Inc. Magazine – September 2019

PHOTOGRAPH BY LEE O’CONNOR ● ● ● SEPTEMBER 2019 ● INC. ● 35

I’m a first-generation American. My par-

ents emigrated from Iran to the U.S. in 1976

so my father could study at American Uni-

versity. They intended to go back, but then

the revolution there intensified in 1978, four

years before I was born, and they didn’t.

My father had been in the Air Force in Iran.

My family gave up so much to come here,

to provide for me. That’s always in the back

of my mind. I couldn’t settle for being aver-

age. I wanted to make my mark.

I’ve always been excited by hospitality.

A lot of first-generation Americans feel this

way, I think. You have your one culture at

home, another where you go to school, and

then there is a third culture you create, to

bridge the others. For me, bridging hap-

pened in restaurants. Going out to eat was

the only experience I had when I was young

that made me feel I was bringing my parents

into my world.

I started out as a web designer and consul-

tant, and started taking on restaurant clients.

When Krystle Mobayeni launched BentoBox—which

helps restaurants build state-of-the-art websites—her

experience in hospitality was mostly limited to dining

out. Today, her startup serves more than 4,500 restau-

rants worldwide. She’s succeeded by persevering

through a time she thought her company might lose

everything—and because of the great sacrifices her

parents made for her. —AS TOLD TO ZOË HENRY

The Fixer

BentoBox co-founder Krystle

Mobayeni, the daughter of Iranian
immigrants, built a successful

company by solving some nagging
problems for her customers.