Hi, I’m Moj.
Welcome to my Substack, the corner of the internet where I get to be fully, unapologetically myself. If you’re new here, I’m glad you found your way in. And if you’ve been following my work for a while, you already know I tend to say the quiet parts out loud. Either way, you’re in the right place.
Here, I write about what I know best: building, leading, unlearning, and rebuilding. The things that don’t fit in a tweet or a board meeting. Some of it’s about founders and systems, some of it’s about identity and power, and most of it’s about figuring out how to move through the world with a little more clarity, purpose, and truth.
Who I Am
In case you are knew here, let me tell you about me. I’m a founder, operator, investor, and storyteller who’s obsessed with how people build things and why some ideas spark movements while others fade. My lens has always been culture, how it shapes technology, power, and the way we connect.
I’m an Iranian-American entrepreneur and cultural strategist who’s spent the last twenty years turning ideas into platforms and platforms into communities. As the former CEO and co-founder of Beautycon Media, I helped grow a small community event into a global platform for Gen Z and Millennial audiences across Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and Dubai and partnered with Shopify’s leadership to integrate digital retail and commerce tools that helped transform Beautycon into one of the first hybrid models connecting content, community, and commerce. Today, I’m the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Kinship Ventures, a fund I started with Gwyneth Paltrow, to back the world’s TAM creators; founders and brands inventing new markets and building the companies that define how we live, work, and create. Our portfolio includes: OpenAI, MoonPay, TeraWulf, Olipop, and Caddis.
If you’re building something that moves people, we want to know about it. Learn more or pitch your project at kinshipventures.com.
Beyond venture, I’ve worked with political leaders, movements, and institutions on narrative strategy, cultural intelligence, and systems thinking. I’ve advised figures including Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as governments and cultural organizations across the U.S., Middle East, and Europe, helping them use digital storytelling and behavioral data to shape communication and public engagement.
I founded Global Freedoms, a coalition amplifying Iranian voices and the Women, Life, Freedom movement, and co-founded the Iranian Diaspora Collective, which advocates globally for democracy, equality, and representation. I’m also the co-founder of Beauty United, a nonprofit coalition I co-founded in 2020 with entrepreneur Kendra Bracken-Ferguson to create mentorship, education, and access for underrepresented founders in beauty and wellness. Formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we united senior executives and investors from companies like The Estée Lauder Companies, Revlon, and Unilever to mentor emerging entrepreneurs and provide critical support to independent brands and small businesses navigating the crisis.
Over the years, my work has been recognized by Fast Company (Most Creative People in Business), The Hollywood Reporter (Top 25 Digital Power Players), Marie Claire (50 Most Influential Women), and Women’s Wear Daily (Digital Power Posse). I’ve been featured in The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Variety, and WWD, and I’m a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
What You’ll Find Here
This Substack is where I share the lessons, frameworks, and stories that come from two decades of building, investing, advising, and rebuilding. Expect essays on leadership, systems, capital, culture, clarity, and influence, along with behind-the-scenes reflections on what it means to grow, fail, and recalibrate in real time. Some days it’s strategy, some days it’s chaos, but it’s always honest.
You’ll also find reflections from my work at Kinship Ventures, Global Freedoms, and the Iranian Diaspora Collective, as well as conversations with founders, thinkers, and cultural leaders shaping what’s next.
If you’re a founder, creator, or curious builder, welcome to the room. Think of this space as your field guide for navigating growth, power, and purpose, without losing your edge or your soul.
Want to go deeper? Join our community
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably one of us, curious, driven, and allergic to surface-level thinking.
For deeper tips, unfiltered strategy, and the kind of insights I don’t share anywhere else, Subscribe to the exclusive tier.
You’ll also get access to private conversations with founders, creators, and thinkers who care about building things that last — and doing it differently. No spam, no noise — just honest reflections, frameworks, and the occasional wild idea sent directly from my desk (or wherever I’m building that day).
Want the full experience? Get the Substack app for an ad-free space where you can read, listen, and stay connected — wherever you’re building from.
If you’re ready to move differently, come build with us.
