{{short description|American internet entrepreneur}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{Infobox person | name = Mahbod Moghadam | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Mahbod Moghadam of Rap Genius speaks onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013.jpg | caption = Mahbod Moghadam at TechCrunch Disrupt New York 2013 | occupation = Internet entrepreneur | employer = Everipedia (2015–2019)<br />Genius (2009–2014) | awards = | spouse = | children = | other_names = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1982|11|17}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|3|25|1982|11|17}} | alma_mater = Yale University (BA)<br />Stanford Law School (JD) | alt = | known_for = * Co-founder of Everipedia * Co-founder of Genius | website = }}
'''Mahbod Moghadam''' ({{Birth date|1982|11|17}} – March 25, 2024) was an American<ref name=":1" /> internet entrepreneur.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahbod Moghadam: An Obituary – Moghadam Family |url=https://genius.com/Mahbod-moghadam-an-obituary-moghadam-family-annotated |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=Genius}}</ref> In 2009, he, Tom Lehman and Ilan Zechory co-founded Rap Genius (now Genius), a website on which users can submit annotations and interpretations of song lyrics and other content. In 2015, he, Sam Kazemian and Theodor Forselius co-founded Everipedia, a wiki-based online encyclopedia, where he worked as the Chief Community Officer for several years. After leaving Everipedia, he became an entrepreneur-in-residence at the venture capital firm Mucker Capital, then worked on HellaDoge, a cryptocurrency-based social network.
==Early life and education== Moghadam was born to an Iranian Jewish family on November 17, 1982,<ref>{{Cite instagram|last=Moghadam|first=Mahbod|user=mahbodpedia|postid=CRH1D-gD0xt|title=#tbt dug up old legal documents with @afsarmm - including her and my dad's drivers licenses from Iran!|date=July 9, 2021}}</ref> and grew up in Encino, California.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Bruno |first=Kohler |date=January 23, 2015 |title=A genius out in the cold |url=https://issuu.com/yaleherald/docs/yaleherald_issue_1 |journal=The Yale Herald |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=12–15 |via=Issuu |access-date=July 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307172217/https://issuu.com/yaleherald/docs/yaleherald_issue_1 |url-status=live }}</ref> His family emigrated from Iran to the United States shortly before he was born.<ref name=":1" />
He graduated from Yale University in 2004 with a major in History and International Studies. In 2005, he went to France on a Fulbright scholarship. When he returned in 2005, he enrolled at Stanford Law School, and graduated in 2008 with a J.D.<ref name=":1" />
==Career== After graduating from law school in 2008, Moghadam became an attorney at the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf.<ref name=":1" /> In 2009, many law offices who were trying to endure the Great Recession placed junior employees on "deferral", paying them a partial salary to take time off and encouraging them to intern at other companies. While on deferral from Dewey & LeBoeuf, Moghadam was hired as an intern at Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska. However, shortly before departing for his internship, the internship offer was rescinded and he was fired by Dewey & LeBeouf when a Berkshire Hathaway employee discovered a satirical memo he had written and published on his blog, addressed to "Ballstate Insurance Company" (a reference to the Allstate insurance company, which was a client of Dewey & LeBoeuf).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2016/12/controversial-former-biglaw-attorney-relaunches-his-career-as-internet-mogul/|title=Controversial Former Biglaw Attorney Relaunches His Career As Internet Mogul|last=Rubino|first=Kathryn|date=December 12, 2016|work=Above the Law|access-date=March 22, 2019|language=en-US|archive-date=December 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227180431/https://abovethelaw.com/2016/12/controversial-former-biglaw-attorney-relaunches-his-career-as-internet-mogul/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Zachary |date=February 7, 2019 |title=Blockchain Wikipedia is a dish best served cold |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019-02-07-everipedia-mahbod-moghadam-larry-sanger-blockchain.html |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=Engadget |language=en-US |archive-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623135621/https://www.engadget.com/2019-02-07-everipedia-mahbod-moghadam-larry-sanger-blockchain.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Genius === In August 2009, Moghadam, Tom Lehman, and Ilan Zechory founded Rap Genius, a website that initially allowed users to annotate and interpret song lyrics.<ref name="forbes" /> Moghadam inspired Lehman to build the site when he explained Cam'ron's lyric "80 holes in your shirt, there: your own Jamaican clothes" to Lehman.<ref name="fastcompany.com">{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Tyler |date=May 13, 2013 |title=91. Mahbod Moghadam |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3009237/91-mahbod-moghadam |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=FastCompany |archive-date=January 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118144305/https://www.fastcompany.com/3009237/91-mahbod-moghadam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiedeman |first=Reeves |date=January 4, 2015 |title=Can the Brogrammers of Rap Genius Annotate the World? |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/genius-minus-the-rap.html |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=Intelligencer |language=en |archive-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705022028/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/genius-minus-the-rap.