Sam Kazemian (’15)

Sam Kazemian is co-founder and President of Everipedia, the first decentralized online encyclopedia on the blockchain.

Sam Kazemian is co-founder and President of Everipedia, the first decentralized online encyclopedia on the blockchain. He founded the company with Theodor Forselius, Mahbod Moghadam, and Travis Moore in 2015. He is also co-founder and CEO of frax.finance, an algorithmic stablecoin project. Sam is an Iranian-American software engineer, entrepreneur, and cryptocurrency enthusiast.

In December 2014, Sam Kazemian co-founded Everipedia. He started the project in his dorm room while attending UCLA. He developed the first MVP for the project with Theodor Forselius with the aim of becoming a more modern and inclusive version of Wikipedia; since then, Everipedia launched a blockchain network in which people can stake IQ tokens to contribute to the platform.

"UCLA, the institution, the location, and the community, has always been where I feel at home. It only makes sense to be appreciative of your home and the people that have been important to your personal and professional development. I’ve always given back to UCLA yearly since I graduated in 2015. I always answer the calls and give what I can"

As President of Everipedia, Kazemian has led his team to transitioning Everipedia from an online encyclopedia to a blockchain knowledge platform. He also played a crucial role in airdropping IQ tokens to EOS token holders in 2018. In January 2018, he and Everipedia set a precedent by announcing their airdrop to the EOS genesis distribution list; the announcement was made at an EOS meetup in Seoul.

His latest initiative focuses on the development of several new decentralized applications (dApps) that will function on the IQ token. In December 2018, he commented on the expansion of the what is now called the IQ Network.

Currently, Kazemian is also working on a new project, Frax.finance. The company aims to build the first decentralized stable cryptocurrency (named Frax) that does not have the price volatility associated with Bitcoin.

"My time at UCLA helped me grow as a person and form my world view, ethics, and beliefs more than anything else. That was the most important foundation that I built as an individual. That all mostly happened during my time at UCLA. So in a concrete sense, UCLA helped me become the person that I am today. "

Sam graduated from UCLA in 2015 with a degree in both Neuroscience and Philosophy.