|
Farhad
Mohit
Chairman
BizRate
Born
Feb. 24, 1969, Tehran 
Education
BS in math and computer science and BA in economics, UCLA, 1991;
MBA in entrepreneurial management, Wharton School, 1996
Career
While at Wharton, he dreamed up BizRate, a Web site that rates e-tailers
and tracks down merchandise. He wrote the business plan as his master's
thesis, then started the company in June, 1996, in his parents'
home with the help of former classmate Henri Asseily, now BizRate's
chief technology officer. Today Mohit is the chairman. Why he would
just as soon not be the CEO ''My ego is attached to the business
model and the vision, not to building a resume. Having a partner
who understands how to get departments to work in sync frees me
up to focus fully on the strategic side. That's what I do best.''
Defining
childhood experience
Fled the revolution in Iran with his family in 1978. Lived in France,
England, and Northern California before settling in L.A. in 1984.
''I met a lot of different kinds of people, and the ones I liked
most were not afraid to be themselves. I learned that individuality
is a cool thing to have.''
First
Web job
Spent the summer of his MBA program designing a Web site for the
Wharton Journal, for which he was a columnist. ''While everyone
else was getting big internships at places like Goldman Sachs, I
went to the Journal. They couldn't pay me, but I did it anyway so
I could learn how to work the Web,'' he says.
Business
idol
John Hagel, author of Net Worth, a book that sings the praises of
Web ''infomediaries'' that help consumers sort out online surfing
and spending opportunities. The book is required reading for BizRate
employees and investors.
Hobby
Reading and writing poetry. Favorite poets are Jorge Luis Borges,
e.e. cummings, and Persian poet Rumi, because ''his poetry is all
about the joy of now, the ecstasy of living in the moment.''
Why
he's unkempt
Mohit wears tattered clothes and doesn't spend much time on grooming.
''I would feel uncomfortable if I blended into the crowd. I am a
quirky, unique person. People don't forget me. I believe that's
a service to the company,'' he says.
|
