John S. Kim
Sendbird / Valon Capital
Founder, investor, and community builder
I’m John S. Kim, Co-Founder/CEO of Sendbird, the first startup in history to originate in Korea, move to Silicon Valley, and become a unicorn.
I also operate Valon Capital/ASQ as a General Partner, investing in startups focused on AI/productivity, deep tech, healthcare, and fintech.
As an engineer, I am interested in the brain, artificial intelligence, deep tech (space, bio/longevity, energy, robotics), productivity, and complexity science.
“Someone once told me the definition of Hell: The last day you have on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.” – Anonymous
Our mission is to
build and invest in organizations that drive the positive future of humanity.
Sendbird
Sendbird is the world’s most useful omnichannel AI agent platform for delightful customer service. Today, we power over 300 million monthly active users who engage in conversations on our platform. To date, we have raised over $220 million from leading investors, including ICONIQ Capital, Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Y Combinator.
Valon Capital/ASQ
The mission of the fund is to invest in the future of humanity by partnering with founders who are changing the trajectory of human civilization for the better. We primarily focus on investments in AI/productivity, deep tech, healthcare, and fintech.
COMMUNITY & VOLUNTEERING
I host events for entrepreneurs to build a community of like-minded individuals who are on a mission to drive a positive future for humanity. I have advised three Presidents of South Korea and have guest lectured at Stanford University, Wharton MBA, and Seoul National University.
These might be a bit more
random than you expect
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Lecture 17 – How to Design Hardware Products (Hosain Rahman)
In Lecture 17 of How to Start a Startup, Hosain Rahman, CEO and Founder of Jawbone, covers the design process for building hardware products users love.
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Lecture 16 – How to Run a User Interview (Emmett Shear)
What can you learn by talking to users that you can’t learn by looking at data? What questions should you ask? How can user interviews define or redefine your product goals? Emmett Shear, Founder and CEO of Justin.tv and Twitch, gives us his take – How to Run a User Interview – in Lecture 16…
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Lecture 15 – How to Manage (Ben Horowitz)
Ben Horowitz, founder of Andreessen Horowitz, drills into the one management concept that CEOs mess up most – understanding how your decisions impact others, the company, and its culture, in Lecture 15 of How to Start a Startup.
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Lecture 14 – How to Operate (Keith Rabois)
What should the CEO be doing on a day to day basis? How do you make sure the company is moving in the right direction? Keith Rabois, Partner at Khosla Ventures and former COO of Square, tackles the nitty gritty – How to Operate – in Lecture 14 of How to Start a Startup.
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Lecture 13 – How to be a Great Founder (Reid Hoffman)
So you’ve learned how to get started, how to raise money, how to build products, and how to grow. Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock Ventures, addresses many of the questions and confusions that might be cropping up – How to be a Great Founder.
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Lecture 12 – Building for the Enterprise (Aaron Levie)
Aaron Levie – enterprise master, Twitter comedic genius. Today he’ll convince you to Build for the Enterprise in Lecture 12 of How to Start a Startup.
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