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Moghadam was included in the 2013 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 list along with the other Rap Genius cofounders.<ref name="forbes">{{Cite web |date=2013 |title=30 Under 30: Music: Mahbod Moghadam, Ilan Zechory, Tom Lehman |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/eeel45ldjm/mahbod-moghadam-ilan-zechory-tom-lehman/#3472372e38d4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230233437/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eeel45ldjm/mahbod-moghadam-ilan-zechory-tom-lehman/#3472372e38d4 |archive-date=December 30, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2019 |website=Forbes}}</ref> In 2014, Rap Genius rebranded to Genius and expanded to support annotations for news stories, poetry, and other documents.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/fashion/yale-graduates-seek-a-degree-in-hip-hop.html|title=Yale Graduates Seek a Degree in Hip-Hop|last=Brustein|first=Joshua|date=November 9, 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2019|language=en|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091935/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/fashion/yale-graduates-seek-a-degree-in-hip-hop.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Moghadam resigned from Genius that same year after receiving negative media attention when he added annotations to the manifesto written by the perpetrator of the 2014 Isla Vista killings, describing it as "beautifully written".<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Gross|first=Doug|date=May 27, 2014|title=Tech exec fired for comments about California rampage|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/27/tech/web/rap-genius-fired-shooting/index.html|access-date=July 10, 2020|website=CNN|archive-date=July 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710014101/https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/27/tech/web/rap-genius-fired-shooting/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Van Dyke|first=Michelle Broder|date=May 26, 2014|title=Rap Genius Co-Founder Resigns After Writing Offensive Comments On Elliot Rodger's Manifesto|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mbvd/rap-genius-cofounder-resigns-after-writing-offensive-comment|access-date=July 10, 2020|website=BuzzFeed News|language=en|archive-date=July 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710040735/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mbvd/rap-genius-cofounder-resigns-after-writing-offensive-comment|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Swisher |first=Kara |author-link=Kara Swisher |date=May 26, 2014 |title=Rap Genius Co-Founder Moghadam Fired Over Tasteless Comments on Santa Barbara Shooting |url=https://www.vox.com/2014/5/26/11627246/rap-genius-co-founder-moghadam-fired |access-date=July 10, 2020 |website=Vox |language=en |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710050933/https://www.vox.com/2014/5/26/11627246/rap-genius-co-founder-moghadam-fired |url-status=live }}</ref> His comments were described by CNN as "tasteless and creepy";<ref name=":7" /> later, Genius co-founder Lehman said in a statement that the annotations "not only didn't attempt to enhance anyone's understanding of the text, but [also] went beyond that into gleeful insensitivity and misogyny."<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Matt |date=August 13, 2018 |title=Sacha Baron Cohen Humiliated the Tech Bro Founder of Rap Genius |language=en-US |work=Esquire |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a22709637/sacha-baron-cohen-genius-founder-mahbod-moghadam/ |access-date=March 22, 2019 |archive-date=August 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823030236/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a22709637/sacha-baron-cohen-genius-founder-mahbod-moghadam/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="firing">{{cite web|url=https://www.recode.net/2014/5/26/11627246/rap-genius-co-founder-moghadam-fired|title=Rap Genius Co-Founder Moghadam Fired Over Tasteless Comments on Santa Barbara Shooting|last=Swisher|first=Kara|date=May 26, 2014|website=Recode|accessdate=March 22, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323005427/https://www.recode.net/2014/5/26/11627246/rap-genius-co-founder-moghadam-fired|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/rap-genius-cofounder-fired-2014-5|title=Rap Genius' Cofounder Has Been Fired After Comments About California Shooter|last=Levy|first=Karyne|date=May 26, 2014|website=Business Insider|access-date=March 22, 2019|archive-date=July 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704234304/https://www.businessinsider.com/rap-genius-cofounder-fired-2014-5|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2021, Moghadam said he was angered by the "fire sale" of Genius to MediaLab that year, a deal which reportedly made Lehman and Zechory multi-millionaires but did not pay anything to him.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |last=Peterson |first=Becky |date=November 11, 2021 |title=Genius sold for $80 million, making two of its founders millionaires. Its third most notorious founder got $0 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/genius-80m-sale-valued-common-stock-0-cofounder-got-nothing-2021-11 |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=April 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424181746/https://www.businessinsider.com/genius-80m-sale-valued-common-stock-0-cofounder-got-nothing-2021-11 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Other activities === After leaving Genius, Moghadam started an internet controversy by writing an article in ''Thought Catalog'' titled "How To Steal From Whole Foods".<ref name=":2" /> ''Thought Catalog'' later removed the article, along with the other articles Moghadam had published with the site.<ref name=":1" />
