Sunday, October 1, 2000
I was born and raised in South Florida. I earned both a bachelors and master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
My family is originally from Gujarat but my parents lived in Kenya. My father has been an entrepreneur all his life. While he always worked very hard, I never saw him rush to work or worry about answering to his boss. Even as a child, I knew that I wanted to be like my father – that I wanted to pursue my own dreams, change the world in my own way, and perhaps most importantly, that I didn’t want to work for anyone else.
I did, however, end up doing research for the Microsystems Technology Laboratories for a brief period. My work included designing and developing hardware and software for real-time pixel-parallel image processing for intelligent vehicle control. I also spent my summer internships working at Motorola, primarily on the next-generation wireless technology. I have been working with computers and technology since I was quite young, and while growing up I often assisted my father with his ventures.
Currently, I am the CTO of i411, a Chantilly, VA-based company. My father is the CEO and we are co-founders of the company. i411 is a developer and licensor of proprietary wireless and Web-based technologies for category-driven information retrieval in large content databases. i411 utilizes technologies that enable more efficient large content database searches than current technology permits. The company provides online information retrieval infrastructure, which allows wireless and web-based users to rapidly gain an understanding of the content and scope of the data or its searched subsets so they can navigate easily and efficiently to find the information they need.
i411 is a small, but growing, pre-IPO company, which currently employs about ten people. We recently launched our product and have been making sales.
As the CTO, I have a variety of responsibilities including business development, product strategy and positioning as well as exploration of new technologies. I also manage the company’s relationships with offshore development partners.
When I am not working or surfing the Web for industry updates, I dedicate myself to community work. I am a Shia Ismaili Muslim and am actively involved with the local Ismaili community, particularly the youth. I head a committee that helps the youth prepare for college by tutoring, mentoring and teaching them the skills such as preparation for the SAT. One of the programs we’re currently implementing is I-STAR (Ismaili Student Total Academic Recognit-ion),which recognizes excellence in education – both the brightest achievers and the hardest working/most-improved of the community.
Quite often, people ask me how I feel about working for my father. First of all, I don’t really feel that I work for my father, but rather that I work with my father. I would be lying if I said that we never disagree about any issue, but we both respect each other tremendously and know that at all times we have the company’s best interest in mind. The company that we’re building and the opportunity that we’re pursuing is extremely exciting. We’re both very driven and passionate about what we do and, as my Mother will certainly tell you, most of the time its very difficult to differentiate between our home life and our work life.
I am twenty-six years old and single!
