When my family migrated from Iran to the United States in 1978, my parents gave me advice that I continue to live by; they said, "you have two countries now, take the best of both worlds." In short, they advised balance, and that's what I strive for in my work as well as in my life.

Growing up I had a natural interest in language and books. Even as a child I was a voracious reader and loved to write. In high school, and later in college, I wrote for the campus newspaper. At UCLA, my interest grew from being a journalist to understanding how newspapers are produced. Soon I was not only a writer and editor for several publications, I was also in charge of their production. It was a great balance between creative expression and technical execution.

After completing my formal education, I pursued a career in graphic design. Working with AdOut was an extraordinary experience. We built the nation's first newspaper advertising production outsourcing agency. In the process, I developed my management skills and found I had a talent for creating highly efficient production systems. The newspaper industry noticed the ground breaking work we were doing and I received offers to help papers across the country replicate our systems.

Consulting was rewarding but I missed the entrepreneurial excitement that came with smaller companies and startups. I decided to reduce my travelling and partnered in a graphic design studio, DesignQuorum, and later launched a community-based culture and lifestyle magazine, Namak.

My goal in all my professional and personal ventures remains constant, to create a balanced environment in which creativity thrives, people take pride in their work, and high standards become a way of life.