In 2015, Moghadam met Sam Kazemian and joined him as co-founder and Chief Community Officer of Everipedia, a blockchain- and wiki-based online encyclopedia.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bowman |first=Bryan |date=December 7, 2016 |title=From UMass to Silicon Valley: An interview with 'Everipedia' founders |language=en-US |work=Amherst Wire |url=https://amherstwire.com/18353/campus/from-umass-to-silicon-valley-an-interview-with-everipedia-founders/ |access-date=November 15, 2018 |archive-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053324/https://amherstwire.com/18353/campus/from-umass-to-silicon-valley-an-interview-with-everipedia-founders/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lindström2015">{{cite web |last=Lindström |first=Emil |date=December 16, 2015 |title=Emil möter: Theodor Forselius |trans-title=Emil meets: Theodor Forselius |url=http://emillindstrom.se/emil-moter-theodor-forselius/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107120207/http://emillindstrom.se/emil-moter-theodor-forselius/ |archivedate=January 7, 2018 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |website=Emil Lindström |language=Swedish}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Patrick |date=November 24, 2018 |title=Rap Genius co-founder Mahbod Moghadam weighs in on Everipedia, the bear market, and more |url=https://timestampmag.com/rap-genius-co-founder-mahbod-moghadam-weighs-in-on-everipedia-the-bear-market-and-more/ |access-date=March 22, 2019 |website=Timestamp Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322233406/https://timestampmag.com/rap-genius-co-founder-mahbod-moghadam-weighs-in-on-everipedia-the-bear-market-and-more/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He left Everipedia in 2019.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Moghadam |first=Mahbod |interviewer=Greg Ugwi |title=Mahbod Moghadam on leaving Genius: 'I had started getting on people's nerves after we raised our Series A.' |url=https://www.businessofbusiness.com/videos/genius-mahbod-moghadam-kanye-west/ |work=The Business of Business |date=December 30, 2020}}</ref>
Moghadam began working at venture capital firm Mucker Capital in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canellis |first=David |date=February 3, 2022 |title=Crypto founder: LA mayor 'prolly got rona and aids' from maskless Magic Johnson |url=https://protos.com/crypto-founder-mahbod-moghadam-everipedia-maskless-magic-johnson/ |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=Protos |language=en-US |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130213736/https://protos.com/crypto-founder-mahbod-moghadam-everipedia-maskless-magic-johnson/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moghadam later worked on HellaDoge, a social media platform based around the Dogecoin cryptocurrency.<ref name=":5" />
== Personal life == Moghadam was known for his “outlandish” personality and behavior.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gayomali |first=Chris |date=May 27, 2014 |title=Rap Genius's Mahbod Moghadam Resigns After Annotating Santa Barbara Killer's Manifesto With Awful Comments |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3031093/rap-geniuss-mahbod-moghadam-resigns-after-annotating-santa-barbara-kill |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=Fast Company |language=en-US |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323003213/https://www.fastcompany.com/3031093/rap-geniuss-mahbod-moghadam-resigns-after-annotating-santa-barbara-kill |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Colburn |first=Randall |date=August 13, 2018 |title=Sacha Baron Cohen delivers the laughs, but overplays his hand on an uneven Who Is America? |url=https://www.avclub.com/sacha-baron-cohen-delivers-the-laughs-but-overplays-hi-1828293570 |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-US |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323003204/https://tv.avclub.com/sacha-baron-cohen-delivers-the-laughs-but-overplays-hi-1828293570 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> In 2013 he received media attention for telling Mark Zuckerberg in an interview and Warren Buffett in a tweet to "suck [his] dick", and for his subsequent public apology to them during an onstage appearance at the TechCrunch Disrupt New York conference.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Teicher |first=Jordan |date=February 22, 2013 |title=What Does Rap Genius Have Against Warren Buffett? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2013/02/rap-genius-warren-buffett-feud-why-does-mahbod-moghadam-hate-the-wizard-of-omaha.html |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323003204/https://slate.com/culture/2013/02/rap-genius-warren-buffett-feud-why-does-mahbod-moghadam-hate-the-wizard-of-omaha.