Farewell to TAP-NY’s Outgoing Board Members!
This month, we are saying goodbye to four TAP-NY board members. We asked them to reflect on some of their favorite TAP memories and experiences – check below for their thoughts and memories of their time on board. Mike Chuang, Outgoing Social Chair Andy Tien, Outgoing Tech & Membership Chair Joanne Wu, Outgoing Professional Chair Linn Yen, Outgoing Vice President Mike Chuang – Outgoing Social Chair (TAP-NY Board 2018) 1) What was your favorite TAP memory and why? My favorite TAP memory is not for a particular night or event but more of an overall feeling of warmth, coming from...
On Scaling a Company: Co-Founder Dr. David Shih of CityMD
Founded in 2010 by a passionate group of emergency medicine physicians, CityMD is the leading urgent care provider in the New York metropolitan area. In 8 years, CityMD has grown from one Manhattan practice to more than 100 total locations while treating over 5 million patients. TAP-NY had the chance to sit with Dr. David Shih, co-founder, former Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Strategy at CityMD to learn more about the company's rapid growth and his experiences leading up to CityMD. Can you introduce yourself? I’m Dr. David Shih, co-founder of CityMD and former...
Member of the Month: Wesley Ru
For our November Member of the Month, we interviewed superstar member Wesley Ru! Read on to learn more about him. Tell us about yourself! It can be about anything – where you grew up, your professional background, your hobbies, etc. Hi! My name is Wesley (or Wes) and I'm a Taiwanese American transplant from the West coast (best coast). I currently work in Portfolio Management at PNC Financial Services Group doing trading analytics. I really like eating good food (surprise surprise), playing sports that don't involve constant running, and playing League of Legends. Why did you join TAP?...
Entrepreneurial Roots: Jerry Lin, Co-Founder of Helix Sleep
Helix Sleep is an e-commerce startup that sells individually personalized, custom-made mattresses. TAP-NY paid a visit to the Helix Sleep showroom and headquarters in New York's Flatiron district to meet with Taiwanese American co-founder, CFO and COO Jerry Lin. Now in its third year of operation, we learned how his background has played a role in the company's founding and subsequent growth. Jerry, can you tell us the long version of how Helix Sleep got started? I'm originally from Portland, Oregon, studied Economics and Finance in college in Los Angeles, and after wanted to do the whole...
Member of the Month: Emily Lin
For our October Member of the Month, we interview superstar member Emily Lin! Read on to learn more about her! Tell us about yourself! It can be about anything – where you grew up, your professional background, your hobbies, etc. Hi! I’m Emily Lin. The suburbs of Westchester, NY is where I call home and I commute to the city where I work as a graphic designer so I truly get the best of both worlds. In my down time, I like to shoot portrait and product photography and experiment to see what else I can make with my waffle maker. Also, after four rewarding years teaching at my...
Growing from the ground up with Té Company’s Elena Liao
After this year's exclusive tea tasting at Taiwanese tea shop Té Company, we couldn't resist going back for more. Tucked away next to Waverly Place in the West Village, Té Company is an intimate space that focuses on select Taiwanese teas accompanied with carefully crafted pairings. TAP-NY visited again to chat with Taiwanese American founder and owner Elena Liao to understand how she found her interest in Taiwanese tea and brought that experience to New York. Can you tell us how this all got started? I grew up in Taiwan. My parents had applied for a green card when I was 2, and we...
Member of the Month: Ricky Lung
For our September Member of the Month, we interviewed superstar member Ricky Lung! Read on to learn more about him! Tell us about yourself! It can be about anything – where you grew up, your professional background, your hobbies, etc. I moved from Taiwan to NJ when I was 9. I didn't know any English back then so I had to spend a lot of time with the dictionary. I still remember being super confused by the word "the", because If you look it up in the dictionary it'll tell you that word means absolutely nothing. I went to college in Illinois, and moved to NYC for work. I'm currently a...
On Bootstrapping a Company with Lee Lin, RentHop Cofounder and CEO
After TAP-NY's recent data science professional events, we decided to chat with Lee Lin, co-founder and CEO of real estate listing startup RentHop. Lee, a Taiwanese American, is a data geek from MIT who spent years at quantitative hedge funds before founding RentHop and entering startup accelerator Y Combinator. RentHop is a real estate listing platform which uses quantitative analysis and a proprietary HopScore to sift through available inventory and sort by quality; saving time for both renters, landlords, and real estate brokers. We visited the RentHop office in Midtown to learn...
Member of the Month: Jess Wu
This month, we interviewed super star member Jess Wu. Read on to hear more about her! Tell us about yourself! It can be about anything – where you grew up, your professional background, your hobbies, etc. Hi! My name is Jess Wu and I'm a 1st generation Taiwanese American woman raised on Long Island. I'm currently working as a Product Operations Manager at a healthcare tech startup called Calibrater Health in Flatiron. I love traveling, eating out (I mean, who doesn't?), the NYT Crossword (Mondays and Tuesdays only lol), and dismantling systematic oppression. If you have any restaurant...
Hearing jazz musician Peter Lin’s musical roots
Taiwanese American Peter Lin is a jazz trombonist and musician based in New York. Born in Louisiana, the birthplace of jazz, Peter has been described by Downbeat Magazine as “solid, fluid, and smooth”, having performed with world-class jazz artists including Slide Hampton, Steve Davis, Winard Harper, and more. Peter has also performed at festivals including The Clifford Brown Festival and The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, and leads the jazz small group, The Lintet, which is active in the tri-state area. TAP-NY had the chance to interview Peter about his musical journey after his recent...