Asian Hustle Network

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 189 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Rebecca Liao on this week's show.

Rebecca Liao is Co-Founder and CEO at Saga, a protocol for launching the next 1000 chains in the multiverse. The Saga platform allows developers to take a single tenant VM and automatically launch it on a dedicated blockchain, complete with fully provisioned validators and an optimally incentivized security structure.

She is also a Co-Founder, Advisor and former COO at Skuchain, a currency agnostic blockchain for global trade and a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer for 2019. In 2020, the World Trade Organization named Skuchain one of the top three blockchain companies in trade and supply chain finance. Under her leadership, Skuchain’s platform grew to $5 billion+ in annual volume.

She is currently Advisor to Sommelier Protocol, where she is designing their DAO to optimize for governance, platform growth & regulatory compliance. She is also a Fellow at the Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology, where she produces and hosts the #global-public-policy podcast.

She was a member of President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, advising on China, technology and Asia economic policy. She also served on Secretary Clinton’s foreign policy team for her 2016 presidential campaign, responsible for Asia trade and economic policy. Prior to Skuchain, Rebecca was Director of Business Development and Head of Asia at Globality, Inc., a Softbank-backed B2B unicorn for AI-powered procurement of professional services. She began her career as an international corporate attorney at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Fenwick & West LLP. She represented clients in Asia, North America and Europe across a variety of industries, including Internet, mobile, semiconductors, enterprise software, energy, advertising technology, consumer technology and finance. Her work focused on domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, venture financings, debt financings and public offerings of debt and equity. She also regularly advised public and private companies on corporate governance and securities law compliance.

Rebecca is also a writer and China analyst. She regularly comments on China for Politico, Deutsche Welle and Channel NewsAsia and has also appeared on HuffPost Live and SiriusXM Radio. She is a contributing editor at SupChina.

A graduate of Stanford University, where she studied Economics, and Harvard Law School, she serves on the Board of Advisors of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and is a Co-Chair of the Brookings Society. In the wake of rising anti-Asian hate, she co-founded, chairs and serves as an Executive Producer at The ACTION Project, a creative agency of Asian American Academy and Emmy Award-recognized creatives and leaders in entertainment, law, technology, business, education, and journalism leveraging our creative talent to shape the national narrative around our diverse community. She is also on the Board of Directors of Words Without Borders, Voices of Music and the Wagner Society of Northern California. She is also a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations. Rebecca is a jazz and opera singer and tweets at @beccaliao.

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Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 188 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have David Hsiao on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

David worked in the hotel business after college (wanted to get into the restaurant business) before moving to a fintech startup. He learned more about crypto while here and in early 2017, he started his first company in the crypto business.

In 2017, he founded Black Diamond Group, a cryptocurrency consulting firm based out of Singapore. The company works with a variety of cryptocurrency clients such as exchanges, tokens, NFTs, and media outlets. Its scope of work includes marketing, social media management, advisory, token listings, and more. They worked closely with clients such as Binance, OKX, Chainlink, etc.

At the same time, he also founded Block Journal, one of the longest-standing blockchain magazines. Block Journal is a monthly digital magazine focused on providing easy-to-understand content to educate and entertain cryptocurrency enthusiasts. They have interviewed and featured many prominent figures in cryptocurrency such as Changpeng Zhao (Binance), Justin Sun (TRON), John McAfee (McAfee Antivirus), Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), and more.

His team is currently working on an NFT Astro Baby Club which just launched. The NFT project is focused on pushing web3 limits, supporting creators, and creating tangible real-world impacts (a portion of all revenue goes to supporting children's charities).

David was born in California. He moved to Beijing, China in 1996 and grew up there. He studied Economics at UC San Diego. Then, he returned to Beijing, China to work. Now he is based in California/New York.