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumparak |first=Greg |date=May 1, 2013 |title=Rap Genius' Co-Founder Apologizes To Zuck (Then Says They'll Be Bigger Than Facebook) |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/01/rap-genius-co-founder-apologizes-to-zuck-then-says-theyll-be-bigger-than-facebook/ |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=November 15, 2013 |title=RapGenius co-founder says brain tumour made him attack Mark Zuckerberg |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/15/rapgenius-founder-brain-tumour-zuckerberg-buffett |access-date=March 23, 2019 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323003200/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/15/rapgenius-founder-brain-tumour-zuckerberg-buffett |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=December 27, 2013 |title=It's not just Google: The many feuds of Rap Genius |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/12/27/its-not-just-google-the-many-feuds-of-rap-genius/ |access-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323005424/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/12/27/its-not-just-google-the-many-feuds-of-rap-genius/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He later attributed some of his behavior to a benign brain tumor that was discovered and removed in 2013.<ref name=":4" />
In August 2018, Moghadam appeared as a guest on Sacha Baron Cohen's television series ''Who is America?'', in which Cohen adopted various disguises and personas to capture his guests behaving in embarrassing ways.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heritage |first=Stuart |date=August 28, 2018 |title=Who is America?: Why Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy failed to land a punch |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/28/who-is-america-why-sacha-baron-cohens-comedy-failed-to-land-a-punch |access-date=March 23, 2019 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323005422/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/28/who-is-america-why-sacha-baron-cohens-comedy-failed-to-land-a-punch |url-status=live }}</ref> Believing he was doing a photoshoot with a "playboy photographer" named Gio, Moghadam is shown making the Bloods gang sign and imitating shooting a gun when Cohen asks him to "do something like a black guy." Later Cohen has him pose in front of a green screen so he could later be photoshopped into scenes as though he is feeding starving children.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Swartz |first=Anna |date=August 13, 2018 |title=Who got fooled on episode 5 of 'Who Is America?' and what did they say about it? |url=https://mic.com/articles/190724/who-got-fooled-on-episode-5-of-who-is-america-and-what-did-they-have-to-say-about-it |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=Mic |language=en |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323005423/https://mic.com/articles/190724/who-got-fooled-on-episode-5-of-who-is-america-and-what-did-they-have-to-say-about-it |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=John |date=August 27, 2018 |title=All the notable people and politicians Sacha Baron Cohen 'duped' this season on 'Who Is America?' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/all-the-politicians-sacha-baron-cohen-has-duped-on-who-is-america-2018-7 |access-date=March 23, 2019 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323005426/https://www.businessinsider.com/all-the-politicians-sacha-baron-cohen-has-duped-on-who-is-america-2018-7 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In September 2018, Moghadam had an epileptic seizure attributable to a second brain tumor, and had brain surgery later that month.<ref name="jewishjournal.com">{{Cite web |last=Geroulis |first=Tasha |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Second Brain Tumor Inspires Mahbod Moghadam to Change Corporate Philosophy |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/health/240270/how-a-second-brain-tumor-inspired-mahbod-moghadam-to-change-his-corporate-philosophy/ |access-date=July 4, 2023 |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=November 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103002441/https://jewishjournal.com/culture/health/240270/how-a-second-brain-tumor-inspired-mahbod-moghadam-to-change-his-corporate-philosophy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In March 2024, Moghadam died at the age of 41 due to complications from his recurrent brain tumor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Mahbod Moghadam: An Obituary – Moghadam Family |url=https://genius.com/Mahbod-moghadam-an-obituary-moghadam-family-annotated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407182452/https://genius.com/Moghadam-family-mahbod-moghadam-an-obituary-annotated |archive-date=April 7, 2024 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=Genius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Loizos |first=Connie |date=April 7, 2024 |title=Mahbod Moghadam, who rose to fame as the co-founder of Genius, has died |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/06/mahbod-moghadam-who-rose-to-fame-as-the-cofounder-of-genius-has-died/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Instagram}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moghadam, Mahbod}} Category:1982 births Category:2024 deaths Category:American people of Iranian descent Category:American technology company founders Category:American business executives in technology Category:American venture capitalists Category:People from Encino, Los Angeles Category:Stanford Law School alumni Category:Yale University alumni