My Interview at TigerStartups

TigerStartups is an up and coming tech blog that focuses on "Asians in Technology." The founder, Peter Shen, was nice enough to interview me for their "hot seat" segment.

In The Hotseat With Bernard Moon, Founder Of SparkLabs And VidQuik

Recently, Bernard Moon graciously took some of his busy time to talk with us and be part of our Hotseat segment. Bernard is a serial entrepreneur, who has left footprints from Chicago to San Francisco and as far as South Korea. His latest ventures are VidQuik and SparkLabs, which he talks more about in depth below. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Lunsford Group, which is a private investment firm consisting of entities in technology, healthcare, and real estate. He was Co-founder and VP of Business Development at GoingOn Networks, a social media platform for companies. He is a mentor for Mucker Lab, a startup accelerator based in LA. Bernard is also a prolific blogger and is a frequent guest writer to various technology journals, such as VentureBeat, Mashable, TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb. His latest blog in VentureBeat is titled “4 signs that your startup is ready to pivot.”

Now in the hotseat, Bernard Moon.

Can you tell us more about Vidquik, your video conferencing startup? Such as what phase of the project the startup is in and what can we look forward to in the near future?

Vidquik is seeking to provide companies with a flexible and powerful web conferencing platform for their websites. While not for every industry, we allow our users, such as e-commerce sites and sales organizations, to replace their text chat or phone interactions with video engagement. Vidquik allows you to easily embed our platform into any website and allow customers to interact with your customer service or sales representatives. We have a powerful intelligent routing system that directs your customers to the appropriate representative by tags. So our users can tag a call center "seat" or sales team "seat" based on geography, product line and other factors.

We will be launching some pilot tests soon with a few clients and have been in a long beta development period, which we hope to get out of soon. If you visit our website, we don't have our core product displayed since we planned to show it after a few pilot tests.

We did a blog article about SparkLabs inaugurating its first class of startups, tell us how it is going and what you hope to accomplish with SparkLabs?

SparkLabs is a fun side project for me. It's always rewarding to help out other entrepreneurs. The first class was selected with some good buzz and it's been great engaging with these first six companies. It's an awesome group of passionate, incredibly talented and intelligent entrepreneurs.

HanJoo, Jimmy and I really wanted to help grow the startup ecosystem in Korea and help put Korean entrepreneurs on the map. This means helping Korean startups go global and effectively penetrate new markets outside of Korea. We recently add two general partners, Jay and Awy, that will help with market entry and growth strategies for our companies into Southeast Asia and China.

You have been a dedicated entrepreneur here in the states but you have been in touch with the entrepreneurs in Korea as well as investments there. Tell me why it is important for you to keep a connection over in Korea vs focusing solely here in the states?

There wasn't any conscious decision on such activities, it is simply part of who I am. I have many friends in Korea and Asia, and I come from a large family where most of them reside in Korea. Though I am American, if I have something to offer and help any entrepreneur whether in Korea or elsewhere, I would do it. But strategically, starting SparkLabs made sense because of my various connections to Korea.

Besides being an entrepreneur, you seem to enjoy your role as an adviser and mentor. Can you tell me why do you feel strongly about doing this role?

Some of this I already described, but part of this comes from my first startup experience, which was actually with Jimmy Kim, my co-founder of SparkLabs. We suffered, learned everything on the fly, begged our parents for money, accumulated credit card debt and faced rejection over a hundred times. We loved and appreciated our first startup experience, but we also decided if we could help others suffer through a shorter path that we would do it.

You are already a successful entrepreneur but let's say in 5 years, you have more than achieved every goal you set to accomplish. What do you hope to give back to the community that brought you to that point?

I wouldn't say that I'm successful. I still haven't hit a home run. Just a single, a double and waiting on a couple at-bats. Even if I exit Vidquik successfully, I will be back at it right away. Financial success has always been secondary for me. I simply love the whole process of building a new company. Taking a concept on a napkin, building the product, building the partnerships, hiring people, and all the uncertainties of startup life.

Anyway, regardless of how Vidquik turns out, I will go at it again at least a couple more times. Regarding my community activities, that's always been a part of my life. If you can't balance your life between your professional goals and giving your time to various causes, it might be difficult to do so in a whole-hearted manner when you have more time. I believe it's better to make such commitments early in your life whether it's a nonprofit, religious organization, or some cause. I will say once we had kids, I had to step down from a couple nonprofit boards because that's a whole other level of time and commitment.

You grew up in the Chicago suburbs but now live in San Francisco. Tell us what do you miss about Chicago?

