Stanford University
Employee
Shawn Kung
Venture Partner @av8-ventures Product @tenable-network-security ($3B IPO) @aster-data-systems ($300M exit) Serial Investor @facebook @zuora @cohesity-1 @armory
Venture Partner @av8-ventures Product @tenable-network-security ($3B IPO) @aster-data-systems ($300M exit) Serial Investor @facebook @zuora @cohesity-1 @armory
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Experience
Advisor
Advisor
Advisor
AV8 Ventures
Employee
Advisor
University of California Santa Cruz
Board Member
Advisor
Cardinal Ventures
Advisor
Advisor
Advisor
Moesif
Advisor
Exit
Bitfusion.io
Advisor
Bouncehelp
Advisor
Ampool
Advisor
Tagiodata
Advisor
Telligent Data
Advisor
TechCode
Advisor
UC Santa Cruz
Board Member
UniquID
Advisor
Server
Advisor
Advisor
Hypercube.ai
Advisor
FogBender
Advisor
Advisor
LucidCloud Advisors
Founder
Visla.us
Advisor
Founder
Employee
Advisor
Board Member
Projects
Distributed systems research with PhD CS students at UCSC
Strategy and advisory · Bridging the gap between student work and open source projects
Founding Board Member
Founding Board Member
Advisory services for early stage software startups
Founding Partner · Strategic advising and consulting services for early-stage startups (pre-seed to Series A).
Advisory Services
Advisory Services
Education
About
Achievements
Serial entrepreneur & innovator - venture startup, incubator, accelerator. Founding head of Products at Aster Data Systems ($300M exit to Teradata).
Describe the most impressive thing you've done.
Skills
Q&A
If money were not an issue, what would you be doing right now?
Money is irrelevant - when you ask a real entrepreneur this question, the answer is always to change the world. Life is finite and there's a sense of urgency, fueled by passion.
What words of advice would you give your younger self?
Don't listen to the old people - they cling to experience. Truly game-changing innovation isn't driven by experience - it's driven by vision of the potential, and unwavering execution to achieve it.
What's the most creative thing you've ever done?
All involve connecting the dots to see the future before others. Big companies often have analysis paralysis, talking themselves out of great ideas. I use sparse data with intuition. Conviction and vision - keys to success.
Which founders or startups do you most admire?
Zuckerberg / Facebook. Understanding human psychology, technology scaling - a balanced approach. Smart acquisitions before others could see the potential, and the conviction to stand up to critics/pundits.
What's your super power?
Autodidact, visionary, etc. But the 2 I'm most proud of are 1) ability to communicate really difficult concepts based on lots of disjointed data into something simple to understand and 2) ability to judge real talent / entrepreneurs.
What's the best way for people to get in touch with you?
Initially - email. If I don't know you, get someone I know to make a warm introduction.
What words of wisdom do you live by?
99% of humanity are content to just live life and watch the world pass by. <1% have the inexplicable urge to actually change the world they live in. Those that quit their jobs, bootstrap, and hustle to achieve their vision have my respect.
What aspects of your work are you most passionate about?
Ability to make an impact for the entrepreneurs I work with. Doesn't matter if it's product strategy, go-to-market, biz model, recruiting/interviewing, fundraising. Key is to help them connect the dots and build a successful business.
What was the most impactful class you took in school?
Entrepreneurship
What's something you wish you had done years earlier?
Lasik
What's an obstacle you've overcome?
Fear. Many times.
What's the most useful business-related book you've ever read?
Crossing the Chasm, Innovator's Dilemma, Getting to Yes, Positioning, etc are all good books. But the most useful were Strategic Selling (Miller/Heiman) and Solution Selling (Bosworth) because Sales traction is a startup's lifeblood.
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