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This page is a draft of the article Kosta Gara.

Kosta Gara is an international author, cutting-edge tech enthusiast and networking powerhouse with a passion for creating, managing and growing companies from the ground up.

Early life
Gara was born in Tehran, Iran. His father was a career military official, and during the Iranian Revolution he was falsely accused of being an enemy of the state. He later passed away from a massive heart attack due to the excessive torture he endured while in prison. At the age of 13, fearing that he would be recruited by the Basij, Gara's mother paid a smuggler to get him out of Iran. Gara was caught in Turkey, and after refusing to divulge information about the smuggler, was sent to a maximum security prison back in Iran. He was imprisoned for six months, including a week in solitary confinement during his thirteenth birthday. Six months later, Gara's uncle found him and paid a bribe for his release.

After his release, Gara was able to reunite with his mother. They hired another smuggler, and escaped to Greece. Local police officers who found the pair hiding in a cornfield took them to Athens to secure immigration documents, and Gara got his first job cleaning toilets on Greek ships.

At 18, wanting more out of his life, Gara and his mother immigrated to Canada. He was finally able to begin his freshman year of high school, while working graveyard shifts as a hotel receptionist.

Gara studied computer engineering at Carleton University. By his third year, he dropped out to join a direct sales company, hoping to make a fortune selling nutritional products. He later went to work selling electronic equipment, quickly working his way up the corporate ladder. Feeling unfulfilled, Gara left his job and invested every last penny into starting a software business. He was just beginning to make a profit when the tragedy of September 11, 2001 impacted the economy, and he lost everything.

Career
Gara's career began as a regional sales director and general manager with two Fortune 50 companies.

In 2001, Gara became a regional distributor of the Lexxus Cosmetics company, now known as NHT Global. He went on to assist the company in expansion into Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

In 2007, Gara co-founded bHIP, a direct sales company based out of Dallas. bHIP is a company in the energy drink market, seeking to deliver authentic, unique health and wellness products to a global audience. It currently operates in over 30 countries, with sales in excess of $300 million.

In 2011, Gara founded Vionic, a social media platform company aiming to disrupt the traditional daily deal space through touch-less conversion, automation, and scalability. Vionic has developed a professional-grade marketing platform designed to empower businesses to launch promotions, engage customers and make sales right on social media.

Today, Gara has diversified his portfolio into a handful of industries such as software, cosmetics, technology and business consulting. He believes in "paying it forward," and dedicates much of his time to help others achieve success.