Food. I missed hearty food and steaks. Also the diversity of foods that you would only get in NYC or Chicago. My wife and I sometimes miss the "big city" culture that only NYC and Chicago provides. The shows, museums, big park festivals, etc. San Francisco is great for a small city. It's a city of character, which is similar to Chicago.

So You Tell Your Korean Mom You Got a Job in Silicon Valley

HatTip to D. Lee.

Far East Movement Kicks Ass! Props!

Props to Far East Movement for being the first Asian-American artists to make the top 10 of the Billboard charts, and for sitting at the #1 spot for a few weeks now. Very cool. Some press about them...

"The Far East Movement go platinum, discuss alternative pop and G6's" LA Times

"'Far East Movement' blazes trail for Asians" ABC News




FM's TV debut

Ktown Cowboys Episode 4

Amusing short about life in LA Ktown. Episode 4 was recently posted, but I'm also posting number 3. All four can be found on their website here. Credits:

Directed By: Daniel DPD Park
Written By: Danny Cho
Produced By: Lillian Ng, Liah Kim, Ellen Ho

Starring: Lanny Joon, Peter Jae, Sunn Wee, Danny Cho, Bobby Choy, and Shane Yoon
Executive Producers: Ginam Lee, Daniel Kim, Jay Hong
D.P. Paul Sun / The Social Trust
Edited by: The Mighty Fifty
Composer/Orchestrator: Jonathan Wandag

I Am Korean American, A Barrel Project

The guys at Barrel, a brand and web consulting company, are always doing creative projects whether for clients or on the side. Here's a cool little side project they are doing called "I Am Korean American":

I AM KOREAN AMERICAN is an on-going web project that aims to collect brief profiles of Korean Americans.

Every new profile of a Korean American will be featured on the homepage. A profile will consist of the person’s name, age, location, occupation, and a personal statement that could be a mini bio, a memorable story, a rant, aspirations, or anything else. Our goal is to compile a collection of profiles that showcase the diversity and many interesting personalities of the Korean American population. We hope that our collective efforts will provide a snapshot of the Korean American community at this point in our history.

"K-Town Hotties" by Danny Cho

HatTip to Esther S. Amusing...

Sam Yoon for Mayor of Boston

Sam Yoon speaks from the Greenway in Chinatown about the need to tap into new and locally developed technology to bring city government into the 21st Century.

The KYOPO Project Fundraiser Benefit in SF This Wednesday, May 6th!

Some of our friends are involved in an art & culture photography project related to Korean Diaspora called THE KYOPO Project. The artist is Cindy Hwang, which you can read more about here.

The fundraiser for the project is this Wednesday, May 6th, in San Francisco. It will be held at VESSEL, which is located at 85 Campton Place.

Registration starts at 5:30 and the event starts at 6 pm and continues until 9 pm.

Cost:
$100/Entrance Ticket (100% Tax Deductible)
$200/Vip Ticket, $1500/Table (100% Tax Deductible)
$50/Entrance Student Ticket (Valid Id Required) or for those 21-25 Yrs Old (100% Tax Deductible)

More from the event site...

Attend this night of entertainment and festivity to support the first project of its kind. Help realize a publication on multiculturalism and immigration illustrated visually and textually through the lens of the Korean Diaspora.

Guest Emcees And Keynote Speakers:
Yul Kwon, CBS’s “Survivor” Winner: Cooks Islands, Community Leader
Sue Kwon, Reporter, CBS5 Eyewitness News

Guest Performers:
Bobby Choy (Big Phony) – Singer, Songwriter
Maggie Kim - Singer Songwriter & Her Band
Susie Suh - Singer, Songwriter

Silent And Live Auction:
Meals With Mayor Jun Choi, Yul Kwon, Actress, Comedian Suzanne Whang, Author, UC Berkeley Professor Elaine Kim, Autographed Original Jersey By Hines Ward, Fine Art By Casey O’Connell, Ski Chalet One Week Vacation At The 5-Star, 5-Diamond Stein Erickson Lodge, Special, Exclusive Meal With Wine Pairing In The Kitchen Of The French Laundry, Meet And Greet With Chef De Cuisine Corey Lee, Meal For 2 At Gary Danko Restaurant, Meal For 4 At Laiola Restaurant, HBO Dvd Sets, Whistle & Flute Cascade Collar Coat, Jennifer Loomis Photography, Peekadoodle Kidsclub 1 Year Family Membership, Etc.

