Wall Street Journal Notes Success of Arian Mahmoodi's Web-Based Electronic Resale Businesses

The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2010

In June 2009, Summer College alum and entrepreneur Arian Mahmoodi of Hannawa Falls, New York, founded his own company, Sell Your Old iPhone, Inc. Advertising in publications such as MacWorld and PCWorld as well as on Facebook and Google, Arian purchased iPhones from individuals across the country, then repaired and resold them on eBay. The business proved very successful and rapidly expanded to an international market.

Attending a Summer College program in Hotel Operations Management in 2010, Arian found he had his hands full. “Managing a business while attending Summer College was a challenge.” But he did it. He even managed to place a large order for iPhone accessories from China.

“My parents were surprised to see the boxes when they arrived. Even though my Dad could not park in the garage, this was in fact beneficial in the long term! While I was at Cornell, not only did I learn more about the hospitality industry, but I also learned how to delegate tasks of the business and how to manage the operations of the business remotely. Also, after completion of Summer College, I implemented yield management strategies in my business that I had learned at Cornell.”

Since Summer College, Arian has founded a second business, Sell Your Old Macbook, Inc., which follows the same business model. His continued success recently brought him to the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which featured Arian and his father, Farzad, as one of several notable parent-and-child business partnerships in the article Parent & Child Inc. (November 15, 2010). The article observes, "Arian has a desire to advertise more, buy aggressively and grow rapidly. Farzad is discouraging him from doing that, so that his son can instead focus on fun activities before he heads off to college." For the moment, Dad is prevailing—but we expect to hear much more about Arian's business success in the years ahead.

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