20 VC FF 018: Brian Wong, Founder @ Kiip on Raising $30m in VC Funding by 24

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Joining us in the hotseat today is a young man who is insanely smart, he skipped 4 grades in school and graduated University at just 17, at which point he moved to the states on his own and within months was working alongside tech legends Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson at Digg. However, it was not long before he started his own company Kiip, a category-creating mobile rewards network that is redefining mobile advertising through an innovative platform that leverages “moments of achievement” in games and apps to simultaneously benefit users, developers and advertisers. If you have not guessed it by now, shame on you, it is of course, the incredible Brian Wong, one of the youngest people to ever raise VC funding receiving investment from the likes of Hummer Winblad, previous guest at Transmedia Capital Chris Redlitz (Episode 26), True Ventures and many more.

A huge thank you to our sponsors for today’s show, LawTrades, the marketplace that connects startups & VCs to awesome attorneys to get their legal work done at the best price!

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How did Brian start his career? What is the Brain Wong origin snapshot?

2.) What was it about Fred Wilson that made Brian most wanting to talk to him above all other VCs when he made the move to NY?

3.) What was it like working with amazing founders like Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson? What were Brian’s biggest takeaways from the experience?

4.) As a 19 year old, how difficult was it raising capital for your startup? Has it become harder raising further rounds from seed to series A to growth rounds?

5.) How have Brian’s board of directors helped or hindered along the Kiip journey? How do experienced executives respond to working with such a young CEO and does age make it difficult to retain top talent?

6.) With the evolution of technology and progression of time, how are Kiip addressing the growing competitive market and how are you navigating Kiip into new social media channels?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Brian’s Fave Book: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Brian Fave Blog: Inside.com by Jason Calacanis

Brian’s Fave Productivity Tool: Evernote, Box

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