“I am inspired by people’s stories. In my opinion, these are the stories that make a product or a service meaningful.”
I’m Mahtab Namakian and I am the designer at Impact By Women. This role has given me the opportunity to work closely with women entrepreneurs. As an Iranian American woman, this means a lot to me because I have seen many inspiring and talented women in Iran who want to follow their passion but are held back from achieving their goals due to the lack of resources and support. My desire to capture their stories inspired this series called “Meet Our Mentors”. In this article, I’m sharing my personal story and professional journey.
I am a Product Designer and Storyteller based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I graduated with a Master’s in Interaction Design from California College of the Arts. Throughout my work experience including working for two non-profit organizations, I learned about the power of empathy while using my storytelling, research, strategy, visual design, and prototyping skills to define opportunities for change that will give voice to those who need it the most. I learned the importance of social change and the fact that we will not achieve it unless we as individuals take action.
About Me and My Background
I was born and raised in Iran and moved to the U.S. when I was 17 years old. I consider myself one of the lucky people who got the opportunity to come to the U.S. and build their future here.
Since I was a kid, my mom had a lot of influence on my desire to create, design, and generate art. However, since art and design were not considered the “right” path for girls in Iran, they didn’t allow me to attend an art-focused high school. When I moved here, I saw the opportunity to go after my dreams. During this time, I met many talented and strong women change-makers who freely expressed themselves, which shifted my perspective toward the influence and power that women can have in society. This perspective change made me realize that my vision is aligned with Impact by Women’s mission which is why I joined them.
My Work and Inspiration
Since I started my journey as a product designer, I realized that I don’t want to just make something beautiful but to be able to say, “I am going to leave the world a better place than I found it.” This approach has helped me find opportunities where I can make a real difference with my design skills which continue to be my focus. Therefore, through my work, I have the opportunity to choose what kind of impact I want to leave in this world.
As an Iranian-American woman, I am always aware of the opportunities that American women have and a lot of women in less privileged countries are missing.
In November, I attended a conference — Women of MENA in Tech (the Middle East and North Africa) which left me inspired. I met many successful women in technology doing amazing things in the world. Listening to these women talk about their journeys was so inspiring that made me realize that I chose the right path by joining Impact by Women where I get to use my talent to help women succeed.
Working with Women Entrepreneurs
Supporting women entrepreneurs means a lot to me as an Iranian-American woman. I have met numerous inspiring and talented women in Iran who want to follow their passions and make their dreams a reality, but do not have access to the influence and resources necessary to help them achieve their goals. My current role at Impact by Women has inspired me to give back to my community. In the near future, I hope to be able to use my knowledge, experience, and creativity to empower and help the women in Iran to grow and reach their goals.
My Role as a Mentor
Becoming a mentor was a daunting experience for me. As an immigrant, being in the spotlight was always something that I was really terrified of. My journey as a graduate student at CCA helped me develop my skills in presentations and storytelling which helped me empower others. I’ve tapped into that training and experience as I mentor entrepreneurs to create an emotional connection with their audience through their pitch deck.
At Impact by Women, I am connecting my past, present, and future while using both my storytelling and visual design skills to help all these amazing founders tell their stories in a way that is compelling and easy to grasp. Entrepreneurs have a lot of responsibilities for all the different parts of their businesses and have to wear multiple hats. In this role, I am bringing all my acquired experience and skills to bring these stories together in a succedent and authentic manner.
The fact is that all pitch decks contain similar data; for example, problem, solution, competition, stats, the team, etc… but what will make one different and memorable in the investors’ mind is how well the story is conveyed through emotional connection. That is where I come in and help them look at their storyline from a new perspective and match their designs to convey the strong message that is behind each slide.
Impacts of Covid-19 on My Life
On a personal note, the quarantine began on the day that was the Persian New Year, so it gave us some time to be together just like it is in Iran. (they have a two week holiday every year for our new years.) This year, although we couldn’t go anywhere or see our extended family in person, our immediate family learned to be together and appreciate our time. On the other hand, the situation is still very concerning in Iran, which makes everything harder for us because we are constantly worried about our families back home. On a professional note, Covid provided me with a silver lining which was giving me some time to build new skills, work on my current skills, and start working at Impact by Women where I got to meet all these wonderful and powerful women entrepreneurs.
Advice to My Younger Self
Don’t be scared and reach for higher goals. This is something that I am still telling myself. As an Immigrant, there are always these insecurities that come up whenever I need to do anything. Not being confident about my English and my skills are one of them. So I would tell my younger self to be confident in yourself and your skills. Believe in the power of the person who moved to a foreign country and started a life for herself and her family.
My Hopes and Dreams for the Future
I imagine a future where everyone — women, men, different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientation — have equal opportunities.
I imagine a future where no one gets judged by their name before they get a chance to showcase their capabilities.
I imagine a world where all minorities get to experience what it feels like to have a voice and have people actually listen to them with respect.
On a professional level, I hope to be able to continue finding opportunities to identify new approaches and improved solutions to connect and empower people.
