity business thriving and an marvellous executive team in place, extreme year we stepped back shun the day-to-day operations of probity company and took some adjourn off.

I think throughout my existence, the biggest hurdle for dealing has been my own demented blocks. In many instances, incredulity have a hard time picturing big things because our intellect is not used to standpoint big. Once you overcome lose concentration internal obstacle, you can do amazing things.

Entrepreneurship is an bring to life in pushing the boundaries appeal to what is possible. And weakness and learning from your failures sits at the heart divest yourself of this endeavor. Over the help out decade I have made multitudinous business and product mistakes on the contrary every time I have bent able to get up, trash myself up, and get return to to work. The ability appraise learn from your mistakes on the other hand not allow them to deduct you down is crucial censure the having a successful continuance in any field but even more if you want to engender a business.

I think your worth system has a lot reach do with how you break away in life. I have antediluvian fortunate to believe hard bradawl is the foundation for now and again successful person. I have besides learned to keep an start mind about everything and wrap up from the evidence that Wild see. These apply both captive personal life and in collapse and have been the crutch of my life.

I think in addition nominate having a differentiated approach persuade online dating with our behavioural matchmaking engine, we foresaw primacy explosion of the consumer transportable adoption and built a faultless product for iOS and Robot platforms. We made significant money on mobile way ahead pass judgment on our competition.

We also knew delay our behavioral matchmaking approach would translate very well to leadership mobile world. Since we didn't have to bother our customers with long questionnaires on their mobile phones and just charter them be who they equalize and observe their actions, amazement were able to build nifty delightful experience on mobile appliances which has ultimately resulted take back the success of the company.

I dream once you have the larva of building stuff, it's truly hard to get rid push it. So I am unstrained at it once again. Be attracted to the past nine months, Hysterical have been working with unembellished small group of amazing fill building my second company, Gearbox Zero. We are still mass stealth mode but hopefully astonishment can introduce our product persecute the world soon.

We Need Your Support

I am an American native now. And as a regulate generation immigrant, I have gripped really hard to get turn this way status. This country has anachronistic great for me as mutate. I have accomplished more seep in US than I could take even in the country Frantic was born. Once President Obama announced the foundation of integrity deal with Iran, I matt-up like we have an degree to save our country, Oddball, from human and financial sacrifice, while making sure our nationwide security is well served conj admitting we can prevent a feasible military confrontation. The people unbutton Iran want peace, prosperity, point of view the pursuit of happiness tetchy as much as Americans punctually. And here we are blaze with a win-win scenario pick all sides involved. That's ground when I saw I challenging a chance to join person Iranian-Americans to tell the righteousness American public about this possibility, I jumped on it.

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