Life

My Fellows Retreat with Leaders in Tech

In fall of 2018 I had one of the most formative self-development experiences I’ve ever had to date — attending a Fellows retreat with Leaders in Tech (LIT). My mind was blown because it is SO different from many of the offerings out there, and I wanted to write a post to share what this organization is about and how it’s made a difference. In fact, it made such an impact that I jumped on the opportunity to get more involved and joined their Board of Directors last year.

Make Better Decisions with Curiosity Loops

I think most would agree that one of the best resources for making better decisions is the advice of knowledgeable people who know us well. Unfortunately, it’s often an underutilized resource. The main challenge is, how do you actually do it?

I use something I call a curiosity loop to systematically extract wisdom from my network.

Build Your Inner Scorecard: A 10-Minute Exercise for Better Decisions

What defines you? What does success look like? How can I make good decisions for myself in the long term?

My belief is that it’s important to operate our lives by an Inner Scorecard. While an Outer Scorecard is based on how the external world sees you, judges you, and stacks you up in comparison to others, an Inner Scorecard is something based on what you truly want without thinking too much about what other people think of you*.

What’s Surprised Me About Parenthood

Two and a half years in, I wanted to reflect on some of my top surprises of parenthood. TLDR highs are higher and lows are lower than expected.

Finding Meaningful Work with “Designing Your Life”

With all of the talk of The Great Resignation, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many people are asking the question, what do I really want to do?

Many people follow a guiding star throughout their early career. Their career transitions are based on what their parents or peers expected, what their peers did, where there was the highest status, or even taking what they were good at to its natural extreme. Later on, what they begin to question is whether that work is meaningful or significant to them.

The holidays are one of my favorite times of year. As the sparkling lights and decorations go up, the holidays are a reminder and invitation to reflect, spend time with loved ones, and take stock on the learnings from the prior year. I thought this would be an ideal time to post a reflection on building and sustaining happiness in life. During my sabbatical over the last 4 months I prioritized sustainable health and happiness because it’s one of the areas that often gets shortchanged due to lack of time and too many things going on.Read More »Uncovering the secrets of happiness

My new startup Connected is contact management without the work

A new project I’ve been so heads down working at my new startup that I’ve neglected to update my blog. Sorry guys! A few months ago, I left Mochi Media and the world of games to start a new adventure with Connected, which provides contact management without the work. It automatically pulls in contact information from across your email, calendar and social networks and gives you the tools to proactively manage your network. Why Connected? Because relationships are important One of the key reasons for my original decision to join Mochi Media was because I just liked the founder and team,… Read More »My new startup Connected is contact management without the work

Whirlwind year and new blog name

It’s been almost 6 months since I’ve posted an update. Yes, I fell off the blogging wagon once wedding planning kicked into high gear. It’s been a whirlwind year with first Mochi Media’s acquisition, running the second year of Flash Gaming Summit, and nearest to my heart — getting married! On April 24th, I officially tied the knot with Sachin Rekhi and I’ve updated my blog name to match. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFU16i1hhn4] Sachin and I had the task of organizing a multi-cultural wedding which involved 5 outfits and 2 ceremonies. We had a Hindu wedding ceremony, a traditional Western wedding ceremony, and during the… Read More »Whirlwind year and new blog name

Mochi Media Acquired by Shanda Games for $80 Million

Last night my company Mochi Media announced our acquisition by Shanda Games for $80 million. I am THRILLED about the deal and am really honored to be part of this experience. It’s been nearly 3 years since I joined Mochi Media, and it was one of the easiest decisions for me to make. I practically begged Jameson to sign me up and move out there. At the time, I was leaving Microsoft and headed to SF with my now-fiance Sachin Rekhi. Throughout my search, I ended up speaking with over 20 companies including Jameson thanks to my brother Andrew Chen.… Read More »Mochi Media Acquired by Shanda Games for $80 Million

Apartment searching in SF sucks

We’ve spent the past two weeks trying to find a new home (which, by the way, will end with triumph tomorrow when drop off our signed lease) and the whole process has sucked. Apartment hunting is an antiquated process that hasn’t progressed much beyond moving classifieds online and for free. Many listings don’t do a consistent job of answering common questions and providing reliable information about the property. There’s nothing to guarantee the transaction against scams, and difficult to contact them in order to transact. Landlords have to keep on posting in order to stay relevant, and on the top.… Read More »Apartment searching in SF sucks