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Brothers' Hobby Becomes Web Wonder
 FINDINGS in a journal,
investing in the stock market and attending
weekend math and technology courses
aren't the kind of things most school kids do
for fun. Then again, not many people have
enjoyed the kind of success that brothers D.
Haroon Mokhtarzada '01 and Zekeria "Zeki"
Mokhtarzada '01 have as leaders in the Web
publishing world.
As children, Haroon and Zeki were forced
to flee Afghanistan with their family. Here in
their adoptive country, they learned survival
skills in life and work. "Our parents started
a business, which exposed us very early on
to two things: entrepreneurship and computers,"
says Haroon.
While at Maryland, the brothers used
their complementary skills to build a Web
site people could use to construct their own
sites for free—even as Haroon finished his
economics degree summa cum laude and
Zeki finished his double major in computer
science and mathematics.
Today, Haroon and Zeki are CEO and
chief technology officer, respectively, of
Webs.com, their hobby-turned-business.
Younger brother Idris, a senior majoring in
computer science, is a co-founder and senior
engineer. Each day, 20,000 new sites-for
personal, organizational and business
uses—are created using their simple and
streamlined site-building process, and each
month, more than 30 million unique visitors
hit on Webs.com.
"Webs.com has helped hundreds of
thousands of people generate income for
their families and causes," says Haroon.
Now the brothers can add 2009
Outstanding Young Alumni to their résumés.
In April, Haroon and Zeki were named
Outstanding Young Alumni at the Maryland
Alumni Association Awards Gala. In their
acceptance speech, the brothers thanked
their parents and siblings—all Terps—as
well as their alma mater. "It's great to know
that Maryland honors entrepreneurship and
innovation, things we really believe in," Zeki
says. -RR
Entrepreneurs and
brothers, clockwise
from left, D.
Haroon, Zekeria
and Idris
Mokhtarzada.
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Terp Takes Tinseltown
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Giuliana Rancic's
interest in entertainment
and journalism
led her to a
dream job at E!
Entertainment
Television and her
own reality show. |
AFTER EMIGRATING FROM Italy to
Washington, D.C., with her family at
age 7, Giuliana Rancic '96 learned
English by watching television. She
grew up idolizing News 4 reporter
Barbara Harrison and dreaming of a
career in journalism.
Today she's a well-known TV
anchor for the E! network, co-hosting
"E! News" daily with Ryan Seacrest,
tracking celebrity stories and working
the red carpet at high-profile
events.
At Maryland, the then-Giuliana
DePandi reveled in the fast-paced
course work and demanding professors.
With her undergraduate
degree from the Philip Merrill
School of Journalism and a master's
degree from American
University, she set out for Los
Angeles, knowing entertainment
news was her passion.
"My degrees set me apart
from my peers in
Hollywood—I wasn't just
another blonde trying to be
an actress."
She began her job at
"E! News" in 2002 as an
off-camera reporter, and
was promoted to anchor and
managing editor in January 2005.
"I became a stronger writer and producer
because of that initial work,"
she says. Since her promotion,
according to the network, the show's
viewership has jumped more than 50
percent.
Rancic spends her days in a flurry
of shooting promos, writing stories
and seeking the latest celebrity
scoops. By night, she takes to the
red carpet, asking questions her
viewers would love to ask their
favorite celebrities, but can't. "I prepare
by not preparing," Rancic says.
"By thinking too much, it inhibits the
organic process and you miss the
spontaneity right in front of you.
Plus, my knowledge of pop culture is
a great safety net."
In 2007, she cemented her own
role in pop culture, marrying Bill
Rancic, season 1 winner of "The
Apprentice." Their Style Network
reality show, "Giuliana & Bill,"
debuted in August. The couple
recently traveled to campus, where
Giuliana served as presenter at the
10th annual University of Maryland
Alumni Association Awards Gala. "I
spent
the last nine
years working
nonstop, and
because of that I lost
touch with my past. I'm
ready to reconnect and give
back," she says.
Rancic emphatically broadcasts
her Terp pride. "I love saying I am
from Maryland and representing the
Terps in Tinseltown."-MLB |
Food Scientist Takes Baby Steps
DAN HEIGES '93 is surely one of only a few corporate executives who
get paid to eat baby food.
A physics major who switched to food science, Heiges is now
vice president of food production at Sprout Foods, a nearly year-old
company that sells gourmet, organic baby food.
Heiges says he was at Maryland when he realized he didn't want to
be a physicist.
 "I had been cooking since I was 16," he says. "The day I decided
to change course and become a chef, I stumbled on a food
science fair. I'd never heard of [food science], a blend
of culinary arts and science. Perfect."
Eventually, Heiges wound up as director of research
and development at Wild Oats Markets. He got
excited during a meeting where Sprout Foods
founders Max MacKenzie and celebrity chef Tyler
Florence pitched their innovative baby food.
 "I was so impressed that I volunteered my help in
getting the company off the ground. When Whole
Foods merged with Wild Oats, the writing was on the wall and I
asked if there was any chance Sprout Foods was hiring," he says.
He joined the company last March, helping to translate the
recipes and cooking processes to manufacturing scale. Sprout is
available in more than 1,300 Publix and H.E.B. Fresh Foods
stores, and planned to add 500 to 1,000 locations during a
nationwide rollout in September.
Heiges, dad to 3- and 6-year-olds, says people are initially
hesitant to try the pouches of roasted bananas, baked sweet potatoes
and peach rice pudding, but smile after their first bite. He
remembers his first meeting with Florence, who asked the group,
"Why would you feed kids something that you wouldn't eat?"
Now, Heiges says, "I eat it all the time."
-MAB
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPROUT FOODS
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