- Studied Mechanical Engineering and Political Science at Columbia University
- First job after college was in Shenzhen, China at a toy company - ToyState. I was able to put my formal engineering education into practice and learn about licensing, supply chain, management, etc.
- I learned entrepreneurship in Shenzhen - and went through 10,000+ hours of brainstorming and working on countless business ideas across various industries and business models. Ended up doing import/export, manufacturing consulting and education startup (exited).
- Some Interesting Projects during my time in China:
- Sold pipes to Chinese oil companies
- managed a model agency
- produced large scale events including concerts and beauty pageants
- imported chicken feet/frames from US
- exported electronics & athletic equipment to South America
- helped import manganese from Indonesia
- I also wrote a blog while I was in China - with the goal of observing and analyzing what was going on around me. It’s still there - Shenzhen Undercover
- Masters of International Affairs (Development) from New School - this gave me a macro understanding of how economies development and a framework to understand how we got here - whether its economics, society, politics, etc.
- MBA at INSEAD - helped me recenter my focus on Impact through global business and innovation
- PM at Amazon Hardlines - worked on a cross border team for Amazon Basics - electronics accessories brand. Managed a small team and the largest suppliers including Foxconn.
- Associate Director at Fontainburg Capital - a global merchant bank founded by a McKinsey Partner and Head of China Investment Banker from Paribas. We helped global growth stage startups fundraise in China and China market entry strategy. Fontainburg also managed a $1.5B aviation fund that bought A320s and 737s.
- This is where I built my expertise in robotics and cross border finance
- Hemi Ventures - early stage deeptech fund
- A few of failed tech startups:
- Optimizing Mind - innovating on the AI algorithmic level to enable learning on the edge and AI thats closer to the human brain
- Various ventures trying to solve loneliness, fashion sustainability, scaling of cultivated meats, etc.
- Partner & Head of Investments at MarketX Ventures - this is giving more detailed exposure into the secondary market and late stage investing thought process.