Kyopo Consultants:
Joy Yi Boatwright, Linda Kang Chong, Joseph Chong, Yul Kwon, Kevin Kim, Clara Chung, Eunyoung Byunn, Bibiane Choi, June Choi

Host Committee:
Claire Chang, Sunwoo Hwang, Bill & Mary Kim, Michael & Letitia Kim, Sarah Kim-Lee, Sophia Kim, Andrew D. Ko, Consul General Koo, Daniel S. Lee, Teresa Lim, Phillip F. Shinn, Jiin Son, Juliana Youn

RSVP to kyopoproject@gmail.com


**If you cannot attend the event but wish to contribute a donation online, instructions can be found on the KYOPO website at www.kyopoproject.com

Korean American Association Race in NYC... Embarrassing for This Korean American

HatTip to Adrian. Seriously embarrassing article in the NYTimes, "A Heated Campaign for a Ceremonial Post"

"More than 1,000 Korean associations in the New York region, more than half of them Korean churches..."

This fact might be even more embarrassing, especially since as a Korean American I know many of those churches exist due to splits and conflicts. Also approximately 90% of church lawsuits are in the U.S. are due to Korean American churches. Hopefully the 2nd and 3rd generation of Korean Americans are not following the first waves' mentality and patterns.

Pathway Program, A Korean American Mentorship Program

A couple years ago during a Mirae Foundation board meeting, which Christine and I both serve on, our colleague John Suh came up with the idea to provide an online mentoring service for young Korean Americans. Through our planning, a NetKAL group project, and my recent efforts over the past few months with Joyce, an excellent graphic designer, and Tekriti Software, our software developers, it is ready to launch.

The Pathway Program will be launching into its beta stage tomorrow at this year's KASCON 23 in Philadelphia. If you're a college student or recent graduate and seeking advice or guidance in your career path, sign up! If you're a thirty-something Korean American professional and interested in mentoring the next generation, email me. More on the program:

The Mirae Foundation, NetKAL, and Korean American Scholarship Foundation are excited to present a new way for Korean American college students and recent graduates to find and connect with mentors from various professions. Whether you are interested in becoming an artist, attorney, teacher, or nonprofit professional, we want to provide you with mentors who have a commitment towards helping the next generation in their career paths and professional development.

Jim Yong Kim, New President of Dartmouth College

Jim Yong Kim is the first Asian American to head an Ivy League Institution. Just giving props to a Korean American here :) His background is fascinating:

"... Kim co-founded the non-profit in his second year of medical school after meeting Paul Farmer, later his colleague on the HMS faculty. The two traveled throughout the world in the 1990s to Haiti, Peru, Russia and Malawi, researching global health issues.

As a result of their efforts to develop effective and affordable treatments for drug-resistant tuberculosis, Kim and Farmer were later appointed advisors to the director of the World Health Organization.

Leading Partners in Health provided Kim with fundraising experience that will be important in his role as the College’s president, he said.

In 2004, Kim was chosen to direct the WHO’s initiative to combat HIV/AIDS. Kim spearheaded the “3 by 5” program, which aimed to treat three million people suffering from HIV/AIDS by 2005.

Kim received a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation in 2003, and was listed as one of the 100 most influential people by Time Magazine in 2006 for his work on global epidemics..."

"So you think they can break-dance?"... Koreans Leading Break-Dancing

Fun article on break-dancing in Korea. When I was in junior high (early 80s), there were a fair amount of Korean Americans crazy about break-dancing so it's funny to see this dance form making a come back over the years. It seems dancing is an Asian thing too. During high school, I remember the best dancers in various contests in Chicago were either African Americans or Filipino Americans, and in MTV's America's Best Dance Crew there is a disproportionate number of Asian Americans relative to their population numbers.

So you think they can break-dance?
Forget the Bronx and South Central. If you want to find the best hip-hop dancers in the world look farther east, to South Korea.

By Jeff Chang

This summer, the United States is reaching new heights of dance fever as TV shows like Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" and MTV's "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Top Dance Crew" have returned to the airwaves. MTV's runaway hit is considered especially cutting edge, showcasing hip-hop dance groups from across America. But if MTV really wants the best dance crew, it should be looking in South Korea.

"Of the top six or seven crews in the world, I'd say half of them are from Korea," says Christopher "Cros One" Wright, 33, an American dance promoter and b-boy who was recently in Suwon, South Korea, to judge the second annual global invitational hip-hop dance competition, called R16, that was held at the end of May. (full article)

KASCON... Korean American Students Conference

Christine and I are headed off to Atlanta where students at Emory are hosting KASCON XXII. We sit on the board for the parent organization of KASCON, The Mirae Foundation, which is nonprofit that provides mentorship and empowerment of young Korean-American professionals and college students. I co-chaired KASCON VI when I was in college.

The conference looks good so far. Here is a promo that the students create: