Whenever people talk about the loneliness epidemic, I can’t help but nod my head in agreement. For people who know me, that may seem odd because I’m constantly surrounded by friends and loved ones. But loneliness is felt in the soul rather than in physical space. I guess that’s why there’s the idea of soulmates. … Continue reading Single-serving friends
Since my last article about the rise of Asian America, I wanted to get more personal about what it means to be Asian American today and attempt to characterize this group of people better. I talked to fifteen different varieties of Asian Americans and I wrote this in a way that tries to capture that … Continue reading How to be (and not be) Asian American
One of my favorite activities as a startup founder is talking to customers or potential customers to understand how I can create something to make their lives easier. Now that I’m not working on anything specific, I’d still like to have some of these conversations and force myself to think about them. I was home … Continue reading My teenage nephews’ digital habits
Why “few successful startup founders grew up desperately poor” My co-founder David and I both grew up in poverty and can call ourselves “battle-tested” when it comes to both life and startups, so when the talk in the Valley turned to income inequality, our ears perked up. For a moment, our two worlds were colliding. … Continue reading Privilege and inequality in Silicon Valley
What Steve Jobs meant to me. Having just learned about his death, I'm mustering something together to try to articulate Steve Jobs' impact on my life. Unlike many people here in the valley, I wasn't much of a geek, let alone an Apple fanboy. I came to Stanford because they offered me a great financial … Continue reading What Steve Jobs meant to me
Ricky Yean 