Introducing TAP-NY’s New 2019 Board Members!
This year, TAP-NY is welcoming four new board members! Learn more about them here – and be sure to make it out to an event this month to meet them! ALLISON, Social Chair What drew you to TAP and why did you decide to join the board? My brother introduced me to my first TAP event soon after I moved to the city, and I found TAP to be really down-to-earth and welcoming. I've always enjoyed meeting new people, and I saw this as an opportunity to do exactly that, and help others create new bonds with a great community. What do you hope to accomplish in your...
PVP Welcome to 2019!
Dear TAP-NY Family, Reflecting back on 2018, it was truly an exciting year filled with fun events, new members, and lifelong memories. We started the year evaluating our impact and ensuring we make a positive, lasting one within our local communities. We hope we did just that, with a few highlights of 2018 including a wellness series (yoga, dance, meditation, and mental health discussions), our first Your Power, Your Politics political engagement event, our interpretation of "The Amazing Race," and a data science panel. These portray only a fraction of the diverse events we organized for...
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...