Dana Hooshmand’s Resume

This is my resume, as honest as possible. In case you need to present it to a superior to approve hiring me, here’s everything I had on my LinkedIn profile, before I decided to delete it.

I offer consulting in valuation and strategy for online businesses, operations consulting for tech companies that have physical assets (like vehicles, warehouses, and workshops), and SEO / content strategy consulting to select clients. See here for more info.

Summary

I am a free-spirited, hard-to-define entrepreneur. These days, I’m mostly building AI and ML-driven trading engines to manage my own family office through Banana Stand, but am also building various other AI-powered projects on the side.

I also co-run Disco Media, a private company that my partner and I run. We build media and content in fields that we like, including language learning, travel, and the automotive sectors.

Before starting this, I spent over a decade in the technology sector in senior management and consulting roles. I studied both engineering and law, at which I did well, but did not want to pursue professionally.

I’m a “hyper-polyglot” (around 10 languages, but always a couple rusty), and a dilettante in many fields, from coffee snobbery through abusing guitars to getting beaten in combat sports.

Experience

I started out all corporate but ended up as a self-employed entrepreneur and occasional freelancer in the field of operations management for tech companies. (This is reverse chronological.)

Family Office — Director (2025+)

Managing my own investment portfolio since AI figured out how to do it. Running it through Banana Stand.

Disco Media — Founder / Director (2018+)

I’m building the future using AI. It stated as being “using AI to build things,” and now it’s using AI to build things that build themselves using AI. I’m not sure where it’s headed, but I missed the internet wave, damn it, and I didn’t want to miss this one.

These days, I’m building ChatGPT Apps as well as trading applications (including BananaStandApp.com, more on it here) that rely on a mixture of AI, ML, and good old trading magic to deliver ~0.5% return a day.

We run a portfolio of profitable websites and apps in the areas of education (language learning), automotive (mostly motorcycles), and vacation rentals. Our main sites are Motofomo.com, DiscoverDiscomfort.com, and MaintenanceSchedule.com.

At our peak, over 15,000 people a day read our words. AI has changed the content landscape a bit, and that has diminished to around 5,000.

100NXT — Founder / Director Global (2018+)

I do operations management consulting for tech companies with physical operations (i.e. that have warehouses and workshops), specialising in difficult operational problems that require on-the-ground work.

I have consulted to scooter companies, a drone delivery company, and a retail queue management company, after years in special projects in ride sharing (below) and e-commerce. Mostly, I help out former colleagues, friends, or people I like.

Lyft — Head of Hub Operations (2016-2018)

I was hired as a “do-anything” management guy (with an awesome title of “Special Ops Manager”).

I then built and ran the operations for our in-person sites, “Lyft Hubs” for all of Lyft, managing over 200 sites nationwide, offering face-to-face driver support, rentals, and other services.

At Lyft, I made tons of friends, got promoted quickly, and even won an award for a project I did, but then left right afterwards to do my own thing.

Pilgrim Coffee — Founder (2015-2016)

I created and developed (myself as a haphazard developer) an app for coffee lovers, a global community-built map of specialty coffee sites around the world. I grew it to 5000 monthly users within six months.

I sunsetted Pilgrim Coffee after I got divorced, to be honest, as I didn’t want to look at it (or any vestige of my former life) anymore. Here’s my story of “Zero to App Store in 60 Days“.

Eureka Watch Company — Founder (2014-2016)

I created a fashion brand watch (it just had one hand!) and built a profitable side hustle, but it was too much hassle, so I wound it down… pun intended only in retrospect. Here’s the Indiegogo campaign.

B.Prive Lingerie — Co-Founder/COO (2014-2015)

I helped launch a custom, rapid-manufactured, made-to-measure high-end lingerie brand. My business partner Margot Balch and I are good friends, but realised we have different working styles, so I sold my stake to her so she could do it her way. Was a fun project, but it made lingerie seem mundane, sadly!

Margot re-launched the brand years later as The One Two, and it’s doing quite well.

Unity Asset Management — Director/COO (2012-14)

I ran operations for a boutique and private Hong Kong-based family office/investment advisory firm with US$1B AUM at its height.

Finance/investment was interesting, but my boss and all her clients were not good people who frequently operated outside the law (and ethics). It was a toxic environment that put me off the industry. I learned what I could about finance (TL;DR: Just invest in index funds) and quit.

Groupon — GM (Revenue Ops), China (2011-12)

Joined when it was still part of Rocket Internet, a German copycat fund, and was called “Gaopeng” in China. 高朋滿座！ I was hired as a “VP”, and only when I arrived, did I realise that a bunch of other kids had the same title, like a sorority.

At Groupon China, I ran national operations related to deal development and sourcing, managing a team of over 100 across three cities. It was total chaos, but I made a lot of friends, until Chinese internet politics ate the company (interesting HBR article on the topic).

Bain & Company – Associate Consultant (2008-10)

I was a junior empty suit who made slides and spreadsheets for far too many hours a week. Learned a lot about corporate polish and “zero defect”. I quit when I realised that I was so unenthusiastic about a meeting I was flying to, that I’d have preferred that the plane went down.

I left to go do something interesting with my life (“Screw this, I’m moving to China!”), which is how I found Groupon.

I still have actual nightmares about Bain. (Some stories of that time here.)

Accenture – Analyst (2007-8)

First job out of university. A lot of meetings and spreadsheets. It was fine, and I liked my boss, made life-long friends and did well, and Accenture is a well-run company with great hiring and company management. But the work was boring and frustrating, and paid terribly ($42,500 a year). I left after less than two years.

I considered re-joining as a manager years later after Bain, but the hiring partner actually convinced me not to and to go to China, instead, which reflected well on him and on the company.

Education

I spent too long in university, but it brought me to where I am.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level I (2014)

Thought I’d be one of those guys, but I’m not. I tried to fudge level II but one does not simply fudge a CFA exam.

Chinese Proficiency — Beijing Language University (2012)

I spent a year getting very good (HSK 5~6 somewhere) at (Mandarin) Chinese — fluent reading and writing. I still speak it, though my reading is now slower. This school is now closed.

Funny story, I was planning on doing an MBA. Even got a 750 GMAT. But I realised I was prioritising schools where you had to learn a language, like INSEAD or IMD, which is how I realised what I’d really rather be doing is study a language. See here for my thoughts on alternatives to an MBA.

Monash University (Australia) – Bachelor of Laws & Bachelor of Engineering (2001-2006)

I got two bachelor’s degrees as part of a joint program, as is the norm in Australia. I crushed Engineering (first-class honours), did OK in law (won a prize). Decided both were careers I didn’t want. So much for six years!

Other / Misc

• I’m a hyper-polyglot. I speak around 10 languages, but a few are always rusty, and my Swahili is on life support. There are more in development.
• I enjoy combat sports (MMA / Jiu jitsu / Boxing / Muay Thai) with other grown adults. I train in gyms around the world, and have trained in five languages (not including a sixth language, Turkish, in which I only ever got beginner-intermediate) It’s good fun with occasional black eyes. Also, I’m stronger than I look.
• I’m currently obsessed with guitars and sound gear, and also with dance (Salsa).
• If you say “Hey Dana I’m thinking of getting a motorcycle, can you help?” the answer is yes, yes I can.
• I’m surprisingly good at baking and cooking in general, and am a huge coffee nerd. But I cook and make coffee for people I love! (See my food and recipes page here.)