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Andrew Yang

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Andrew Yang
Yang in 2015
Born (1975-01-13) January 13, 1975 (age 49)
Schenectady, New York, U.S.
EducationPhillips Exeter Academy
Alma materBrown University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseEvelyn Yang
Children2
AwardsPresidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship (2015), White House Champion of Change (2012)
Websitewww.yang2020.com

Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975)[1] is an American entrepreneur, the founder of Venture for America, and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. He has worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive for nearly two decades, and he was selected in 2015 by the Obama administration as an Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship.[2]

Yang is the author of Smart People Should Build Things and The War on Normal People, about automation of labor. In Yang's current bid for the 2020 presidential nomination, one of his main campaign goals is to implement a universal basic income (UBI) for every American adult over the age of 18.[3]

Early life and education

Yang was born in Schenectady, New York, to immigrant parents from Taiwan.[4] His parents met while they were both in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley.[5] His father graduated with a Ph.D. in physics and worked in the research labs of IBM and General Electric, generating over 69 patents in his career.[6] His mother graduated with a Master's Degree in Statistics and later became an artist.

Yang attended Phillips Exeter Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire. He graduated from Exeter in 1992 and went on to attend Brown University,[7] earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics.[8] After Brown University, Yang attended Columbia Law School in New York City, where he earned a Juris Doctor (JD).[8]

Career

In 1999, after graduating from Columbia Law School, Yang began his career as a corporate attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell. He left the firm in 2000 to launch Stargiving.com, a startup that worked to support celebrity-affiliated philanthropy.[9][10][better source needed] Stargiving.com raised capital from investors but later folded in 2001. Afterwards, Yang joined a healthcare software startup MMF Systems, Inc., as its Vice President and third hire.

Manhattan Prep

After working in the healthcare industry for four years, Yang left MMF Systems, Inc., to join friend Zeke Vanderhoek at a small test preparation company, Manhattan Prep. In 2006, Vanderhoek asked Yang to take over as CEO. While serving as CEO of Manhattan Prep, the company primarily served GMAT test preparation, becoming the largest U.S. test prep company and reaching $18 million in annual revenue. The company expanded from five to 27 locations and was eventually acquired by Kaplan, Inc., in December 2009, at which point Yang served as the company's President through the year 2011.[11][12][13]

Venture for America (VFA)

Following the acquisition of Manhattan Prep, Yang began to conceive his new company, Venture for America, a non-profit, which he founded in 2011[7] with the mission "to create economic opportunity in American cities by mobilizing the next generation of entrepreneurs and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to create jobs."[14]

Venture for America launched in 2011 with $200,000 and sent 40 top graduates to five U.S. cities (Detroit, New Orleans, Providence, Las Vegas, Cincinnati).[13]

The strategy for the company was to recruit the nation's top college graduates into a two-year fellowship program in which they would work for and apprentice at promising startups in developing cities across the United States. The inspiration for Venture for America as outlined in Yang's book, Smart People Should Build Things, argues that the top universities in the country cherry-pick the smartest kids out of small towns and funnel them into the same corporate jobs in the same big cities.[15] Yang's goal, he outlines, is to help distribute that talent around the country and incentivize entrepreneurship for economic growth.

After 2011, the company grew quickly, moving from a $200,000 budget in 2011 to a $6,000,000 annual operating budget in 2017,[16] and began operating in over 18 U.S. cities, adding Kansas City, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, and St. Louis.[17] Venture for America began running a Startup Accelerator in Detroit, launched a seed fund for fellows, and an investment fund for fellows.

In the fall of 2016, a major documentary about Venture for America, co-directed by Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade and Cheryl Miller Houser, was released and titled as "Generation Startup".[18]

In the summer of 2017, Andrew Yang stepped down as CEO of the company.

2020 presidential campaign

Main article: Andrew Yang 2020 presidential campaign

On November 6, 2017, Yang filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for President of the United States in 2020.[19] His campaign proposes a $1,000/month "Freedom Dividend" to all U.S. citizens over the age of 18, which is a form of Universal Basic Income, and other responses to predictions of mass unemployment from technological automation. His current website states, "Every U.S. citizen over the age of 18 would receive $1,000 a month, regardless of income or employment status, free and clear." It does not give a cutoff date at age 64.[20][21] In a New York Times article featuring his 2020 presidential campaign, he is noted as proposing various new policies such as a department focused on regulating the addictive nature of media, a White House Psychologist, making tax day a national holiday, and, to stem corruption, increasing the salaries of federal regulators but limiting their private work after they leave public service.[22] He is running on the campaign slogan "Humanity First", which calls attention to his belief that automation of many key industries is one of the biggest threats facing the workforce.[23]

Yang is the first Asian American man to run for President of the United States as a Democrat.[24] If elected, he would be the first Asian American President of the United States.

Recognition

Andrew-Yang-Obama-Champion-Change
Yang meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in 2012

White House honors

In 2012, Yang was named as a Champion of Change by the Obama White House.[25] Later, in 2015, he was again acknowledged by the Obama White House as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) alongside Daymond John, Brian Chesky, Steve Case, Tory Burch and several more.[26]

Personal life

Yang lives with his wife, Evelyn, and two sons in New York City.[22]

References

  1. ^ Clifford, Catherine (11 April 2018). "Andrew Yang wants to run for president promising free cash handouts". CNBC. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. ^ Tau, Byron (2015-05-11). "Meet President Obama's Entrepreneurship Ambassadors". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  3. ^ "The Freedom Dividend".
  4. ^ Hughes, Steve (January 6, 2019). "Schenectady native stumps for president in Latham". Times Union. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  5. ^ https://vimeo.com/316922117
  6. ^ https://vimeo.com/316922117
  7. ^ a b Seligson, Hannah (2013-07-13). "No Six-Figure Pay, but Making a Difference". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Robert L. (2013-09-03). "Andrew Yang, Venture for America founder, will help showcase Cleveland's startup scene". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  9. ^ "Venture for America: The 'Teach for America' for Entrepreneurs?". Inc.com. 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  10. ^ Yang, Andrew (2014-10-21). "The US should include entrepreneurs in its definition of service". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  11. ^ "The Evolution of Education – Kaplan acquires Manhattan GMAT". steve cheney – technology, business & strategy. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  12. ^ Glazer, Emily (2012-01-12). "For Grads Seeking to Work and Do Good". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  13. ^ a b Bruder, Jessica (2011-10-12). "Starting a Teach for America for Entrepreneurs". You’re the Boss Blog. The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  14. ^ "Our Mission & Approach - Venture for America". Venture for America. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  15. ^ "A Book in 5 Minutes: Smart People Should Build Things". TechCo. 2014-09-27. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  16. ^ "Financials - Venture for America". Venture for America. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  17. ^ "Where We Work - Venture for America". Venture for America. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  18. ^ "Home". GENERATION STARTUP. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  19. ^ "STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY" (PDF). 6 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  20. ^ Gohd, Chelsea (2018-02-13). "Meet the long-shot 2020 presidential candidate who might make UBI a reality". Futurism. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  21. ^ Christou, Luke (2018-02-20). "Andrew Yang 2020: 5 ways the President hopeful would change America - Verdict". Verdict. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  22. ^ a b Roose, Kevin (2018-02-10). "His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  23. ^ "Andrew Yang for President - Humanity First". Andrew Yang for President. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  24. ^ Lay, Belmont (March 14, 2018). "Asian man running for US President in 2020". Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  25. ^ "Celebrating a Year of Champions of Change – President Obama Meets with 12 Champions Who Are Making a Difference in Their Communities". whitehouse.gov. 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  26. ^ "Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship". Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
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