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 187 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Jonathan Lam on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Jonathan Lam is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor that has founded and funded several companies across Canada. Currently, he is one of the general partners for Root and Shoot Ventures, an early-stage VC that is investing in digital technologies that will create new markets and level the playing field. Formally he was a managing partner at Kernel and Localcoin, where he helped scale the largest physical exchange in Canada to an eight-figure yearly revenue in a little over a year. He was also the founder and CEO of Peerfunder, a financial services company that empowers small businesses and entrepreneurs through innovative methods of financing.

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Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 186 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Tina Lee on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Five years ago, Tina Lee took a leap of faith and quit her 9-5 to pursue content creation. 596K+ followers later, she now dedicates her time to teaching other aspiring creators how to do the same so they, too, can chase their dreams.

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 185 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Florence Kwok on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Jelcie is bringing the future of nails to your home. With a new semicured gel nail strip technology, Jelcie makes it easy to do curable gel nails at home without the typical dry time, nail damage, or high salon costs. Florence is the CEO and co-founder of Jelcie. She's previously worked on UX research and marketing at Meta, App Annie, and Intuit and is a UC Berkeley graduate.

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 184 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Gordon Tsui on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Gordon Tsui is currently the founder of Unity Angels—an investment collective of family offices, business leaders, and angel investors that come together to invest in alternative assets. He is also one of the general partners for Root and Shoot Ventures, a venture firm that invests in early-stage tech startups. As a lifelong entrepreneur and angel investor, it was only a natural progression to build a career supporting founders while seeking outsized returns for investors.

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 183 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Bonnie Cheung Sarkissian on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Bonnie Cheung Sarkissian is the Owner and Founder of By Bonnie Jewelry, a luxury diamond jewelry boutique, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. As an Asian American immigrant, female entrepreneur, and working mother, she sees the world through a wide lens and finds the industry to be male-dominated and lacking a feminine touch.

In her words-- "Luxury is supposed to be about how a product or service makes you feel. That's what's missing in the big-box retail sector. We focus on every single detail, from the craftsmanship and engineering of our jewelry, to how it makes a person feel when they put it on. Whether it’s a gift from a loved one, an engagement ring, or a “treat yourself” moment, that single piece of jewelry is part of a person's journey that they can take with them throughout the rest of their lives. By taking people's stories, inspirations, energy and mixing it with my passion for diamonds and meticulous craftsmanship... that's what makes By Bonnie's pieces so unique."

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 182 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Tony Thai on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

Tony Thai is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer of HyperDraft, a legal tech startup that is transforming the future of how legal work is done. Tony is a veteran attorney who has practiced at some of the world’s most prestigious law firms and in-house at multiple technology companies. Prior to becoming an attorney, he was an experienced software engineer. When he’s not growing HyperDraft, he is an adjunct professor at USC Gould School of Law and enjoys hiking and playing video games.

HyperDraft provides custom document automation software for law firms and legal departments. Users can save 90% of the time typically spent on drafting legal documents. HyperDraft provides immediate value with included implementation and customization services. Today, HyperDraft is used and loved by legal professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 181 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have James Vuong on this week's show.

We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday and Saturday, so stay tuned!

James is a serial tech entrepreneur, angel investor, and former VC. He has broad experience ranging from engineering to building products, from investing to founding startups, and from Silicon Valley to SE Asia.

James is currently the founder and CEO of Infina.vn, the leading investment and wealth management app in Vietnam, backed by Sequoia, Y Combinator, and many reputable global VCs.

Prior to Infina, James was CEO of Lana group, a digital media startup acquired by LINE Corp, the listed Japanese chat app. Prior to that, James was a VC at IDG Ventures, Vietnam’s first VC fund with $100M USD. James was a Kauffman Fellow (the first in SE Asia) selected by the Kauffman Foundation in the US in 2008.

Prior to coming back to Asia, James held positions as product director and tech lead (in chip logic design) in different companies in Silicon Valley. He received his MBA from Berkeley Haas School of Business in 2006 and BS in EECS at UC Berkeley in 1997.